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CMS

Free Contentful alternatives

Contentful (Headless content platform for digital teams) is a commercial product. These 3 tools do the same job and are free to use or to self-host.
Short answer: the best free alternatives to Contentful are Strapi, Payload and Directus. Self-hosting is free; you pay only for the server (a small VPS is about $4–6/mo). Licenses and prices checked 2026-10-01.
  1. 1
    Strapi

    Open-source headless CMS

    Headless CMS for Node.js; the Community Edition is free.

    Open source (MIT (core)) ·details

  2. 2
    Payload

    Open-source Next.js-native headless CMS

    Code-first headless CMS for Next.js.

    Open source (MIT) ·details

  3. 3
    Directus

    Headless CMS and data platform on top of any SQL database

    Data platform and headless CMS on any SQL database; check the license for commercial use.

    Source-available (MSCL-1.0-GPL) ·details

Want paid options too? See all Contentful alternatives or the full free alternatives list.

FAQ

Is there a free alternative to Contentful?+

Yes. Strapi, Payload and Directus do the same job for free; Strapi and Payload are open source.

What is the best open-source alternative to Contentful?+

Strapi and Payload are open source. Strapi: Headless CMS for Node.js; the Community Edition is free.

Are these Contentful alternatives open source?+

Strapi and Payload are under OSI-approved licenses. Directus (MSCL-1.0-GPL) is source-available: free to self-host, with limits in the license.

Open source: OSI-approved license. Free to self-host: the code is public and free to run yourself, with limits in the license.