Best Headless CMS tools by public signals

These picks are computed from scored public evidence. Use the openness column in the ranking to separate OSI-approved, source-available, open-core, proprietary, and unverified-license tools.

Use Case Rankings

Ordered by ToolVitals score, health, shipping, confidence, and then adoption as a tie-breaker.

#ToolHealthShippingOpennessStarsScoreStatus
01Strapi
🚀 Strapi is the leading open-source headless CMS. It’s 100% JavaScript/TypeScript, fully customizable, and developer-first.
100100OSI-approved OSS72.7k100Active
02Directus
The flexible backend for all your projects 🐰 Turn your DB into a headless CMS, admin panels, or apps with a custom UI, instant APIs, auth & more.
9895License unknown36.9k98Active
03Sanity
Sanity Studio – Rapidly configure content workspaces powered by structured content
9698OSI-approved OSS6.2k98Active
04TinaCMS
A fully open-source headless CMS that supports Markdown and Visual Editing
95100OSI-approved OSS13.7k98Active
05Statamic
The core Laravel CMS Composer package
93100License unknown4.9k96Active
06Sulu
Modern Symfony based CMS
9387OSI-approved OSS1.3k93Active
07Webiny
Open-source, self-hosted CMS platform on AWS serverless (Lambda, DynamoDB, S3). TypeScript framework with multi-tenancy, lifecycle hooks, GraphQL API, and AI-assisted development via MCP server. Built for developers at large organizations.
9090OSI-approved OSS8k93Active
08Payload
Payload is the open-source, fullstack Next.js framework, giving you instant backend superpowers. Get a full TypeScript backend and admin panel instantly. Use Payload as a headless CMS or for building powerful applications.
9089OSI-approved OSS43.9k92Active
09Enonic XP
Enonic XP is an source-visible Java tool tracked for headless cms signals, maintenance activity, and public release evidence.
9086OSI-approved OSS21091Active
10SonicJS
SonicJS - The edge-native headless CMS for Cloudflare Workers. Sub-100ms response times, zero cold starts, TypeScript-first. Built on D1, R2, and Hono.
8493OSI-approved OSS1.7k91Active
11Sveltia CMS
Git-based headless CMS. Successor to Netlify CMS (now Decap CMS). Modern UX, first-class i18n support, mobile support + 100s of improvements. Framework-agnostic, open source & free.
8393OSI-approved OSS2.6k91Active
12DNN Platform
Open-source web content management platform.
8587OSI-approved OSS1.1k89Active
13Gentics Mesh
Gentics Mesh - The open source headless CMS for developers
8480OSI-approved OSS59487Active
14AWCMS
Enterprise-grade, multi-tenant, ABAC-secured CMS.
8183OSI-approved OSS1286Active
15pagible
Easy, flexible and powerful cloud-native Laravel CMS package powered by AI with JSON:API, GraphQL API, templates, and themes
7988OSI-approved OSS57186Active
16Contentful
JavaScript library for Contentful's Delivery API (node & browser)
9065OSI-approved OSS1.3k85Active
17Bolt CMS
🧿 Bolt core
7969OSI-approved OSS58980Active
18FireCMS
Firebase and Firestore-based CMS and admin panel for managing application content.
7670License unknown1.3k80Active
19Atomic Server
An open source headless CMS / real-time database. Powerful table editor, full-text search, and SDKs for JS / React / Svelte.
7376OSI-approved OSS1.6k79Warning
20ApostropheCMS
A full-featured, open-source content management framework built with Node.js that empowers organizations by combining in-context editing and headless architecture in a full-stack JS environment.
7456License unknown4.6k75Warning
21Archival
Content-first, database-free website builder and CMS.
7161License unknown874Warning
22Twill
Twill is an open source CMS toolkit for Laravel that helps developers rapidly create a custom admin console that is intuitive, powerful and flexible. Chat with us on Discord at https://discord.gg/cnWk7EFv8R.
7437OSI-approved OSS4k69Warning
23Concrete
CMS for teams
7342OSI-approved OSS85069Warning
24Vrite
Open-source developer content platform
6425OSI-approved OSS2k60Warning
25Squidex
Headless CMS and Content Managment Hub
6712OSI-approved OSS2.5k57Warning
26MZinga
MZinga is a modern, modular Content Management System (CMS) built on top of Payload CMS, designed for high extensibility and seamless integration with MongoDB, Redis, and RabbitMQ. Tailored for SaaS and enterprise environments, MZinga provides a scalable, secure, and developer-friendly platform for managing complex applications and workflows.
5925OSI-approved OSS855Warning
27FormCMS
AI Agent: Open-source headless CMS built with ASP.NET Core (C#) and React, featuring REST APIs, GraphQL, and a GrapesJS page designer.
4920OSI-approved OSS26650Critical
28DoraCMS
DoraCMS 是一个基于 EggJS 3.x + Vue 3 + TypeScript 的现代化内容管理系统,采用 pnpm monorepo 架构管理。它不仅仅是一个 CMS 系统,更是一个优秀的企业级应用架构实践。
5614OSI-approved OSS3.5k49Warning
29BCMS
⭐️ BCMS is a Headless CMS for developers & their clients. Works nicely with Gatsby, Next.js & Nuxt. This is an open-source version for self-hosting.
517OSI-approved OSS46248Warning
30LeadCMS
AI-powered CMS and CRM for SaaS teams to build landing pages and manage content.
4111OSI-approved OSS3644Critical
31mave-cms
A Flexible, Scalable, and Open-Source Headless CMS Built on MACH Architecture
430OSI-approved OSS739Critical
32cms
SSCMS 基于 .NET Core,能够以最低的成本、最少的人力投入在最短的时间内架设一个功能齐全、性能优异、规模庞大并易于维护的网站平台。链接是SSCMS推出的全新AI视频开源社区:献丑AI
360OSI-approved OSS3.9k38Critical
33VaahCMS
Laravel-based open-source web application development platform with headless CMS.
300OSI-approved OSS57532Critical
34OpenMark Blog
Modern open-source blogging platform with a scalable technology stack.
280License unknown132Critical
35Mixcore
🚀 A future-proof enterprise web CMS supporting both headless and decoupled approaches. Build any type of app with customizable APIs on ASP.NET Core/.NET Core. Completely open-source and designed for flexibility. Since 2018.
280OSI-approved OSS88731Critical
36HashBrown CMS
A free and open-source headless CMS.
280OSI-approved OSS15831Critical
37Burdy
Most advanced open-source Headless CMS built in NodeJS and React. Written in Typescript!
280OSI-approved OSS23330Critical
38bhd-cms
bhd - an open source headless CMS inspired by Storyblok.
190OSI-approved OSS126Critical

Evidence Watch

Tracked tools with useful public signals but no verdict score yet.

Astropress

Privacy-first website builder with built-in admin and portable hosting.

89 confidence

b10cks CMS

Opinionated headless CMS based on Laravel and Vue.

100 confidence

Backdrop CMS

Open source CMS core code repository.

97 confidence

Blogifier

Open-source publishing platform written in ASP.NET and Blazor WebAssembly.

73 confidence

Byline CMS

Headless, fast, AI-first CMS.

100 confidence

CairnCMS

Self-hosted headless CMS with REST and GraphQL APIs plus admin app.

100 confidence

Cockpit CMS

Add content management functionality to any site - plug & play / headless / api-first CMS

76 confidence

content

The file-based CMS for your Nuxt application, powered by Markdown and Vue components.

100 confidence

Content Flow

Open-source content management system for developers who want flexibility and control.

68 confidence

Contentive

Open-source headless CMS.

78 confidence

Contentport

Open-source content platform for technical founders.

73 confidence

Craft CMS

Content management system for bespoke content experiences.

100 confidence

Daptin

Daptin - Backend As A Service - GraphQL/JSON-API Headless CMS

94 confidence

Decap CMS

A Git-based CMS for Static Site Generators

100 confidence

dotCMS

Visual headless content management system for enterprises.

100 confidence

HonoHub

A headless CMS framework using Hono + Drizzle + Zod + Vite

88 confidence

Keystone

The superpowered headless CMS for Node.js — built with GraphQL and React

100 confidence

LinkBCMS

Open-source Next.js framework with a type-safe configuration and instant admin panel.

72 confidence

Nodify

Developer-first headless CMS with REST and GraphQL APIs.

88 confidence

openblog

Feature-rich open source blog platform with community features.

81 confidence

OpenDXP

Open source platform for digital experiences connecting PIM, DAM, headless CMS, and composable commerce.

86 confidence

Outstatic

CMS for Markdown stored in GitHub repositories.

100 confidence

Pages CMS

GitHub-backed CMS for managing content and media in repositories.

90 confidence

SkyCMS

Open-source CMS for developers.

72 confidence