Open Source Alternatives
API-first headless CMS for structured content.
Contentful is a trademark of its respective owner.
Updated Apr 2026
Ranked by Discovery Score
Leading open source headless CMS, fully JavaScript
Strapi gives you a customizable CMS admin panel and API out of the box, with full control over your content backend. Build your content types, define relationships, get a REST or GraphQL API automatically.
Open source fullstack Next.js framework with backend superpowers
Payload is a CMS that lives inside your Next.js app, giving you full control over content management. Define your content schema in TypeScript, get a full admin panel, REST and GraphQL APIs, auth, access control, and file uploads.
Flexible backend — turn your DB into a headless CMS or admin panel
Directus wraps any SQL database and turns it into a headless CMS with an admin panel, REST and GraphQL APIs, auth, roles, and webhooks. Point it at your Postgres, MySQL, SQLite, or SQL Server database and the schema becomes your content model.
Contentful is a platform — it bundles multiple capabilities into one subscription. These tools each cover one piece. Teams often assemble 2–3 of them instead of paying for the full suite.
Including when one of these alternatives ships a major update. Free.