Kiln vs Webflow CMS
Kiln
kilncms.comWebflow CMS
webflow.comSide by side
| Figure | Kiln | Webflow CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $4.99/mo | $15/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 9 | 5 |
| Spec score · Content Management Systems | 9.0 (#15) | 9.2 (#4) |
| Spec score · Cms No Code | 8.9 (#6) | 8.4 (#18) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Kiln works with GitHub repositories and hosts that redeploy on push, including Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages. | Webflow’s integrations library includes categories such as analytics, CRM, ecommerce, forms, localization, maps, payment processing, search, and social media. |
| Paid from | 4.99 | 25 |
| Support | Self-hosted plans include community support on GitHub, while Fully managed includes priority support. | Webflow lists the Help Center, Support Portal, and Webflow University, while its Team plan includes priority support. |
| What it does | Kiln lets invited users edit marked content directly on static webpages, then saves each publication as a Git commit. | Webflow’s visual-first, composable CMS lets teams create dynamic, content-driven experiences and manage content directly on a visual canvas with real-time rendering. |
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
Webflow CMS
- StarterFree
- Basic$15 a month
- Premium$25 a month
- Team$2,500 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
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.
Webflow CMS
Webflow CMS is a hosted content management system for building dynamic websites and editing content on a visual canvas. Teams can see changes rendered in real time, organize items into Collections that share a template, and use draft previews, publishing controls, comments, and on-canvas editing. SEO tools cover metadata and alt text, and Webflow supports localized site experiences. Its headless CMS APIs serve content in and out of Webflow and connect external tools. The browser-based service includes a media library, custom content types, and user roles. The free Starter plan includes a Webflow.io domain, limited CMS, 2 static pages, 1 GB bandwidth, and 50 form submissions. Paid plans start at $25 a month billed yearly; the Premium plan supports 20,000 CMS items and 40 Collections. Webflow supports the last three major versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari, but not Internet Explorer. Code export can include HTML and CSS, while dynamic CMS items and pages cannot be exported.