Top 10 Contentful Alternatives for 2024
Storyblok is the first headless CMS that works for developers & marketers alike.
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Contentful was one of the earliest headless CMSs to hit the market and has since become an established name around the world. While it offers a remarkable amount of customization, some users have reported downsides: a non-user-friendly interface, the need to invest heavily in developer resources, and unpredictable pricing chief among them.
If these issues have you searching for a contentful alternative, we’ve got you covered. Here are the top 10 alternatives to Contentful for 2024.
1. Storyblok (opens in a new window)
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Storyblok is a cloud-native headless CMS that empowers your team to produce next-gen content experiences. It’s frontend agnostic, meaning you can use any frontend, framework, or third-party solution you want.
Storyblok is also based on composable architecture principles, so you can easily assemble and reconfigure your components to fit your exact needs. This also means it’s highly adaptable: you can add new components without impacting the existing structure, resulting in the freedom to assemble a best-of-breed system.
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One unique Storyblok feature that makes it a leading Contentful alternative is the Visual Editor (opens in a new window). The Visual Editor is an intuitive, what-you-see-is-what-you-get interface that makes editing content as easy as a few clicks. It’s so easy to use that non-technical users don’t have to rely on developers to make changes. Instead, devs just create reusable content blocks that can be endlessly customized and reused.
Storyblok is a straightforward CMS, but it’s also a powerful system built to scale, offering features like:
- Internationalization tools such as field, folder, and space-level translation (opens in a new window) at no extra charge
- A minimal learning curve thanks to an intuitive design that makes for fast onboarding
- Predictable pricing with a range of plan options and always transparent costs (opens in a new window)
Users seeking a Contentful alternative for ease-of-use purposes will appreciate the collaboration tools that Storyblok has to offer: custom user roles for granular access control, custom workflows to keep content creation organized, and a Google-docs-like commenting feature (opens in a new window) that you can use directly in the content you’re working on.
Finally, Storyblok is consistently recognized as an industry favorite, with accomplishments including:
- 75 awards in G2’s Winter 2024 report (opens in a new window), including Momentum Leader, Easiest To Use, and Best Est. ROI (Small Business)
- The only CMS recognized as a Customers’ Choice in the Gartner Peer Insights Report (opens in a new window)
- A track record of supporting thriving companies including Netflix, Adidas, Oatly, and more as demonstrated in case studies (opens in a new window)
Ready to try the leading Contentful alternative?
Start using Storyblok for free today
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Another Contentful alternative that focuses on a user-friendly experience is Hygraph (opens in a new window). Hygraph is a headless GraphQL content platform with an easy-to-navigate interface, a solid versioning system, and efficient data retrieval. However, users inexperienced in GraphQL may still experience a learning curve. Pricing also varies: costs can increase as usage rates and included features do.
3. WordPress
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WordPress is an open source alternative to Contentful that’s also one of the easier options to use. It's also a monolithic system as opposed to headless (opens in a new window). Despite this, users can still achieve a fair amount of customization through plugins. The open source nature is a plus to some developers but can also introduce security concerns. While WordPress is free, it’s important to remember that users will still have to pay for elements such as hosting.
4. Ghost
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A CMS focused on blogging and simple design, Ghost is a platform without a lot of clutter or UI confusion. This makes it a powerful, easy-to-use option for those who are primarily interested in blogging capabilities. Keep in mind that achieving more than that will require integrating additional tools.
5. Typo3
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For a robust and scalable Contentful alternative, some users look to Typo3. Typo3 offers features such as multilingual support and a highly flexible system that many developers enjoy. Nevertheless, this tends to result in the same steep learning curve as Contentful, and requires more server resources than its simpler counterparts.
6. Umbraco
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Umbraco is another open source alternative to Contentful. This downloadable NET CMS is flexible, scalable, and developer-first. This makes it a smart choice for companies that don’t have many non-technical users who need to make frequent changes – though this can be a challenge if the opposite is true.
7. Kontent.ai
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As a cloud-based headless CaaS, Kontent.ai is a particularly good choice for omnichannel content delivery. Similar to Contentful and Storyblok, it also has a well-established partner program. Some users appreciate its flexible pricing, but it’s important to remember that it can still lead to unpredictable or high costs – it all depends on the complexity of your needs.
8. Strapi (opens in a new window)
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Strapi is a Javascript-powered headless CMS known for being developer-first and open source. While there are limited plugins and extensions, Strapi doesn’t get the same “difficulty of use” reviews that Contentful does. If you’re trying to figure out “Is Strapi better than Contentful?”, there’s not a clear answer - it’ll depend on if you’re willing to compromise on customization or ease of use more.
9. Joomla
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Among the open source options, Joomla is a particularly user-friendly platform. There’s more of a learning curve than page builders or even WordPress, but it’s still fairly accessible even for non-technical users. It also comes with an active user community. Even so, it bears repeating that open source options come with security vulnerabilities as all extensions rely on volunteers to keep them updated and safe.
10. Contentstack (opens in a new window)
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The final Contentful alternative on the list is Contentstack. Headless, scalable, and good for enterprise-level projects, it offers multi-environment support and flexible content modeling. However, the complexity means that some users experience a steep learning curve. It also means you’ll need to invest in developer resources to make the most out of its technical abilities.
Conclusion: what’s the best Contentful alternative?
There’s no single best Contentful alternative. Some CMSs are better geared for smaller, simpler projects. Others are more suitable for large-scale endeavors.
The important thing is to choose based on your specific needs. Do your research, and always try before you buy – taking advantage of personalized demos and free trials is a great way to get a feel for systems before you commit.
