Contentful vs. Webflow - Which Headless CMS is Best?

A headless CMS is a specialized content management system (CMS) that decouples the content management and delivery aspects of a website or application. It separates the content layer (the back end) from the presentation layer (the front end), granting users enhanced flexibility and control in designing and developing their digital projects.

Headless CMSs are becoming increasingly popular as businesses look for ways to create more dynamic and engaging digital experiences. They offer several advantages over traditional CMSs, including greater flexibility, improved performance, increased scalability, and enhanced security. 

Contentful and Webflow are both popular headless CMS options, but which one is right for your team? In this article, we'll compare and contrast the two platforms based on a few key criteria. Please keep these criteria in mind while reading through this comparison: 

• Content Modeling and Flexibility: Choose a CMS that lets you customize content structures to suit your unique needs.

• API Support and Data Portability: Opt for a CMS with strong API support for seamless data integration and efficient import/export capabilities.

• Usability and User-Friendly Interface: Prioritize an intuitive interface that simplifies content management for all users.

• Cost and Scalability: Balance affordability with the CMS's ability to scale as your needs grow.

• Security and Permissions: Ensure robust security with role-based access and clear permissions for content, marketing, and developers.

As a top-performing headless CMS, it’s worth noting that ButterCMS is also a compelling alternative to both Contentful and Webflow. Backed by excellent user reviews on platforms like G2 Crowd and high rankings in speed, scalability, and API flexibility, ButterCMS aligns perfectly with the key criteria mentioned above. Its user-friendly interface, robust management API, and developer-friendly resources make it a versatile option worth considering in this comparison.

So, which headless CMS is right for you? Read on to find out!

Contentful, Explained

Contentful, described as an API-first composable content platform, empowers businesses of all sizes to publish content across various digital channels. It serves as a central hub for content creation, organization, and distribution, making it accessible on various devices and channels.

This platform offers a few ready-made templates with content models and integrates with third-party services.

It also features GraphQL and REST API support, which allows for content delivery and content management.

Core features of Contentful

Let’s take a look at some notable features of Contentful:

• Content structure design: Contentful allows developers to design unique content structures using content types.

  • Custom Content Types: Define unique content models with specific fields.

  • Field Types: Choose from various field types like text, image, link, date, etc.

• Contentful content APIs: Contentful provides several APIs that work with content and serve different purposes.

  • Content Delivery API for retrieving content to display to users

  • Content Management API for programmatically creating or updating content items.

  • Content Preview API for retrieving unpublished content

  • Images API to retrieve and apply transformations to images stored in Contentful

  • GraphQL Content API to generate schemas and query content in the GraphQL format

• Contentful Studio :Contentful Studio is a web-based platform designed for content teams to create, manage, and publish content, and it incorporates AI features like the AI Image Generator for  image manipulation and the AI Content Type Generator for content modeling

• Asset management and storage: Contentful offers features for the storage and management of media assets, such as images, videos, audio files, and documents.

• Version control: Contentful provides versioning capabilities, allowing developers to track and manage content changes over time.

• Apps and integrations: Contentful supports integration with various third-party services and tools, expanding its functionality. This includes the availability of an app marketplace where users can access Contentful Apps like Compose, as well as third-party apps.

  • Webhooks: Set up webhooks to trigger custom actions when content changes occur.

  • External Services: Connect with external services like image processing or analytics tools.

• Workflows: Contentful supports customizable workflows for content creation and approval.

  • Content Drafts: Allow content editors to work on drafts before publishing.

  • Content Review: Define approval processes for content before it goes live.

Pros of Contentful

Now, let's delve into the advantages and strengths of Contentful as a content management solution.

Flexibility and Customization

Contentful offers custom content models and an API-driven approach, supporting flexible integration. It has an App Framework for custom apps and localization options for global projects. Content versioning and content preview enhance management, while integration capabilities ensure adaptability.

Comprehensive Contentful APIs for Efficient Content Management

Contentful's APIs, including Content Delivery and Content Management, enable efficient content management. The Content Delivery API swiftly retrieves content, and the Content Management API offers control over content. SDKs and caching enhance performance, and structured content models simplify organization. Integration capabilities connect with other tools, enhancing content management.

Content management, orchestration, and delivery

Contentful handles content management, orchestration, and delivery. It has a user-friendly interface, facilitates team coordination, and supports content delivery across channels. An app ecosystem and framework allow extensibility. Localization options cater to a global audience, while an active community offers support.

Developer-Friendly Documentation and Resources

Contentful provides extensive documentation, emphasizing its API-first architecture. SDKs and libraries simplify integration. The developer portal also offers tools like:

• Static site generators

• Automation and developer workflows

• CLI

Additionally, the community provides valuable insights and solutions.

Cons of Contentful

Now that we've explored Contentful's notable attributes, let's delve into some of its considerations or limitations.

Learning Curve

Contentful might appear complex and overwhelming, particularly for users new to content management systems and headless CMS. It's geared toward developers and tech-savvy content creators, which can pose a learning curve for others. The platform's concepts, such as spaces, views, content models, content types, and entries, and the need for designing flexible structures to accommodate future content changes, can be challenging. 

Understanding how to set up and structure content within these parameters may require additional time and effort for those less familiar with the platform's specific terminology and requirements.

Cost

Contentful’s pricing, while flexible, can be a drawback for budget-conscious users. It offers various tiers and customized pricing for larger enterprises, but costs can rise as features and resource needs increase. Monitoring API usage is essential to avoid extra charges, and developer assistance can add to the overall cost.

Limited Starter Project Options

Contentful offers only a few starter projects, all in the Next.js framework. This leaves users that require a different tech stack, manually setting up projects, demanding technical expertise and time.

Migration and Data Export

Migrating data and exporting content from Contentful can be complex, necessitating technical know-how. Users might struggle with the command-line interface and migration DSL. Data mapping can be intricate, especially with diverse data models. Contentful's lack of a native migration tool may lead to challenges during data transfer.

No Real-Time Collaborative Editing

Contentful lacks real-time collaborative editing, which can hinder simultaneous work on shared documents. Changes made by multiple users aren't immediately visible, potentially causing conflicts and complicating teamwork. Teams dependent on real-time collaboration should consider this limitation.

Contentful Pricing

Here’s a basic breakdown of Contentful’s pricing:

You can find more information on the Contentful pricing page.

Webflow, Explained

Webflow is a visual website builder. It incorporates a content management system (CMS) for handling dynamic content via collections. The platform offers features such as visual editing, customizable templates, teamwork capabilities, content management, and integration with external applications. It is tailored for web designers and developers aiming to construct websites with minimal reliance on coding expertise.

Core features of Webflow

Explore the core functionalities of Webflow:

• Designer: A visual website builder for building websites without coding.

• Editor: Edit website content directly on the page for a content management experience.

• SEO: Optimize websites for search engines by customizing meta tags and structured data to improve discoverability.

• Localization:  Manage and create multilingual websites to reach a global audience.

• CMS: Manage website content easily, enabling efficient updates and maintenance.

  • Multi-User collaboration: Collaborate with team members and clients in real-time, enhancing teamwork efficiency.

  • Content Structure Design: Define unique content structures and relationships to match your project's needs.

  • API and developer tools: Publish content across other channels using developer-friendly tools and Webflow's CMS API.

  • Content Migration: Import content from another CMS or a spreadsheet, or export your content to use as CSV or JSON across platforms

  • Data source integrations: Work with Webflow’s CMS API to bring content in from external data sources

  • Custom App integrations: Connect to multiple third-party services 

Pros of Webflow

Let's briefly delve into the benefits of using Webflow, highlighting its strengths and advantages.

Design flexibility

Webflow offers customization options for complete control over website design. It features a drag-and-drop editor for coding-free, responsive design and allows custom code integration. Pre-designed templates provide starting points, while interactions and animations add dynamic elements.

API support and data portability

Webflow provides an API for extending functionality and data portability through exports in various formats like CSV. These features are valuable for automation, third-party integration, and custom application development.

Collaboration feature 

Webflow offers collaboration features, including user roles, design-content separation, and publishing controls. These tools aim to support teamwork and project management for developers. User roles and permissions allow team members to work concurrently, facilitating collaboration. The design-content separation and publishing controls assist in creating a collaborative environment, enabling multiple stakeholders to contribute to a project, potentially streamlining development processes, and enhancing the developer's experience.

Assets Storage and Management

Webflow's asset management system offers an organized Assets panel, support for various media types and formats, naming guidelines, and an Assets API for programmable interaction. These capabilities aim to support developers in their workflow by allowing developers to maintain an organized resource library, optimize images, and ensure asset availability.

Cons of Webflow

Let’s explore some of the drawbacks associated with using Webflow.

Complexity

Webflow's wide range of features can pose challenges, particularly for beginners or those new to web design and development. The platform has a learning curve, demanding time and effort to grasp concepts such as responsive design, CSS styling, and layout structure. Advanced features like Flexbox, custom code, or creating Webflow apps may require a deeper understanding of web design principles and coding concepts. This impacts developers as time and effort will have to be invested to achieve desired functionality and results using the limited tools provided by Webflow. 

Designing complex websites in Webflow, especially with intricate layouts and dynamic content, can be challenging and necessitates effective planning. Furthermore, Webflow's eCommerce capabilities, while present, may be more limited compared to dedicated eCommerce platforms.

Limited customization

Webflow has a character limit of about 20k for custom code, and this can be a restriction when trying to include a lot of required code like CSS, for example, and functionality restrictions in the search result layout also exist. E-commerce customization can be limited, necessitating custom code or alternative solutions. Custom code options are confined to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and are only available with a paid Site Plan, which might impact users and developers trying to familiarize themselves with the platform without having to purchase a subscription.

Limited support for third-party integrations

While Webflow may offer resources and support documentation for connecting various tools to Webflow sites, it lacks extensive native integrations, impacting users who rely heavily on third-party services as they may encounter limitations with third-party services and apps built by third parties, and the lack of regular updates or full support for specific integrations can be a source of frustration This limitation may require workarounds and careful consideration of integration needs.

Dependency on Webflow

One potential limitation of using Webflow is the heavy reliance on the platform for hosting, content management, and templates. Since Webflow functions as an all-in-one solution handling both content and presentation layers, websites are hosted exclusively on Webflow's servers. This proprietary approach results in users having to depend on Webflow for ongoing maintenance and ensuring uptime. This level of dependence can become problematic, especially when faced with outages or downtime, as it affects the availability of the entire site.

Moreover, Webflow's conditional dependencies on its infrastructure can have implications for both flexibility and SEO efforts. The inability to access server-side features and the restrictions on incorporating external libraries might further contribute to this dependency. Additionally, the management of dependencies within the Webflow CMS could potentially pose challenges when seeking to customize and optimize content. It's worth noting that this level of reliance on Webflow's infrastructure could be a limiting factor in scenarios where greater independence and versatility are required, such as for the development of native applications for various platforms like iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Cost

Cost can be considered a drawback when using Webflow. The platform offers various pricing tiers with different features and limitations, and advanced features often come at a higher price. For instance, the Basic plan, priced at $14 per month, lacks essential CMS features that are only available in the CMS plan, which costs $23 per month annually or $29 monthly. Additionally, extra expenses can accumulate from subscribing to both Site and Workspace plans (where payment is per user) to access specific features available on each plan. For instance, the Core workspace plan allows for up to 3 member seats, priced at $28 per seat, paid monthly, in addition to the $29 per month for the CMS site plan (paid per site) if CMS features are needed. However, this pricing structure might not be cost-effective for larger teams or organizations with numerous users, potentially causing scalability issues. Moreover, additional costs may arise from paid apps and third-party integrations, especially when multiple apps and integrations are necessary to achieve the desired functionality. 

Webflow Pricing

Here’s a detailed pricing table for Webflow, including comparisons of the features between the plans:

You can find more information on the Webflow pricing page.

Webflow vs. Contentful Feature Comparison Chart

ButterCMS as a Welcomed Alternative

When comparing content management solutions like Contentful and Webflow, it's important to consider ButterCMS as a welcomed alternative.

As an alternative to Webflow CMS and Contentful, ButterCMS strikes a balance between flexibility and user-friendliness. It simplifies content modeling, eases content development, offers rich content APIs, and supports various tech stacks, making it a versatile choice for content management.

How ButterCMS stands out

Now, let's delve into what makes ButterCMS stand out and discover its key features and advantages.

Ease-of-use

ButterCMS excels with its user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface, simplifying content creation for diverse teams. It's lauded for its simplicity in real-world case studies, such as RoleModel and MDHearing, improving operational efficiency and earning top rankings on G2 for usability.

Speed to Launch 

ButterCMS stands out with its emphasis on efficiency through features such as a component-driven architecture, starter kits, and a headless approach. This user-friendly approach significantly accelerates content deployment and front-end development. Case studies from Ocean Finance, RoleModel, and Freddie’s Flowers underscore the platform's ability to expedite content updates, freeing up development resources, eliminating bottlenecks for non-tech teams, and reducing organizational overhead. Ocean Finance's experience highlights how the platform empowers the content team to quickly produce layouts that fit design standards, while RoleModel's case showcases the reduced dependency on designers and developers. Meanwhile, Freddie’s Flowers, a UK-based flower delivery company, adopted ButterCMS to create multiple landing pages for different locales as they expanded internationally, achieving the ability to make quick content updates without developer assistance and setting up A/B tests. These cases demonstrate that ButterCMS enables organizations to streamline content management and launch content updates at a swift pace, a crucial advantage in today's dynamic digital landscape. 

Support for a wide range of technology stack

ButterCMS is praised for its flexibility, seamlessly integrating with various languages and platforms. Developers can utilize their preferred technologies, such as Python, Ruby, PHP, React, Node.js, and more, close to 29 technologies, as seen in the documentation. enhancing adaptability and making content management accessible to a diverse set of tech stacks.

Content Flexibility with Read & Write API

ButterCMS stands out with its powerful Read & Write API, allowing bidirectional content control programmatically, making content workflows more efficient.

Seamless Migrations

ButterCMS streamlines content and schema migration between different environments or from other CMS platforms, simplifying transitions with a user-friendly 4-step migration wizard.

Improved customization with components

ButterCMS empowers users with a drag-and-drop approach to content layout creation, streamlining content customization, and enhancing user engagement with flexible SEO and social components.

Out-of-the-box localization support

ButterCMS simplifies content translation into multiple languages and regions, breaking down language barriers and effectively reaching diverse global audiences.

Built-in blog engine

ButterCMS simplifies blog creation with built-in SEO optimization, customizable field types, content preview, scheduling, and multi-site support.

Built-in API Explorer

ButterCMS's built-in API Explorer streamlines content retrieval with real-time responses and code snippets for various frontend frameworks, integrating seamlessly with different technology stacks.

Built-in Version History

ButterCMS enhances content management by allowing users to track and manage content revisions effectively, providing granular change history and supporting collaboration and approval workflows.

Security and compliance

ButterCMS prioritizes security and compliance by hosting on secure AWS data centers, implementing data encryption, conducting daily backups, adhering to industry standards, monitoring infrastructure 24/7, and offering professional support for security-related concerns.

Closed Sourced & Fully Hosted

ButterCMS's closed-source and fully-hosted approach ensures secure, well-maintained content management without server infrastructure concerns, making it an excellent choice for users.

Community resources and knowledge base

ButterCMS offers an extensive knowledge base and community resources, empowering users to make the most of the platform while enjoying the support of a vibrant community.

ButterCMS vs. Webflow vs. Contentful User Comparison Chart

Here’s a comparison of each platform’s G2 ratings based on user feedback on Butter, Contentful, and Webflow.

As seen in the table, Butter’s rankings are consistently higher and above or at 9.1 across every criteria.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, when comparing Contentful and Webflow, it's essential to consider your specific needs. Contentful offers deep flexibility but can be complex and costly, while Webflow emphasizes design but may have limitations in developer customization.

ButterCMS provides a balanced alternative with ease of use, rapid content deployment, and extensive technology stack compatibility. Its Read & Write API, seamless migrations, innovative component-based customization, and out-of-the-box localization support make it a compelling choice. High user ratings and usability recognition affirm ButterCMS as a noteworthy headless CMS option.

Choose your CMS based on your team's requirements, technical proficiency, budget, and content management goals. ButterCMS offers a blend of user-friendliness and robust features that make it a strong contender in the headless CMS arena.

 Do you want your product or marketing team to test Butter CMS? We can set up a live demo to walk your team through the fast, easy-to-use interface.