Comparison

ButterCMS vs Decap CMS

On the evidence we track, ButterCMS leads this comparison with a composite score of 63/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

ButterCMS full profile →Decap CMS full profile →

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.

★ButterCMS63

Decap CMS51

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	ButterCMSLeader	Decap CMS
vioscaleAI score	63 / 100medium · 52%	51 / 100medium · 60%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	freemium	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	high	low
Starting pricepricing.starting_price	$71	-
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✗
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	2	8
Security
Certificationssecurity.certifications	ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II	-
Iso27001security.iso27001	✓	-
Soc2security.soc2	✓	-
Trust centersecurity.trust_center	https://buttercms.com/security/	-
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	-	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=decap-cms-widget-text&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	-	10
Github starsadoption.github_stars	-	19,432
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	-	65
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	-	21
Historyrelease.history	-	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	-	MIT
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	-	JavaScript
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide	Available worldwide · Popular in EU · HQ SI
Content
Faqcontent.faq	5 items	7 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

ButterCMS63 / 100medium · 52%

Decap CMS51 / 100medium · 60%

Pricing

Free tier

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS✓

Model

ButterCMSfreemium

Decap CMSfreemium

Price level

ButterCMShigh

Decap CMSlow

Starting price

ButterCMS$71

Decap CMS–

Transparent

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS✗

Integrations

Count

ButterCMS2

Decap CMS8

Security

Certifications

ButterCMSISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II

Decap CMS–

Iso27001

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS–

Soc2

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS–

Trust center

ButterCMShttps://buttercms.com/security/

Decap CMS–

Vulnerabilities

ButterCMS–

Decap CMSCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=decap-cms-widget-text&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Adoption

Dependent repos

ButterCMS–

Decap CMS10

Github stars

ButterCMS–

Decap CMS19,432

Activity

Commits last 30d

ButterCMS–

Decap CMS65

Release

Cadence days

ButterCMS–

Decap CMS21

History

ButterCMS–

Decap CMS20 items

License

Spdx

ButterCMS–

Decap CMSMIT

Language

Primary

ButterCMS–

Decap CMSJavaScript

Market

Availability

ButterCMSAvailable worldwide

Decap CMSAvailable worldwide · Popular in EU · HQ SI

Content

Faq

ButterCMS5 items

Decap CMS7 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for headless cms. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for Headless CMS
Capability	ButterCMS	Decap CMS
Capabilities
Deployment model	Cloud managed saas	Self hosted open source
Graphql API native delivery	-	-
Rest API delivery	✓	-
Visual content modeling schema builder	✓	-
Real time visual preview editor	✓	✓
Multi language localization i18n	✓	✓
Webhooks event triggers	✓	-
Granular role based access control RBAC	✓	✓
Nextjs gatsby native framework support	✓	-
Shopify bigcommerce ecommerce integration	✓	-
SOC2 type ii	✓	-
ISO 27001	✓	-
Pricing model	Freemium	Open source free

Capabilities

Deployment model

ButterCMSCloud managed saas

Decap CMSSelf hosted open source

Graphql API native delivery

ButterCMS-

Decap CMS-

Rest API delivery

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS-

Visual content modeling schema builder

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS-

Real time visual preview editor

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS✓

Multi language localization i18n

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS✓

Webhooks event triggers

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS-

Granular role based access control RBAC

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS✓

Nextjs gatsby native framework support

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS-

Shopify bigcommerce ecommerce integration

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS-

SOC2 type ii

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS-

ISO 27001

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS-

Pricing model

ButterCMSFreemium

Decap CMSOpen source free

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

ButterCMS

Leader

A backend service for managing and delivering content via REST APIs without any built-in user interface. It enables developers and content teams to work independently on content creation and integration.

Independently observed

Decap CMS

A self-hosted, Git-based content management system that works with static site generators. Content is stored in your Git repository rather than a proprietary database, with optional cloud features available via Decap Turbo for team collaboration.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

ButterCMS

Leader

from $71/moSubscriptionFree tier14-day trial

From $71/month for Basic plan. Free tier available.

FreeFree
- Visual editing
- Live preview
- SEO metadata
- AI Assistant
- API Explorer
- +2 more
Basic$71/month (or $63.90/month with annual billing)
- Image editing
- Unlimited users
- Unlimited components
Advanced$224/month (or $201.60/month with annual billing)
- All Basic tier features
Professional$359/month (or $323.05/month with annual billing)
- Write API (up to 5K calls/month)
- Multi environment
EnterpriseContact sales
- Custom API calls
- Custom roles
- Write API
- Custom webhooks
- Workflows
- +4 more

as of 2026-09-08verify ↗

Decap CMS

Open sourceFree tier

Free and open-source core. Decap Turbo available for teams (pricing on request).

Decap CMSFree
- Web editor with real-time preview
- Editorial workflow (draft, review, publish)
- Git-native history
- Support for GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Bitbucket, Azure
- Media library with external integrations
- +5 more
Decap TurboContact sales
- Faster CMS performance
- Centralized access control
- Role-based access and team collaboration
- Real-time editing visibility
- Secrets storage
- +1 more

as of 2026-08-19verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	ButterCMS	Decap CMS
WebPlatforms	✓	✓
CLIPlatforms	✗	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✗
Self-hostedDeployment	✗	✓

Platforms

Web

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS✓

CLI

ButterCMS✗

Decap CMS✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

ButterCMS✓

Decap CMS✗

Self-hosted

ButterCMS✗

Decap CMS✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

ButterCMS

Leader

2 total

Shopify
BigCommerce

Independently observed

Decap CMS

13 total

GitHub
GitLab
Gitea
Bitbucket
Azure
Git Gateway (Netlify)
Cloudinary
Uploadcare
Hugo
Next.js
Gatsby
Jekyll
Netlify

Independently observed

Still deciding?

ButterCMS or Decap CMS: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.