With so many CMS options available, choosing the right one for your Astro project can be challenging. After gathering insights from the community, here’s a breakdown of the most mentioned CMS solutions, their strengths, weaknesses, and user opinions.
Git-Based CMSs
These CMSs store content in a Git repository and trigger site rebuilds upon content changes.
DecapCMS (formerly Netlify CMS)
- Pros: Easy to set up, free, Git-based, editorial workflow support, integrates well with Netlify.
- Cons: Vendor lock-in with Netlify for authentication, poor mobile UI, limited live preview capabilities.
- User Opinions:
- "DecapCMS works well, but I don’t like the authentication dependency on Netlify."
- "I chose DecapCMS for its editorial workflow and ease of use."
- Pros: Git-based, integrates with Vercel, free cloud-based editor, live preview.
- Cons: Paid plan required for editorial workflow, React-based, some issues with sorting.
- User Opinions:
- "TinaCMS is easy to set up, but image handling can be tricky."
- "Self-hosting TinaCMS was difficult."
- Pros: Git-based, good integration with Astro content collections, self-hostable.
- Cons: Requires GitHub authentication, lacks live preview.
- User Opinions:
- "Great for Astro but missing live preview."
- "Managing media in Keystatic is a hassle unless you pay."
- Pros: Built with Svelte, extends DecapCMS, additional features like DeepL translation.
- Cons: Editor is still being improved, lacks MDX support.
- User Opinions:
- "Looks promising, excited to try it."
- Pros: Native app for Astro content collections, developer-friendly.
- Cons: Mac-only, requires Git knowledge, lacks a web version (in development).
- User Opinions:
- "Cool idea, but difficult for non-technical clients."
- Pros: Git-based, lightweight, integrates directly with Git repositories.
- Cons: Still very new, limited free plan, fewer integrations.
- User Opinions:
- "A simple, straightforward Git-based CMS option."
- Pros: VS Code extension for managing Markdown-based content, integrates with Git.
- Cons: Requires VS Code, limited to file-based workflows.
- User Opinions:
- "Perfect for developers who want a local CMS experience."
API-Based / Headless CMSs
These CMSs provide an API for fetching content dynamically.
- Pros: Free tier (250k API requests/month), powerful querying (GROQ), webhook support.
- Cons: Requires React for full use, some complexity in setup.
- User Opinions:
- "Great if you don’t mind React; free tier is generous."
- "Sanity’s GROQ queries take some getting used to."
- Pros: Powerful visual editor, structured content, API-based.
- Cons: Overkill for simple blogs.
- User Opinions:
- "Too much for just CRUD blog posts."
- Pros: Open-source, API-first, real-time collaboration features.
- Cons: Requires hosting, slightly complex setup.
- User Opinions:
- "Great API-based CMS with real-time features."
- Pros: Lightweight, self-hostable, integrates database and authentication.
- Cons: Less feature-rich compared to full-fledged CMSs.
- User Opinions:
- "Great for small projects needing a simple backend."
- Pros: Lightweight, PHP-based, flexible.
- Cons: Less modern than other options.
- Pros: No-code platform with advanced design tools, built-in hosting.
- Cons: Limited customization compared to fully headless solutions.
- User Opinions:
- "Great for designers needing a quick setup."
Database-Driven CMSs
These CMSs store content in a database instead of Git.
- Pros: Fully customizable, Vue-based, self-hostable, supports complex workflows.
- Cons: More complex than Git-based CMSs.
- User Opinions:
- "Perfect for projects that need more than a CMS."
- Pros: TypeScript-based, developer-friendly, highly extendable.
- Cons: Requires significant setup, React-based.
- User Opinions:
- "Powerful but too much setup for smaller projects."
- Pros: Established, well-documented API.
- Cons: Not built for Astro natively.
- User Opinions:
- "A quick backend solution but not the most intuitive."
- Pros: Highly customizable, enterprise-grade security, strong community support.
- Cons: Steeper learning curve, requires maintenance.
- User Opinions:
- "Powerful but has a learning curve."
- Pros: Database-driven (Postgres/MongoDB), customizable UI, flexible layout system.
- Cons: Requires setup and hosting.
- Pros: Tight integration with Astro, combines static and dynamic content options.
- Cons: Still in development.
- User Opinions:
- "Excited to see how this develops!"
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right CMS depends on your project’s needs:
- For Non-Technical Clients: DecapCMS, Sanity, and Keystatic.
- For Devs Wanting Control: Payload, Directus, or a custom-built solution.
- For Self-Hosting: Keystatic, Directus, Kirby, PocketBase.
- For Git-Based Workflow: DecapCMS, TinaCMS, Keystatic, GitCMS.
- For API-Based Flexibility: Sanity, Directus, Payload, Squidex.
- For DB-Backed: Keystone, Drupal, StudioCMS.
What’s your preferred CMS for Astro? Have you had any positive or negative experiences with the ones listed above? Share your thoughts below!
