Kiln vs plain
Kiln
kilncms.complain
plain-cms.comSide by side
| Figure | Kiln | plain |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $4.99/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 9 | 0 |
| Spec score · Git-Based CMS | 8.9 (#4) | 7.2 (#22) |
| Content storage | Site files and their complete version history remain in the customer’s GitHub repository rather than a Kiln database. | Content is stored as Markdown files in a Git repository, with settings in a JSON file. |
| Integrations | Kiln works with GitHub repositories and hosts that redeploy on push, including Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages. | The repository describes optional plugins for search, contact forms, reading time, forms sent to a configured backend, and GoatCounter page-view counts. |
| Intended users | Kiln describes itself for people who build static sites and want clients or other non-technical editors to update site content themselves. | The About page describes the browser admin as intended for people who would rather not use Git directly. |
| Publishing | Kiln supports drafts, scheduled publishing, named versions, history, and restoration, with publishes saved as Git commits. | Each save in the browser admin writes a commit to the repository, and older versions can be restored. |
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
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.