CMS Comparison
Decap CMS vs TinaCMS
Compare Decap CMS and TinaCMS side-by-side. Explore setup, editing experience, non-technical usability, collaboration, Git workflow, and pricing.
Decap CMS
Git-Based CMSDecap CMS (formerly Netlify CMS) is a free, open-source, Git-based CMS independently maintained in the EU. It acts as a React-based wrapper around the Git workflow, storing content directly in your repository alongside your code. Originally created by Netlify and rebranded in February 2023, Decap CMS is designed for developers and content editors working with static site generators.
Get Started with Decap CMSVS
TinaCMS
Git-Based CMSTinaCMS is an open-source, Git-backed headless CMS originally developed by Forestry.io and acquired by SSW (Superior Software for Windows). It provides a visual editing interface on top of Markdown, MDX, and JSON files stored in Git, giving developers full control over the content model while abstracting Git complexity for content editors.
Visit TinaCMSOverview
| Feature | Decap CMS | TinaCMS |
|---|---|---|
| CMS type | Git-Based (open-source, MIT-licensed) | Git-Based (open-source, TinaCloud optional) |
| SSG support | Hugo, Next.js, Gatsby, Jekyll, 11ty, Astro, Remix, SvelteKit + any SSG that stores content in Git | Astro, Next.js, Hugo, Jekyll, Gatsby, Remix, 11ty, SvelteKit + other frameworks |
| Pricing entry point | Free forever (core CMS). Decap Turbo paid extension starts at $37/mo (Starter) or $112/mo (Team). | $24/mo (monthly) or $290/yr (annual) — Team plan. No lifetime option. |
| Free plan | ✅ Yes — Core CMS is free forever and fully open source. No user or project limits. | ⚠️ Yes but — Free forever, limited to 2 users and 1 project. |
| Free trial (without credit card) | ✅ Not needed — the core CMS is permanently free. Decap Turbo early access includes a free trial on launch. | ❌ No — No time-limited trial. The permanent free plan (2 users, 1 project) serves this role. |
| Content security | ✅ Yes — Highly secured. No database; all content is stored as static files in your own Git repository. | ✅ Yes — Highly secured. No database; files stored in Git. SOC 2 framework alignment, AWS-hosted infrastructure, encryption at rest and in transit. |
| Native language support | ⚠️ Yes but — Admin UI defaults to English. Other locales must be manually registered by a developer using the decap-cms-locales package. No out-of-the-box switcher. | ❌ No — English only for the CMS interface. |
| Mobile friendly | ❌ No — Not natively optimized for mobile. A community CSS workaround exists, but there’s no official mobile support. | ✅ Yes — Mobile and tablet optimized as of TinaCMS v2.0 (iOS and Android supported). |
Setup & Configuration
| Feature | Decap CMS | TinaCMS |
|---|---|---|
| Non-technical setup | ❌ No — A developer must add index.html and config.yml to the project and configure authentication before the CMS is usable. | ❌ No — A developer must configure the /tina folder and schema before editors can use the CMS. |
| Starter templates | ⚠️ Yes but — Official starters exist for Hugo, Next.js, Gatsby, and Jekyll. No large curated template library. | ⚠️ Yes but — A small set of official CLI starters (Next.js, Astro). Some community starters exist, no large library. |
| Edit schema modifier | ❌ No — Schema is defined entirely in a YAML config.yml file. No visual schema editor inside the CMS. | ❌ No — Schema is defined in code via TypeScript/JavaScript config files. No visual in-app schema editor. |
Editing Experience
| Feature | Decap CMS | TinaCMS |
|---|---|---|
| Editor | Rich text (Plate-based, replaces deprecated markdown widget) + Markdown + Code. 16 built-in widgets and custom widgets. | Visual (contextual/inline) editor + Rich Text (Plate-based) + Markdown + Code. |
| Live preview system | ⚠️ Yes but — Customizable React-based preview templates. Requires developer setup to match the site’s frontend. | ⚠️ Yes but — Contextual, on-page visual editing with real-time inline preview. Requires developer setup to wire to the frontend. |
| AI assistant integration | ❌ No — No built-in AI assistant or content generation tool in either the free CMS or Decap Turbo. | ❌ No — Listed as “Coming Soon” on paid plans. TinaGPT is a support chatbot only, not an in-editor content generation tool. |
| Collaborative editing | ❌ No — No simultaneous multi-user editing. Decap Turbo Team adds a presence indicator (who’s active), not concurrent editing. | ❌ No — TinaCMS is single-user per document. Simultaneous multi-user editing is not supported. |
| iFrame embed preview | ❌ No — Not documented or available out of the box. | ⚠️ Yes but — Not native. iFrame/embed support depends on custom MDX component configuration by a developer. |
| Shortcode support | ✅ Yes — Custom editor components and widgets serve as shortcodes, configured by developers in the CMS setup. | ✅ Yes — Custom Markdown shortcodes via the rich-text field’s custom MDX syntax configuration. |
| SEO tools | ⚠️ Yes but — Slug and file path config only. No built-in SEO analysis, SERP preview, or content scoring. | ⚠️ Yes but — SEO fields are developer-configurable. No built-in SEO analysis, SERP preview, or content scoring. |
| Dark mode | ❌ No — No native dark mode. A community-contributed CSS override exists but isn’t an official feature. | ❌ No — Not confirmed as a switchable CMS setting (dark mode exists in the separate TinaDocs product only). |
Non-Technical User Experience
| Feature | Decap CMS | TinaCMS |
|---|---|---|
| Designed for non-technicals | ⚠️ Yes but — Editors can use it once set up, but setup, schema changes, and auth configuration always require a developer. | ⚠️ Yes but — Editors can use it once set up, but initial configuration and schema changes always require a developer. |
| Version rollback | ⚠️ Yes but — Full history via Git. No dedicated version rollback UI inside the CMS. | ⚠️ Yes but — Content is Git-backed so rollback is possible. No dedicated non-technical rollback UI. |
| Initial setup by non-dev | ❌ No — A developer must configure config.yml and the authentication backend before the CMS is usable. | ❌ No — A developer must install the package, configure the schema, and deploy the admin route first. |
Media Management
| Feature | Decap CMS | TinaCMS |
|---|---|---|
| Media management | ⚠️ Yes but — Built-in library supports upload, view, and delete via drag-and-drop. External providers (Cloudinary, Uploadcare) via plugins. No file renaming. | ⚠️ Yes but — Upload, view, and delete via the Media Manager. External providers (Cloudinary, S3, Digital Ocean Spaces). No file renaming. |
| External image URL support | ⚠️ Yes but — Handled via Cloudinary and Uploadcare plugins. No direct inline external URL support. | ⚠️ Yes but — Handled via external media provider plugins. No direct inline external URL support. |
Collaboration & Teams
| Feature | Decap CMS | TinaCMS |
|---|---|---|
| User access | ⚠️ Yes but — Git Gateway (via Netlify Identity) allows non-Git login. On non-Netlify hosts, a developer must configure an external OAuth client. | ✅ Yes — Invite via TinaCloud. Editors need only a TinaCloud account, no GitHub account required. |
| Custom roles | ⚠️ Yes but — A Decap Turbo feature, available on the Team plan ($37/mo) and above. The free core CMS has no centralized role management. | ⚠️ Yes but — Two roles (Admin, Editor) on Free, Team, and Team Plus. Three roles on Business (beta). Custom roles on Enterprise only. |
| Organization management | ⚠️ Yes but — A Decap Turbo feature. The free CMS is per-site with no centralized multi-project dashboard. | ✅ Yes — Organizations are supported in TinaCloud to manage multiple projects. |
| Branch workflows | ⚠️ Yes but — Editorial Workflow (draft/review/publish via Git branches) is in the free CMS. PRs are created and merged in the Git provider itself, not inside Decap. | ⚠️ Yes but — Branch creation, protected branches, PR review, and preview links — available on the Team Plus plan and above only. |
Git & Deployment
| Feature | Decap CMS | TinaCMS |
|---|---|---|
| Git providers | GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, and Git Gateway (Netlify) — the broadest provider support of the two. | GitHub only via TinaCloud (including GitHub Enterprise on the Enterprise plan). GitLab not supported natively. |
| Vendor lock-in | ✅ No — No vendor lock-in. Content lives in your own Git repository. Self-hosted and fully open source. | ✅ No — No vendor lock-in. Content stored as Markdown/MDX/JSON in your own GitHub repository. TinaCloud is optional; self-hosting is available. |
| Deployment | Content commits trigger builds on any connected CI/CD platform — Netlify, Vercel, GitHub Pages, Cloudflare Pages, and more. | Pushes content changes to your Git repo, triggering builds on Vercel, Netlify, GitHub Pages, Cloudflare Pages, Cloudflare Workers, and Alibaba Cloud. |
Accessibilities
| Feature | Decap CMS | TinaCMS |
|---|---|---|
| Global search | ⚠️ Yes but — Search by title, slug, and configured summary fields. Can exhaust API rate limits on large repositories; can be disabled. | ⚠️ Yes but — Built-in via TinaCloud with indexer token configuration. Not available in self-hosted mode. |
| Edit configs as code | ✅ Yes — Configuration is done entirely via config.yml. Editing config as code is the primary and only method. | ✅ Yes — All configuration is done in code via /tina/config.ts. Direct editing of config files is the primary method. |
| Mermaid diagram preview | ❌ No — Not a built-in or documented feature in Decap CMS. | ✅ Yes — Mermaid diagram rendering is supported in the rich-text editor using the Mermaid npm package. |
Worth Knowing
There's a third option: Sitepins
Both Decap CMS and TinaCMS need a developer to install a package, write a config file, and wire up authentication before a single non-technical editor can log in. Sitepins skips all of that: connect your repository and start editing in minutes, with a visual editor, AI writing assistant, real-time multi-user collaboration, and one-click Vercel deploys included on a free forever plan. Sitepins is open source too (AGPL-3.0, on GitHub), so you can self-host it or contribute.
Note: If you found any wrong information here, please contact us and we will fix it.
Which one is right for you?
A quick summary to help you choose the right Git-based CMS.
Choose Decap CMS if:
- You want a completely free, self-hosted CMS with zero recurring cost, forever
- Your team needs the broadest Git provider support: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea, or Azure DevOps
- You want maximum extensibility through custom widgets, plugins, and open-source contributions
- You're already in the Netlify ecosystem and want Git Gateway authentication for non-technical editors
- You don't need a paid cloud tier and are fine managing collaboration and roles yourself
Choose TinaCMS if:
- You're building with Next.js or Astro and want deep, contextual on-page visual editing
- You want editors to log in without a GitHub account, via TinaCloud
- You need Mermaid diagram support directly in the content editor
- You want a mobile-optimized editing experience out of the box
- You're fine paying for a managed cloud (SOC 2-aligned, AWS-hosted) instead of self-hosting
Migration Support
Already using another CMS?
Whether you are coming from WordPress, Contentful, Sanity, or any other platform, our team is ready to help you migrate your content, structure, and workflows with zero downtime. Migration support is available for all users on the Team plan or the Lifetime deal. We handle the boring, tedious tasks so you can focus on launching as soon as possible.
Get Started with Sitepins
Get started for free today and discover easy, flexible, and full control over your content.