How this ranking is made
The rules behind the list, so you can judge it. Updated .
What counts as a Git-based CMS
A tool is on this site when it stores content as files in a Git repository and writes changes back as commits, so the site builds from the files and there is no content database in between. The form does not matter: a form panel, a visual editor, a chat, a VS Code extension all qualify if the commit is the unit of change.
Three groups are out on purpose. API-first headless CMS (Contentful, Sanity, Strapi, Directus, Storyblok, DatoCMS, Prismic, Hygraph, Payload) keep content in their own database. Visual builders that store content outside the repository (Builder.io, Plasmic, React Bricks) do the same. Flat-file PHP CMS (Grav, Kirby, Statamic) store files, but on the server, not in Git.
How a tool gets on the list
- It meets the definition above.
- It can be bought or installed today. A closed beta or an archived project is mentioned in the FAQ, not ranked.
- Its facts can be checked on a public page: price, licence, supported hosts, review flow.
- It has at least one real con. A tool with no con is a tool I have not looked at hard enough.
Not listed yet, pending a check: Prose, Contentrain, Mattrbld, Publii, Lume CMS, Jekyll Admin, Decap Turbo (closed beta). If you make one of these, or another tool that fits, send me the page.
How the order is decided
The list starts with the tool built for the case that breaks the others: clients who edit the site without a developer next to them. That is CMS Brew. From number two the list runs by developer fit, from the tool that suits the most developers to the one that suits the fewest. The one-sentence verdict under each name says why it sits where it sits and names the catch.
The order is an opinion and it says so. The facts are not. If you edit Markdown alone, the verdicts send you to Decap CMS or Sveltia CMS, not to number one. Every profile lists three alternatives, and every alternative links to its own profile, so the site never has one exit.
How facts are checked
- Every price, licence, supported host and review flow is read off the vendor's own site, not off a third-party review.
- The check date is printed on the ranking, on every profile and in the sitemap. The last pass was .
- The facts live in one data file. The ranking cards, the table, the profiles and llms.txt render from it, so a correction lands everywhere at once.
- Facts are re-checked every quarter, and sooner when a vendor changes a price or a plan.
- Corrections are welcome. Message me on X or LinkedIn with the page that shows the change.
Who writes this
I am a software developer with 10+ years of experience and an entrepreneur. I check every tool on this list against its live site and update the facts on the date shown. The site has no ads, no affiliate links and no sponsored positions. Links to vendors are plain links.
The pages
- The ranking: all 16 tools, one card each, and the table.
- The profiles: one page per tool, for example CMS Brew.
- The guide: what a Git-based CMS is and when it fits.
- The FAQ: the Netlify CMS rename, the Static CMS status, hosts, build hooks, cost.
