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CrafterCMS

craftercms.com

Free plan Open source WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAPISelf-hosted
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Spec score 9.3 #3 of 165 in Content Management Systems

What it is

CrafterCMS is a content management system from CrafterCMS, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, USA. It supports content localization, custom role permissions, webhooks, content preview, and asset transformations. Its API types include REST and GraphQL, and it is listed for web, Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The available plans represent three deployment and support arrangements. Community is an open-source GPL v3 release with community support and a self-hosted download. Enterprise is commercially supported and can be self-hosted or self-managed, with enterprise features and support. Crafter Cloud is a fully managed SaaS option with managed infrastructure, monitoring, and upgrades. The pricing model is listed as free, with a free plan available, but no prices are provided for Community, Enterprise, or Crafter Cloud.

Spec sheet

What it does
CrafterCMS is an open-source, API-first headless CMS for structured content and enterprise digital experiences.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Free plan
YesRead 24 Sep 2026 · craftercms.com
Integrations
Listed integrations include Elastic Stack, Stripe, GitLab, Bitbucket, Elastic Path, GitHub, Jenkins, commercetools and Shopify.Read 15 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
Support
Commercial support includes 24/7 support with SLAs, priority security patches, certified builds and high-availability support.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
License
The Community source code is released under GPL v3.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Headquarters
McLean, Virginia, USARead 23 Sep 2026 · craftercms.com
AI capabilities
The current platform advertises AI-assisted authoring, AI skills, Spring AI integration and MCP clients and servers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
API types
bothRead 20 Sep 2026 · craftercms.com
Architecture
The platform separates authoring from delivery through decoupled subsystems.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Asset transformations
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · craftercms.com
Authoring
Authors get browser-based in-context editing, drag-and-drop experience building and multi-channel preview.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
CLI
Crafter CLI authenticates to CrafterCMS and exercises its APIs from Linux, macOS or Windows command lines.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Company identity
The legal entity shown on the site is Crafter Software Corporation, headquartered at 7918 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Virginia.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Company profile
LinkedIn lists CrafterCMS as privately held, founded in 2013, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, with 11–50 employees.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Content localization
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · craftercms.com
Content preview
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · craftercms.com
Content repository
Content is stored in a Git-based distributed repository with versioning and branching.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Database requirement
The core system runs without an external database; MongoDB is optional for Profile and Social modules.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Documentation depth
Documentation is organized by architect, developer, author and system-administrator roles and includes module, API, security and installation references.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Extensibility
Groovy, Java, FreeMarker and a plugin framework can extend APIs, workflows, delivery behavior and authoring UI.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Frontend frameworks
The platform is intended for React, Next.js, Angular, Vue, SPAs and other frontend frameworks.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
GraphQL
CrafterCMS generates a project-specific GraphQL schema from content models and updates it when models change.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Independent integration summary
Software Advice describes integrations with Jenkins, Elasticsearch, Bitbucket, GitLab and GitHub.Read 15 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
Installation requirements
CrafterCMS 4.6.1 requires Java 21, at least 8 GB JVM memory and Git 2.20.1 or newer; Docker is needed for Docker or macOS setups.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
JavaScript SDK
NPM packages cover content retrieval, models, Redux, search, utilities, in-context editing, Experience Builder and Studio UI extensions.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Latest release
CrafterCMS 4.6.1 community bundles were released on September 29, 2026.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Limit: developer workflow
A G2 reviewer says the Git repository can leak into developer processes, making DEV/STAGE/PROD merges and hot-fix configuration changes messy.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Limit: documentation
A G2 reviewer says advanced features have limited documentation and that the reference-style organization is difficult for newcomers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Limit: implementation cost
The Capterra reviewer warns that plugins, themes, customization and technical help can create hidden implementation costs.Read 15 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Limit: update cadence and UI
G2 reviewers report that fixes can wait for system patches and that paging through large content lists feels slow and clunky.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Personalization
CrafterCMS supports personalization and content targeting for digital experiences.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Praise: authoring and support
G2 reviewers praise the authoring experience, documentation, customer support, GraphQL, version control and code readability.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Praise: migration
The Gartner reviewer reports that migration from a previous platform went smoothly and the representative got the system running quickly.Read 15 Oct 2026 · gartner.com
Praise: speed and accessibility
The Capterra reviewer says a CMS accelerated website development and let people with little technical ability update content.Read 15 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Rating comparison
G2’s comparison page says CrafterCMS reviewers rated it easier to use, set up and do business with than Craft CMS, while preferring Craft CMS for administration.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Rating on Capterra
5.0 out of 5 from 1 review.Read 15 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Rating on G2
4.5 out of 5 from 18 reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Rating on Gartner Peer Insights
5.0 out of 5 from 1 rating.Read 15 Oct 2026 · gartner.com
Rating on GetApp
5.0 out of 5 from 1 review.Read 15 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
Rating on Software Advice
5.0 out of 5 from 1 review.Read 15 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
REST APIs
REST content-retrieval APIs are provided alongside GraphQL and in-process APIs.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Role permissions
customRead 20 Sep 2026 · craftercms.com
Search
OpenSearch is used for authoring and delivery search, including lexical and semantic retrieval.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Self-hosting
Enterprise deployments can run on public cloud, on premises or private cloud infrastructure.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Source-code ecosystem
The public GitHub organization identifies CrafterCMS as open source and lists JavaScript SDK, CLI, Engine, Deployer and Studio repositories with GPL, LGPL and MIT licensed components.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Supported environments
Supported environments include Docker, Linux, macOS 10.12 or later and Windows through WSL2.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
Webhooks
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · craftercms.com
Workflows
The product includes auditing, version history, content dependencies and workflow management.Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com

Plans and prices

Community Price not published Open-source GPL v3 release · Community support · Self-hosted download Read 24 Sep 2026 · craftercms.com
Enterprise Price not published Commercially supported release · Self-hosted or self-managed deployment · Enterprise features and support Read 24 Sep 2026 · craftercms.com
Crafter Cloud Price not published Fully managed SaaS · REST and GraphQL APIs · Managed infrastructure, monitoring and upgrades Read 24 Sep 2026 · craftercms.com
CrafterCMS Community Free Free open-source release Community support · GPL v3 · self-hosted download Read 15 Oct 2026 · craftercms.com
CrafterCMS Enterprise $5,472 a year Starting at $5,472.00 per year Commercial support · self-hosted or managed SaaS · enterprise features Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com

Every CrafterCMS plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Supports content localization
  • Provides custom role permissions
  • Includes webhooks and content preview
  • Offers self-hosted and managed-cloud options

Limits

  • Community support is DIY in nature

Who it suits

CrafterCMS may suit teams seeking a CMS with localization, permissions, preview, and REST or GraphQL APIs. Its plans serve self-hosted community use, commercially supported deployment, or managed cloud operation.

Verdict

CrafterCMS lays out distinct community, commercial, and managed-cloud options, alongside content and API capabilities. The listed plans do not state prices.

Where Specifiction places it

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