Developer tools · Updated October 2026
Contentful is a hosted headless CMS for managing content behind websites and apps. If you would rather own your tools, here are 6 open source alternatives to Contentful, ranked by GitHub stars. Each one is free to use under its license, and you can read, change, and often self-host the code.
The most popular is Strapi with 73.4k stars, and the most recently updated is Webiny, with a commit on Oct 21, 2026.
by strapi
🚀 Strapi is the leading open-source headless CMS. It’s 100% JavaScript/TypeScript, fully customizable, and developer-first.
by payloadcms
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 buildi…
by directus
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.
by tinacms
TinaCMS is the leading open-source headless CMS that supports Markdown and Visual Editing. Your content is stored in your own GitHub repo 🦙 ❤️
by keystonejs
The superpowered headless CMS for Node.js — built with GraphQL and React
by webiny
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. Bu…
By GitHub stars, Strapi is the most popular open source alternative to Contentful right now, with 73.4k stars, followed by Payload and Directus. The best fit depends on your setup, so compare their licenses, languages, and recent activity in the table above.
Yes. All 6 projects on this page are open source, so the software itself is free to use, study, and change. Some of them also sell a hosted version or paid support.
Webiny (last commit Oct 21, 2026), Payload (last commit Oct 21, 2026), and Strapi (last commit Oct 21, 2026) have the most recent commits. Licenses on this list include MIT and Apache-2.0.
Strapi
Payload
Directus
TinaCMS
Keystone
Webiny