Keystatic vs Kiln

Keystatic8.7Visit Kiln8.5Visit

Higher score Keystatic #7 in Git-Based CMS 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 2 features Visit Keystatic

vs

Kiln #9 in Git-Based CMS 8.5/10 Free plan · 7-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 2 of 2 features Visit Kiln

• Keystatic fits best

  Developers building structured framework sites

• Kiln fits best

  Low-cost sites needing approvals and versions

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Side by side

Feature	Keystatic 8.7/10 Visit ↗	Kiln 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.7	8.5
Ranking	#7 in Git-Based CMS	#9 in Git-Based CMS
Best for	Developers building structured framework sites	Low-cost sites needing approvals and versions
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	$10/mo	$4.99/site/mo (best)
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	7 days
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Integrations	4 integrations	7 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market	Solo, Small business, Mid-market
Features Keystatic 2/2 · Kiln 2/2
Visual editor	✓	✓
Live preview	✓	✓
Specs
Git providers	Github	Github
Content workflow	Branching	Approval
Media management	Advanced	Advanced
Deployment method	Git_commit	Git_commit
Hosting model	Both	Both
Our review
Pros	Structured collections, singletons, rich text and component blocks Works with Next.js, Astro and Remix Free plan with GitHub storage and live previews	Free forever self-hosted plan under AGPL-3.0 Inline editing with drafts, scheduling, approvals, and comments Named versions, restore previews, and advanced media handling
Cons	Git-provider coverage is limited to GitHub The core repository is marked experimental by the vendor Cloud Images and multi-player editing require Pro	Git-provider support is limited to GitHub Self-hosting requires running the worker and GitHub App Managed pricing is charged per site per month
Our verdict	Keystatic is an open-source CMS for developers managing Markdown, YAML, JSON, Markdoc and MDX content in a codebase or GitHub repository. Its web-based Admin UI supports configurable collections and singletons, rich-text editing, component… Read the review →	Kiln is an open-source CMS for static websites that lets editors change text and media directly on the page. Content is stored as plain HTML or content files in a GitHub repository, and each publish is recorded as a Git commit. It is… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Keystatic — where it wins

  • Structured collections, singletons, rich text and component blocks
  • Works with Next.js, Astro and Remix
  • Free plan with GitHub storage and live previews

  Where it doesn't

  • Git-provider coverage is limited to GitHub
  • The core repository is marked experimental by the vendor
  • Cloud Images and multi-player editing require Pro

• Kiln — where it wins

  • Free forever self-hosted plan under AGPL-3.0
  • Inline editing with drafts, scheduling, approvals, and comments
  • Named versions, restore previews, and advanced media handling

  Where it doesn't

  • Git-provider support is limited to GitHub
  • Self-hosting requires running the worker and GitHub App
  • Managed pricing is charged per site per month

• Keystatic8.7/10 · Free plan

  A structured, open-source CMS for developers building framework-based sites.

  Visit KeystaticFull verdict →
• Kiln8.5/10 · Free plan · 7-day trial

  A low-cost Git-based CMS with visual editing, approvals, and version control.

  Visit KilnFull verdict →