Best headless CMS
Choose a headless CMS using stated criteria and vendor docs—not unstated benchmark scores.
We do not crown a single “winner” in this draft. Score candidates against criteria you can verify on official sites, then read deep dives on platforms.
Criteria
- Hosting model — SaaS only vs self-hosted vs hybrid
- Content modeling — nested structures, localization, validation
- APIs — REST, GraphQL, real-time, CDN behavior
- Preview — draft/preview auth complexity for your stack
- Ops burden — upgrades, backups, plugin ecosystem
- Pricing shape — seats, API calls, assets, environments
Where to start reading
| Starting point | Review |
|---|---|
| Managed SaaS, enterprise editorial | Contentful |
| Open source, self-hosted Node | Strapi |
| Code-first TypeScript in your repo | Payload CMS — we run Payload in production |
| Studio + GROQ, real-time collaboration | Sanity |
Foundations
If terms are new, read What is a CMS? and What is a headless CMS? first.
Migrating from WordPress? See WordPress alternatives.