7 Best Free Headless CMS Platforms in 2026 (Free Tiers Compared)
Blog post from Prismic
Navigating the realm of "free" headless CMS platforms can be challenging due to the varying interpretations of "free," ranging from open-source solutions with no licensing fees but operational costs to SaaS options offering limited free tiers with potential hidden expenses. Open-source CMS like Strapi offer unlimited usage but require self-hosting, while SaaS platforms such as Prismic, Sanity, Contentful, Storyblok, and Hygraph provide managed services with free tiers that impose restrictions on API calls, storage, and user access. Decap CMS stands out with its Git-based workflow and truly unlimited use, though it lacks a hosted option. Each platform's suitability depends on specific project needs, such as team size, technical expertise, and anticipated growth, with potential hidden costs like hosting, integration fees, and the challenges of migrating away if outgrowing the free tier. The right choice involves balancing ease of use, infrastructure management, and aligning project scale with the limitations of a chosen platform's free tier, understanding that evolving needs may necessitate future upgrades.