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The AI stack

The whole five-layer mapL3InfrastructureL4Models & toolingL5Applications

Categories

Local & Sovereign AINotes & KnowledgeObservability & MonitoringPassword ManagersWeb AnalyticsTeam ChatSmart HomeNetworking & RoutersVideo ConferencingCloud Storage & SyncPhotos & MediaAPI DevelopmentImage EditingWorkflow Automation & iPaaSDeveloper Tools & ContainersOffice & Productivity SuitesNo-Code DatabasesCode Hosting & Git ForgesProject ManagementEmail Marketing & NewslettersScheduling & BookingError Tracking & Exception MonitoringLog Management & SIEMVPN & PrivacyEmail & Secure MailVector Databases & AI SearchLLM & Agent FrameworksDomains & Web HostingData Removal & PrivacyAuthentication & IdentityHelp Desk & Customer SupportCloud & VPSKubernetes & Container PlatformsEmbedding ModelsPDF & DocumentsAI Coding AssistantsAI Voice & SpeechLLM Observability & EvaluationLLM Gateways & RoutingCloud GPU & AI ComputeCI/CD & build automationData & pipeline orchestrationModel serving & inferenceAI agent frameworksBackend as a serviceSecrets managementFeature flags & experimentationProduct analyticsSearch infrastructureUptime & status monitoringAffiliate & partner platformsVisitor identification & personalisationWikis & internal docsIdentity & access managementData warehouses & analytics enginesCustomer data platformsCRMObject storageBI & dashboardsE-signatureWhiteboards & diagrammingIn-memory data stores & cachingPlatform as a serviceTransactional & bulk emailHeadless CMSDesign & prototypingE-commerce platformsInternal tools & admin panelsManaged databasesForms & surveysFine-Tuning & Model TrainingRAG & Retrieval PlatformsLLM Evaluation & TestingAI Guardrails & Content SafetySpeech Recognition & TranscriptionExperiment Tracking & ML OpsDocument AI & OCR

About

How we rank & score
Best of · 5 tools ranked

The best Headless CMS

Every option ranked — open-source, self-hostable, and commercial — by our transparent Sovereignty Score, with honest trade-offs so you choose what fits you, not us.

Content as an API, with the front end left to you. Priced per record, per seat and per API call — three meters on the same content.

L5Applications — layer 5 of the AI stack
  1. 1

    Directus

    Top pickCommercial

    An instant API and admin app over any SQL database you already have.

    Free to self-host under the BSL revenue threshold. Directus Cloud and commercial licences are paid. · in our Contentful comparison →

    72
    sovereignty
    What is Directus? →
  2. 2

    Markdown files in Git

    Open source

    For developer-owned content, the CMS may be the thing to remove.

    Free. There is nothing to host. · in our Contentful comparison →

    99
    sovereignty
    What is Markdown files in Git? →
  3. 3

    Ghost

    Open source

    If it is a publication rather than an app, this is probably the answer.

    Free and open source to self-host. Ghost(Pro) hosting is paid. · in our Contentful comparison →

    95
    sovereignty
    What is Ghost? →
  4. 4

    Payload

    Open source

    A CMS that installs into your Next.js app rather than beside it.

    Free and open source. Payload Cloud is an optional paid hosted tier. · in our Contentful comparison →

    93
    sovereignty
    What is Payload? →
  5. 5

    Strapi

    Open source

    The established open headless CMS, with the largest community.

    Community edition free and self-hostable. Enterprise and Cloud tiers are paid. · in our Contentful comparison →

    86
    sovereignty
    What is Strapi? →

Replacing a specific tool?

Head-to-head comparisons for each popular headless cms product.

Alternatives to Contentful

5 vetted options · top pick Directus

Straight head-to-heads

Two headless cms tools, side by side — verified facts and a plain verdict.

Directus vs Markdown files in Git→Directus vs Ghost→Directus vs Payload→Directus vs Strapi→Markdown files in Git vs Ghost→Markdown files in Git vs Payload→Markdown files in Git vs Strapi→Ghost vs Payload→Ghost vs Strapi→Payload vs Strapi→
The Macrostack brief

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