Decap CMS vs Kiln
Decap CMS
decapcms.org
Kiln
kilncms.comSide by side
| Figure | Decap CMS | Kiln |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €19/mo | $4.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 9 |
| Spec score · Git-Based CMS | 8.5 (#5) | 8.9 (#4) |
| Spec score · Content Management Systems | 8.4 (#48) | 9.0 (#15) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Backends include GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Bitbucket, Azure, Git Gateway (Netlify), proxy, and test backends. | Kiln works with GitHub repositories and hosts that redeploy on push, including Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages. |
| Intended users | The project describes Decap CMS as a content system for publishers, editors, and developers who want to own their content and keep it in their repository. | Kiln describes itself for people who build static sites and want clients or other non-technical editors to update site content themselves. |
| Support | The Decap CMS project offers community support; Decap Turbo Enterprise includes dedicated support and an SLA. | Self-hosted plans include community support on GitHub, while Fully managed includes priority support. |
Plans
Kiln
- Self-hostedFree
- Kiln Cloud$4.99 a month
- Fully managed$14.99 a month
- Open sourceFree
- Self-hostedFree
- Kiln Cloud$4.99 a month
- Fully managed$14.99 a month
- Concierge setup$399, paid once
- Concierge setup & tagging$399, paid once
In their own words
Decap CMS
Decap CMS is an open-source content management system for Git-backed static sites. Its web editor gives non-technical contributors structured fields, rich text, and live preview, while draft, review, and publish statuses support editorial workflows. Content remains in the user's repository, preserving version history and enabling branch workflows and deployment checks. It connects to GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Bitbucket, Azure, Git Gateway, proxy, and test backends. Editors can work with a media library and integrations such as Cloudinary or Uploadcare. Content models can include collections, nested structures, relation fields, and slug behavior; developers can add widgets, editor components, and plugins. The MIT-licensed CMS is free and self-hosted, so users supply authentication and a backend. The Free plan is free and lists one site and one seat. Pro is €19 a month, then €10/site and €6/seat per month for additions. Deploy notifications are currently available for GitHub-hosted sites; GitLab support is on the roadmap.
Kiln
Kiln is an open-source, click-to-edit CMS for static sites. Invited editors change content directly on a site, with edits saved as Git commits in a repository owned by the site owner. Supported content includes text, images, documents, blocks, galleries, events, and calendar items. The publishing workflow includes drafts, scheduled publishing, named versions, history, and restoration. Owners sign in with GitHub, while invited editors and members can use Google sign-in and be scoped to particular pages or sections. Reviewer seats can comment only; suggest mode lets owners approve or decline proposed changes field by field. Kiln works with GitHub repositories and hosts that redeploy on push, including Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages. A REST API and kiln-mcp support scoped, sanitized edits by scripts and agents; optional AI assistance uses an API key supplied by the user. Site content remains plain HTML in the customer's repository, even after leaving Kiln. Self-hosted costs nothing; Kiln Cloud is $4.99 a month, and Fully managed is $14.99 a month.