As headless CMS platforms take care of that for you, you don't need to worry about complex HTML development or web programming.
Forming your brand's web presence is crucial; while doing that, you don't have to use complex platforms.
We have compiled 23 headless CMS platforms that you can use after further research.
Let's check them out and build your website smoothly!
Headless CMS platforms offer a modern approach to content management, distinct in many ways from their traditional counterparts.
Webinarcare states in its study about headless CMS software that while 82% of users acknowledge the direct impact of digital experiences on revenue, 76% report lacking the necessary tools for delivering consistent content across various channels, which 75% of consumers expect.
Additionally, there's notable dissatisfaction with traditional CMSes, as those behind in digital adoption are 40% more likely to use such systems.
You might wonder what is the difference between a headless CMS and a traditional CMS.
Let's take a look at their key differences:
Feature | Headless CMS | Traditional CMS |
---|---|---|
Architecture | Backend and frontend separated | Backend and frontend combined |
Flexibility and Scalability | High | Moderate |
Content Delivery | Via APIs, multi-platform | Primarily web pages |
Customization and Control | High | Limited |
Complexity | Can be more complicated | Easier and quicker to set up |
Hosting and Delivery | Cloud-hosted or self-hosted | In-house or on-premise server |
In conclusion, while traditional CMS systems offer simplicity and integrated solutions, headless CMS platforms stand out for their flexibility, scalability, and ability to deliver content across various digital mediums. The choice between the two depends on your specific needs and goals.
A headless CMS is a content management system that doesn't have a front-end website building tool. Instead, it runs a content management layer on the backend instead of the front end.
According to Storyblok's CMS statistics, Approximately half of organizations rely on monolithic CMSs, while about 35% have embraced headless CMSs, and the remaining 15% either utilize website builders or have developed custom CMSs tailored to their specific needs.
Also, a significant 82.91% of businesses observed improvements in time management, budget efficiency, productivity, achievement of their KPIs, and revenue growth after transitioning to a headless CMS.
Additionally, 31.4% of these companies noted that adopting a headless CMS resulted in time savings in both content and project management.
Headless CMS platforms allow you to have complete control over all your data stored in the database and give you the option to easily integrate it with any other medium without worrying about complexity.
Removing all types of content from the CMS leaves only its structure and functionality. In that way, it becomes so much easier to replace your website from one web host to another.
Headless CMS refers to a content management system that powers decoupled applications or doesn't rely on the CMS to provide a front-facing user interface.
This approach is referred to as Content API (Application Programming Interface) or headless architecture in the content management world as well.
When choosing the best headless CMS platforms, we meticulously analyzed several aspects to ensure a comprehensive guide:
TL;DR? Here is a quick look at what the top 10 headless CMS platforms are best for:
We prepared a list of headless CMS after doing comprehensive research about so many platforms. Let's check out the top 23 headless CMS platforms with their pros and cons, pricing details, and ratings.
Platform | User Interface | Ease of Use | Text Editor | Free Plan | G2 Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Strapi | Modern and Simple | Easy | Rich | Yes | 4.5/5 |
Amplience | Customizable | Intermediate | Limited | No | 4.0/5 |
Directus | User-Friendly | Easy | Moderate | Yes | 5/5 |
Ghost | Minimal | Easy | Moderate | Yes | 4.1/5 |
Sanity | Customizable | Intermediate | Rich | Yes | 4.7/5 |
Magnolia | Complex | Intermediate | Poor | No | 4.2/5 |
Contentful | Easy to Merge Content | Easy | Moderate | Yes | 4.2/5 |
Agility CMS | Functional | Intermediate | Moderate | Limited | 4.4/5 |
Core DNA | Minimal and Easy | Intermediate | Moderate | No | 4.5/5 |
Cockpit CMS | Comprehensive | Complex | Moderate | Yes | 4.1/5 |
Hygraph | Practical | Intermediate | Rich | Yes | 4.6/5 |
Kontent.ai | User-Friendly | Easy for Beginners | Moderate | Yes | 4.3/5 |
Dot CMS | Functional | Intermediate | Rich | No | 4.1/5 |
Butter CMS | Automated Publishing | Easy | Moderate | No | 4.7/5 |
Prismic | Cloud-Based | Intermediate | Moderate | Yes | 4.3/5 |
Storyblok | Accessible Content Authoring | Easy | Rich | Yes | 4.4/5 |
Contentstack | User-Friendly | Easy | Rich | No | 4.6/5 |
Arc XP | Low-Code Tool | Intermediate | Moderate | No | 4.1/5 |
Zesty.io | Outcome-Oriented | Easy | Internal Search | Yes | 4.6/5 |
Enonic | Collaborative | Easy | Moderate | Yes | 4.5/5 |
Prepr | Integrative | Easy | Low Response Time | Yes | 4.3/5 |
Optimizely | Intuitive | Intermediate | Comprehensive | No | 3.9/5 |
Bloomreach | Responsive Templates | Intermediate | Moderate | No | 4.6/5 |
Strapi is one of the most used headless CMS platforms. Strapi is an open-source headless CMS that is customizable and easy to use. Companies such as Walmart, eBay, Toyota, and IBM use this platform.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Free trial is available.
G2 Rating: 4.5/5
Explore G2 reviews for Strapi.
Amplience can be used as an e-commerce and AI content platform with its simplicity and customizability. It is an API-first, cloud-native, and headless platform that provides solutions with artificial intelligence.
Pros:
Cons:
G2 Rating: 4.0/5
Read G2 reviews for Amplience.
Directus is an open data platform where you can turn SQL databases into an API. Furthermore, you can customize your content entirely with this platform since it is an extensible headless CMS platform.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: It has a forever-free plan option.
G2 Rating: 5/5
Explore G2 reviews for Directus.
Being an open-source publishing platform, Ghost can mainly be used for blogs and e-commerce. Since it is a headless CMS platform, it is highly customizable, and anyone can use it.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Free trial is available. Starts from $29 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.1/5
Explore G2 reviews for Ghost.
Popupsmart integrates with this platform seamlessly, so you can create a Ghost popup quickly!
Sanity allows content creation as data with a headless CMS system. Nike, Cloudflare, Figma, Netlify, and National Geographic use Sanity.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Free plan is available. The team plan starts from $99 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.7/5
Magnolia allows you to manage content in one hub. Also, you can reuse it on all your channels and the web easily. Furthermore, headless CMS personalization features make it possible to create unique websites.
Pros:
Cons:
G2 Rating: 4.2/5
You can quickly create a popup for Magnolia with Popupsmart.
Contentful integrates with many tools and helps you create your content quickly. It is mostly used for e-commerce websites.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Free plan is available. The team plan starts from $489 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.2/5
See G2 reviews for Contentful.
Agility CMS is one of the most used content management systems. Page and module management is functional in this platform. Content editors and marketers can use this platform easily. Famous companies such as Pepsico and Mitsubishi Electric use Agility CMS.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Has a free plan for developers, which is limited to 5000 entries per month. The business plan starts from $900 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.4/5
Explore G2 reviews for Agility CMS.
Core DNA allows you to create websites and applications in one place. In addition, API-driven features make it easy to customize a number of elements on a website.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Starts from $1250 per month. Has a customizable enterprise plan as well.
G2 Rating: 4.5/5
Explore G2 reviews for Core DNA.
With Cockpit CMS, it is possible to create dynamic websites using headless CMS. Furthermore, since it is an open-source platform, you can easily customize your website and create unique websites.
Pros:
Cons:
G2 Rating: 4.1/5
Explore G2 reviews for Cockpit CMS.
Hygraph accompanies you to achieve a more developed digital experience. Thanks to the number of integrations, you can also develop your website and customize it.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: A Free-forever plan is available. Professional team membership starts from $299 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.6/5
You can create a Hygraph popup with Popupsmart since it integrates seamlessly with this platform!
Kontent.ai makes content production easier so marketers and content creators can use it without getting confused. It also aims to provide a better online experience.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Free plan is available. The Scale Plan, which offers more features, starts from $2,499 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.3/5
You can read G2 reviews for Kontent.ai.
Using Dot CMS makes it possible to build content-enabled applications. You can easily create mobile apps, single-page apps, and websites with this headless CMS platform.
Pros:
Cons:
G2 Rating: 4.1/5
Butter CMS is an API-first headless CMS platform. Companies such as Salesforce and Indeed use this platform as well.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Starts from $83 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.7/5
Read G2 reviews for Butter CMS.
Prismic is another API-based headless CMS platform that you can use to publish content.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Free plan is available. Starts from $7 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.3/5
Storyblok is a great headless CMS platform for creating e-commerce websites and mobile applications.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Free plan is available. Starts from $90 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.4/5
Read G2 reviews for Storyblok.
Contentstack allows users to create their content quickly. Since it is a headless CMS, customizing certain parts of a website is also possible.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Starts from $995 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.6/5
Read G2 reviews for Contentstack.
Arc XP is a cloud-native content management solution that provides solutions for enterprise businesses, retail companies, and media organizations. This platform can be useful for distributing content and automating workflows.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: You need to request a demo to get the pricing details.
G2 Rating: 4.1/5 Read G2 reviews for Arc XP.
Using Zesty.io can build your website easily since it is an outcome-oriented platform. Being a headless CMS, Zesty allows you to optimize your marketing activities. Companies such as Epic Games and SONY use Zesty as well.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Free trial is available. Starts from $475 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.6/5
Explore G2 reviews for Zesty.io
Developers and content editors can easily collaborate and work together using Enonic. Since it is a headless CMS platform, customizing and editing content is possible.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Free trial is available. Starts from $990 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.5/5
Explore G2 reviews for Enonic.
Being a headless CMS platform, Prepr brings data and content together. So, in that sense, it is possible to improve your website's content and user experience.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: Free trial is available. Starts from $399 per month.
G2 Rating: 4.3/5
Explore G2 reviews for Prepr.
Optimizely is ideal for businesses needing to produce and repurpose content rapidly, thanks to its headless CMS structure.
It offers flexibility for developers through its headless API approach and a global Content Delivery Network (CDN).
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: You need to get in touch with the sales team and request pricing.
G2 Rating: 3.9/5
Read G2 reviews for Optimizely.
Bloomreach is a specialized headless CMS platform tailored for e-commerce merchants to craft engaging online experiences.
Features like Bloomreach Experience Manager offer a robust content management solution, optimizing audience experiences.
Pros:
Cons:
Pricing: You need to contact the sales team and request pricing.
G2 Rating: 4.6/5
Discover G2 reviews for Bloomreach.
That is all for headless CMS platforms! By using these platforms, you can quickly form your brand's online presence. We explained their key features, pros and cons, pricing details, and ratings so you can choose the one that suits your business needs.
Popupsmart, which is a popup builder, integrates seamlessly with these headless CMS platforms. You can create your popups with Popupsmart and increase sales conversions on your website!
We hope you find what you have been looking for and build unique websites easily! Comment below which works best for your company, and share your thoughts with us! :-)
It would be best if you had headless CMS since it allows customizing a website easily. If you have an e-commerce website or blog that you create content regularly, using Headless CMS platforms can be beneficial.
You don't have to know complex coding; headless CMS platforms assist you in customizing your website correctly.
Since these platforms do not focus on front-end development, you can easily establish your website and edit your content according to your needs.
A headless CMS is a content management system that allows decoupled software applications to provide a complete end-to-end content creation, management, and delivery process without enforcing any proprietary systems.
Since you do not have to write any code, you can focus on building the platform itself. In that way, you won't worry about technical issues. These platforms help you to concentrate on the platform itself. The performance of a website increases and becomes more effective.
With headless CMS, content resources become accessible and reusable as well. In addition, hosting and delivery are stored in the cloud with headless CMS platforms. So you can personalize your platform and connect with other platforms too.
We have listed 23 headless CMS platforms with their pros and cons. However, it can be said that Strapi, Ghost, Sanity, Hygraph are among the best headless CMS platforms that you can consider using. These platforms have higher G2 ratings and are easy to use.
It depends on your website's and company's needs for sure. You can choose from this comprehensive list of headless CMS platforms we have prepared according to your needs.
Feel free to look at these blog posts as well: