django CMS vs Kiln
django CMS
django-cms.org
Kiln
kilncms.comSide by side
| Figure | django CMS | Kiln |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $2/mo | $4.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 9 |
| Spec score · Content Management Systems | 9.4 (#1) | 9.0 (#15) |
| Editing | Editors can change content directly on the page using visual frontend editing. | Editors can change text, images, documents, blocks, galleries, events, and calendar content from the site itself. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | django CMS can integrate custom Django applications, while add-ons provide capabilities such as rich-text editing, Bootstrap 5 components, media management, versioning, and reusable content blocks. | Kiln works with GitHub repositories and hosts that redeploy on push, including Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages. |
| Intended users | The site describes django CMS as serving digital agencies, marketers and publishers, developers and product managers, and business executives. | Kiln describes itself for people who build static sites and want clients or other non-technical editors to update site content themselves. |
| Support | Community support includes technical documentation, Stack Overflow, Discord, GitHub Issues, and an AI chat service. | Self-hosted plans include community support on GitHub, while Fully managed includes priority support. |
| What it does | django CMS is an open-source content management system built on the Django web framework. | Kiln lets invited users edit marked content directly on static webpages, then saves each publication as a Git commit. |
Plans
django CMS
- django CMSFree
- Supporter Association Membership$2 a month
- Bronze Association Membership$500 a year
- Silver Association Membership$1,500 a year
- Gold Association Membership$3,000 a year
- Platinum Association Membership$15,000 a year
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
django CMS
django CMS is an open-source content management system built on Django for creating and managing websites. Editors can change content directly on the page, while a drag-and-drop builder arranges reusable components such as text, images, videos, forms, and custom business elements. The system supports multiple languages and multi-site publishing, with SEO tools, a media library, custom content types, editorial workflows, and custom user roles. Permissions include granular privileges and separate editor and publisher roles. Developers can integrate existing Django applications through application views and placeholders. Deployment can use traditional Django rendering, hybrid rendering with a REST API, or headless delivery through REST endpoints; headless mode and the REST API are available through the djangocms-rest add-on. The core CMS is free and open, with no license fees. It is self-hosted and supports web, Linux, Windows, and API contexts. Installation requires Python 3.10 or later and uses pip. The maker, based in Zurich, Switzerland, was founded in 2007 and identifies enterprises, universities, and digital agencies as intended users.
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.