The Top 10 Headless Content Management Systems (CMS)

Discover the top headless Content Management Systems (CMSs). Explore features such as content modeling, collaboration tools, APIs and integrations, extensibility, and security.

Last updated on Nov 28, 2024

Written by Caitlin Harris

The Top 10 Headless Content Management Systems include:

1. Wix Studio
2. Contentful
3. Contentstack Headless CMS
4. Directus
5. Ghost
6. Kontent.ai
7. Prismic
8. Sanity Composable Content Cloud
9. Storyblok
10. Strapi

A Content Management System (CMS) is a type of software that enables non-technical users to create, manage, and publish content online. A headless CMS is a backend-only CMS—the content is decoupled from any type of front-end platform. This means editors create their content in the backend and can publish it to any application or device using APIs.

The Challenge: A standard CMS is great for building content for a website, but that content isn’t always compatible with other applications or devices, such as mobile apps or smart watches. This means editors have to fine-tune each piece of content they publish to make it accessible on these other devices.

How A Headless CMS Works: Think of your CMS as a person. Your data makes up the body, and end users access that data by interacting with the “head”; i.e., a website or app where you’re presenting the data. A headless CMS isn’t connected to a website or front-end web interface; in other words, it doesn’t have a “head”. Instead, a headless CMS uses APIs to enable users to publish one piece of content across multiple platforms, without being tied to a specific delivery system.

In this shortlist, we’ll highlight:

The best headless CMSs designed to help users create, manage, and publish content across any digital channel
Standout features of each solution
Who they are best suited for

To learn more about headless CMS and how it works, head to our FAQs section at the end of this article.

Wix Studio

Wix Studio is a content management platform designed for enterprises and agencies. Within the platform, Wix offers content design capabilities, development tools, and business management tools—including Wix Headless, a headless CMS.

What We Like: Agencies can collaborate easily with clients, allowing the client to manage their content via desktop or mobile app—without compromising the integrity of the agency’s design.

Best Features:

You can manage multiple business solutions from one dashboard
Intuitive, no-code interface for managing backend operations, business applications, and site content
Content presets, templates, and “from scratch” creation
Supports manual and CSV upload of text, images, and rich content
Integrations with frontend frameworks and server-side technologies via RESTful API
Wix Data APIs extend the CMS’ functionality (e.g., with filters and sorting, querying, hooks, and data aggregation)

We Recommend: Wix Studio is a strong option for any organization looking for a headless CMS as part of a wider content management platform. While Wix Studio does offer a free option, the Premium Plan offers advanced enterprise capabilities such as in-depth analytics, custom domains, and the ability to receive payments.

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Contentful

Contentful is a headless CMS that enables users to create, manage, standardize, and deliver high-speed, reliable digital experiences across any channel.

What We Like: This solution enables users to publish content for any platform, in any time-zone or location, at the click of a button.

Best Features:

Content taxonomy enables teams to manage content by multi-brand, use cases, regions, and channels
Pre-built and custom filters for easy content search
Live content visualization and optimization
Localized URL previews enable editors to work in languages other than their default
Role-based access controls and single sign-on
EU data residency

We Recommend: While Contentful does offer a free plan for individuals, its robust feature set—in particular its data residency and localization features—makes it well suited to large enterprises operating globally.

Contentstack Headless CMS

Contentstack offers an API-first, cloud-native headless CMS that enables users to create engaging, high-quality web content.

What We Like: Thanks to its drag-and-drop interface and live preview features, Contentstack makes it very easy to create and edit content.

Best Features:

Extensible content workflows automate and streamline content creation, review, approval, and publication processes
Modular blocks and drag-and-drop editor for creating and modifying page/app components
Live preview enables real-time content visualization
Enables users to adjust content for different audience segments
Role-based access controls, single sign-on, two-factor authentication, and a 256-bit encrypted content store

We Recommend: Contentstack is a strong headless CMS for mid-size and large enterprises looking for a solution with an intuitive interface to boost productivity. Its advanced security features make it well-suited to the finance and e-commerce industries.

Directus

Directus is a composable data platform that can be used to build a headless CMS or Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS), allowing teams to manage and deliver content across diverse platforms and devices. It enables seamless integration with existing tech stacks and provides robust content management features.

What We Like: Directus integrates effortlessly with your preferred frameworks and tools. Its built-in digital asset manager and automation capabilities streamline content management and distribution.

Best Features:

Customizable content editor with versioning and live preview
Built-in digital asset manager with folders, tagging, bookmarks, metadata scraping for improved searchability, and advanced image editing
Role-based access controls, IP allow lists, and configurable public access
Automated content workflows

We Recommend: Directus is a strong solution for organizations of all sizes looking to efficiently manage and deliver content without being limited by predefined tools or tech stacks. Its asset management capabilities make it ideal for teams working with complex content structures and workflows.

Ghost

Ghost is a dynamic app for professional publishers focused on content creation, website building, newsletter distribution, and paid subscriptions.

What We Like: Ghost provides complete control over branding and design with advanced tools specifically for professional creators. It also simplifies the process of monetizing content, with easy membership and subscription features.

Best Features:

Customizable website design with extensive pre-built theme options
Advanced editor supports images, gifs, video, audio, products, info boxes, accordion toggles, downloadable files, and bookmarks
Built-in newsletter functionality with audience segmentation
Detailed engagement analytics and membership management

We Recommend: Ghost is well-suited to professional publishers and creators seeking an all-in-one platform to publish, monetize, and manage their content with full control over their brand.

Kontent.ai

Kontent.ai, previously Kontent by Kentico, is a leading headless CMS that enables users to plan, create, and deliver intuitive, engaging digital experiences across any channel.

What We Like: Thanks to its user-friendly interface, intuitive taxonomies, and high levels of customization, Kontent.ai makes it easy for teams to manage and navigate large quantities of content.

Best Features:

Taxonomies group content and assets to make them easily searchable, with AI-powered auto-tagging
Content modeling structures content into reusable pieces and elements
“Mission Control” provides reports on content and team progress and performance—directly within the CMS
Customizable rules of engagement specify which authors can or cannot use specific content and assets
Delivers content across all digital channels via RESTful API, with support for any development software
SOC 2, ISO 27001, and 27017 certified
Localization in 24 languages

We Recommend: Kontent.ai is a strong headless CMS for marketing and development teams within large enterprises, looking for an advanced—yet user-friendly—CMS that facilitates omnichannel delivery effectively.

Prismic

Prismic is a headless page builder for Next.js, Nuxt, and SvelteKit sites. It enables marketers to quickly build and release on-brand pages, with components built locally by their development team.

What We Like: The platform’s pre-built, reusable components make it easy for marketing teams to independently create and update pages.

Best Features:

Next, Nuxt, and SvelteKit integrations allow developers to build web components locally and ship them directly into the Prismic platform
Visual page builder for page creation and editing
Reusable page sections (“slices”) that can be re-used in the editing interface and in code
Live editing allows users to visualize changes in real-time before publishing
Content schedule allows users to release individual pages or grouped changes at a specific date and time
Media library simplifies management of media assets

We Recommend: Prismic is a strong solution for tech-savvy marketing teams and developers looking for a streamlined content management system that supports rapid page creation and updates.

Sanity Composable Content Cloud

Sanity Composable Content Cloud is an API-first platform that combines a fully decoupled, real-time content backend with customizable workspaces.

What We Like: This solution makes content accessible and scalable; it syncs content from across the entire organization, storing it as JSON and treating it like data to give teams a single source of truth for all their content.

Best Features:

Fully customizable workspaces for content creation and editing, with real-time collaboration and intelligent image editing
API integrations with any content source for improved interoperability
Customizable, serverless webhook payloads
Cloud-hosted and fully-managed Content Lake creates a single, readily available content library

We Recommend: Sanity Composable Content Cloud is well-suited to organizations looking to enhance their customer engagement through a highly customizable and scalable content management system that integrates easily with other technologies.

Storyblok

Storyblok is a scalable content management platform designed to optimize and deliver engaging content across multiple channels, ensuring a unique and compelling customer experience.

What We Like: Storyblok offers lots of features to support collaboration, enhancing team efficiency and creativity.

Best Features:

Visual editor with integrated collaboration workflows
Robust collaboration tools including in-app discussions, component-level comments, and an “Ideation Room” where users can share ideas and create collaboratively
Centralizes and consolidates content and asset management within a single hub
Reusable modular components ensure consistent branding and speed up development
Frontend SDKs and global CDN enable seamless integrations and fast and reliable content delivery, worldwide
ISO 27001 certified

We Recommend: Storyblok is a unified platform that enables users to create content efficiently and deliver it globally. This makes it a strong fit for marketing teams, content creators, and developers in medium to large enterprises.

Strapi

Strapi is an open-source headless CMS that enables developers to build customizable content APIs using JavaScript/TypeScript.

What We Like: Strapi’s flexibility allows complete customization of the admin panel and API; this means developers can work with their favorite tools and frameworks, while editors can easily manage content and deliver it any end user, anywhere.

Best Features:

Fully customizable admin panel and API, with extensive options for custom plugins
Flexible content structures that allow users to easily define models and add relations
Supports all content types
Supports both RESTful and GraphQL APIs
Open-source with GitHub contributions
Supports on-prem, public cloud, or PaaS deployment, as well as offering a fully-managed service via Strapi Cloud

We Recommend: Strapi is a strong solution for developers and IT managers looking for a highly customizable content management system that will integrate with a modern tech stack. It’s particularly well-suited to teams that want control over their infrastructure without vendor lock-in.

The Top 10 Headless Content Management Systems (CMS)

Everything You Need to Know About Headless Content Management Systems (FAQs)

How Does A Headless CMS Work?

Headless CMS platforms work slightly differently to traditional CMSs. When you use a traditional CMS like WordPress, you create content in a backend WordPress database, which is then posted to your frontend WordPress website.

Just like a traditional CMS, headless CMSs have an interface where users can create, edit, and manage articles—but they don’t have a content delivery layer, or frontend.

Without this dedicated frontend, a headless CMS publishes content by making it accessible to any designated frontend delivery layer through API calls.

These delivery layers, or “heads”, can be pretty much any interface via which end users will interact with the content, including websites, mobile apps, or even IoT devices.

This means that a headless CMS gives you slightly less control over how your content looks once published, but it also allows you to publish content anywhere and everywhere it can reach end users, giving you access to a much wider audience.

What Features Should You Look For In A Headless CMS?

Here are the top features to look for when comparing headless CMSs:

API-first approach: Make sure the CMS provides strong and flexible APIs (REST, GraphQL) to enable easy content retrieval and manipulation. It should also offer comprehensive and clear API documentation.
Content modeling: You should be able to create and manage different content types and structures according to your project’s needs and define relationships and hierarchies between different content types.
Multi-channel support: Your CMS should deliver content seamlessly across multiple platforms and devices (web, mobile, IoT, etc.). If you have a global audience, you should also look for support for content translation and localization.
Collaboration: Look for granular permissions and role management to ensure the right users have appropriate access levels, and features that facilitate team collaboration, such as commenting, version control, and workflow management.
Scalability and performance: Your CMS should offer fast content delivery and quick API responses, particularly if you have a high-traffic site. It should also be able to scale as your content and traffic grow, including support for CDN integration.
Security: Look for robust encryption and authentication measures to protect your content against unauthorized access. You should also make sure the solution complies with any data protection regulations relevant to your organization (e.g., GDPR).
Extensibility and customization: Check what plugins, integrations, and custom code are available to extend the functionality of your CMS. You should also be able to create custom workflows to match your specific content creation and approval processes.
Ease of use: If your CMS is difficult to use, it’ll have a big impact on productivity; make sure it has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface for content creators and editors.
Integrations: Make sure your CMS is compatible with any other tools and services you’re using, such as analytics, marketing automation, CRM, and e-commerce platforms. It should also offer support for webhooks to automate and streamline processes by triggering actions in response to content changes.
Support and community: Make sure the provider offers reliable customer support, including documentation, forums, and direct assistance. You should also look for a solution with an active community that can provide assistance, plugins, and advice.
Content migration and backup: Look for tools and support for migrating content from an existing CMS to the new headless CMS, as well as features for regular content backups and easy restoration to prevent data loss.

Caitlin Harris

Deputy Head Of Content

Caitlin Harris is Deputy Head of Content at Expert Insights. Caitlin is an experienced writer and journalist, with years of experience producing award-winning technical training materials and journalistic content. Caitlin holds a First Class BA in English Literature and German, and provides our content team with strategic editorial guidance as well as carrying out detailed research to create articles that are accurate, engaging and relevant. Caitlin co-hosts the Expert Insights Podcast, where she interviews world-leading B2B tech experts.