ExpressionEngine vs Kiln
ExpressionEngine
expressionengine.com
Kiln
kilncms.comSide by side
| Figure | ExpressionEngine | Kiln |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $3.25/mo | $4.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 10 | 9 |
| Spec score · Content Management Systems | 9.1 (#9) | 9.0 (#15) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Support | Support plans provide guaranteed first responses ranging from one business day to two business hours, depending on plan. | Self-hosted plans include community support on GitHub, while Fully managed includes priority support. |
Plans
ExpressionEngine
- CoreFree
- Pro$249, paid once
- Pro Renewal Subscription$49 a year
- Pro Renewal$59, paid once
- Additional MSM Site$49, paid once
- MSM Pro Renewal Subscription$39 a year
- MSM Pro Renewal$49, paid once
- MSM Pro Renewal$49 a year
- Pro Renewal$59 a year
- MSM Pro License Renewal$49 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
ExpressionEngine
ExpressionEngine is an open source CMS from Packet Tide for storing, managing and publishing website content. Its flexible channels and fields support custom content types, editorial workflows, multilingual content, SEO tools and a media library. Templates can include HTML, JavaScript, PHP and ExpressionEngine tags, and the CMS provides more than 20 field types. Editors can update content on a site's front end, while administrators can also bring the control panel there. One installation can manage multiple sites and share design, content and members; each additional MSM site requires an additional MSM Pro License. The free Core plan allows one control panel user. Pro costs $249, paid once, includes unlimited control panel users and one year of updates. Continued updates are available through renewal options, including a Pro Renewal Subscription at $49 a year. ExpressionEngine runs on web, self-hosted and API platforms. Learning resources include documentation, forums and ExpressionEngine University.
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.