Decap CMS vs TinaCMS
Our score, every feature we track, pricing plans, hosting and AI, side by side.
At a glance
The facts from each platform's profile, side by side.
| Metric | Decap CMS | TinaCMS |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 3.8 | 4 |
| Pricing | Free (MIT) · Decap Turbo Pro €19/mo for 5 seats | Free for 2 users · Team $29/mo per project ($290/yr) · Business $299/mo |
| AI | None shipped yet; a CLI and MCP server for AI agents are on the Turbo roadmap | None shipped yet; an MCP server and AI content checks are on the roadmap |
| Hosting | SaaS or self-hosted | SaaS or self-hosted |
| Source code | Open source,Closed source | Open source,Closed source |
| Created | 2015Netlify CMS | 2019 |
| Best for | Static sites on Hugo, Eleventy or Jekyll that want free form-based editing in Git | Developer-led teams on Next.js or Astro who want visual editing over Markdown in Git |
| AI features | None shipped yet; a CLI and MCP server for AI agents are on the Turbo roadmap | None shipped yet; an MCP server and AI content checks are on the roadmap |
Features
How each platform offers a feature: free, in the cheapest paid plan, on a higher plan, or enterprise only. Open a feature to compare it across every platform.
Decap CMS
- Editorial workflow Free Draft, review and publish, with deploy previews
- Git-based content Free GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Bitbucket and Azure
- Hosting Tiered Decap Turbo Pro hosts login and a faster content store, 19 EUR/mo for 1 site and 5 seats
- Live preview Free Side-pane preview built with React templates
- Localization Free Options for multilingual content
- Markdown editor Free Structured fields plus a Markdown editor
- Plugins and apps Free Custom widgets
- Roles and permissions Tiered Custom roles add-on on Decap Turbo, 19 EUR/mo
TinaCMS
- Editorial workflow Tiered Team plan, from $29/mo per project
- Git-based content Free Files stay in your GitHub repository
- GraphQL API Free GraphQL content API on top of your Git files
- Hosting Free TinaCloud free plan: 2 users, unlimited projects
- Markdown editor Free Markdown, MDX and JSON
- Self-hosting Free Modular, but some TinaCloud features are not available
- Visual editing Free Visual editing for React sites, live editing in Astro
Pricing
Every plan, cheapest first, and what the bill is counted by. Open a profile for what each plan includes.
Decap CMS
- Decap CMS (open source)Free Free Developers who self-host a Git-based CMS
- Turbo FreeFree Free One editor who wants hosted sign-in
- Turbo ProFlat fee €19/ month Editorial teams on one or a few sites
- Turbo EnterpriseCustom quote Custom Organizations with many sites and editors
Prices checked Vendor pricing page
TinaCMS
- FreeFree Free Trying TinaCMS or small personal sites
- TeamPer project $29per project / month Growing teams on one project
- BusinessPer project $299per project / month Larger teams that need priority support
- EnterpriseCustom quote Custom Organizations with many projects
Prices checked Vendor pricing page
Strengths and watch-outs
From our review of each platform.
Decap CMS
Strengths
- Free under the MIT licence, with a large community.
- Works with GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Bitbucket and Azure.
- Built-in draft, review and publish workflow, and options for multilingual content.
- Actively maintained, with regular releases.
Watch out for
- Self-hosted setups need their own login and backend.
- Large collections can hit GitHub or GitLab API limits unless you use Turbo.
- Preview is a side pane built with React templates, not editing on the page.
- Turbo is priced in euros and billed monthly only.
TinaCMS
Strengths
- Content stays in your Git repository as plain files, with no database lock-in.
- Visual editing for React sites, and live editing in Astro.
- Apache 2.0 licence and very active development.
- Self-hosting is modular: login, database and Git provider can each be swapped.
Watch out for
- Paid plans are priced per project, and the editorial workflow starts on the Team plan.
- Some TinaCloud features are not available when you host it yourself.
- AI tools, including an MCP server, are on the roadmap, not shipped.
- The pricing page showed two sets of prices when we checked, so confirm before you buy.
More comparisons
Everything on this page comes from our profiles of the two platforms, checked against each vendor's own documentation and pricing pages. Vendors change plans often: confirm prices on their site before you buy.