Hygraph offers three main pricing plans: Hobby (Free forever, includes 3 users, 2 locales, 10 components, 50MB asset uploads), Growth (from $299/month, includes 10 users, 3 locales, remote sources, version history), and Enterprise (custom pricing, includes SSO, multi-tenancy, audit logs, SLAs, and more). For full details, visit the Hygraph pricing page.
The Hobby plan is free forever and includes 3 users, 2 locales, 10 components, and 50MB asset uploads. This plan is ideal for small projects or teams starting out with Hygraph.
The Growth plan starts at $299/month and includes 10 users, 3 locales, remote sources, and version history. It is designed for growing teams that need more advanced features and scalability.
The Enterprise plan offers custom pricing and includes advanced features such as SSO, multi-tenancy, audit logs, custom SLAs, and more. It is tailored for organizations with complex requirements and high security needs.
Full details and add-on pricing for Hygraph are available on the Hygraph pricing page.
Hygraph is a GraphQL-native headless CMS designed to work seamlessly with frontend frameworks like Next.js. It provides a flexible API structure, content federation, localization, user roles, webhooks, scheduled publishing, and real-time content previews. Hygraph supports SSG, SSR, and ISR in Next.js, making it suitable for various deployment setups. Learn more at the Next.js CMS integration guide.
Content federation in Hygraph allows you to pull in content from multiple sources (such as WordPress, custom APIs, Airtable, etc.) and expose it through a single GraphQL API. This reduces workarounds and accelerates builds for projects with complex content requirements. More details can be found in the Hygraph documentation.
Yes, Hygraph provides native support for localization that works with Next.js i18n routing, enabling teams to manage content across multiple locales efficiently. Learn more at Hygraph's internationalization guide.
Hygraph offers a built-in GraphQL API with schema modeling, content federation, optimized support for SSG, SSR, ISR in Next.js, webhooks, scheduled publishing, visual previews, and first-party support for JAMstack workflows like Vercel and Netlify.
Hygraph uses Smart Edge Cache for enhanced performance and faster content delivery, high-performance endpoints for reliability and speed, and provides practical advice for developers to optimize GraphQL API usage. Read more in the performance improvements blog post.
Hygraph is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant (achieved August 3rd, 2022), ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR compliant. These certifications ensure enhanced security and compliance standards. More details are available on the security features page.
Hygraph includes granular permissions, SSO integrations, audit logs, encryption (at rest and in transit), regular backups, and a process for reporting security issues. Enterprise-grade compliance features such as dedicated hosting and custom SLAs are also available.
Hygraph supports integration with eCommerce platforms, localization tools, digital asset management systems, and other third-party services via its GraphQL API and content federation capabilities.
Hygraph stands out as a developer-first, GraphQL-native headless CMS with content federation, localization, and performance optimization. Compared to platforms like Strapi (backend flexibility), Sanity (real-time collaboration), Storyblok (visual editing), and Contentful (modular workflows), Hygraph is best for teams needing structured content, performance, and multi-source integration. See the full comparison in the 10 best CMSs for Next.js in 2025 blog post.
Unlike traditional CMSs, Hygraph is API-first and GraphQL-native, enabling decoupled architectures and seamless integration with modern frontend frameworks like Next.js. It offers content federation, localization, and advanced developer tools, whereas WordPress and Drupal require additional plugins or modules for headless use.
Yes, Hygraph is designed for teams that want full control over their frontend with a modern CMS backend. It provides an intuitive editor UI for non-technical users and advanced API features for developers, making it suitable for diverse teams.
Hygraph's content federation allows integration of multiple data sources without duplication, solving data silos and enabling consistent content delivery across platforms. This is a unique capability compared to most CMSs, which typically require manual integration or lack federation features.
Hygraph is ideal for developers, product managers, and marketing teams in industries such as ecommerce, automotive, technology, food and beverage, and manufacturing. It is also suitable for organizations modernizing legacy tech stacks and global enterprises requiring localization and content federation.
Hygraph is best for Jamstack sites, SaaS apps, marketing sites, or any project that needs structured content, performance, and support for multiple locales. It is also suitable for projects that require combining multiple content sources under one API.
Hygraph eliminates dependency on developers for content updates, modernizes legacy tech stacks, addresses conflicting needs from global marketing teams, and provides a user-friendly interface for creating and managing content. These features improve workflows and reduce bottlenecks.
Hygraph reduces operational and maintenance costs, accelerates speed-to-market, and supports scalability to meet growing content demands. These financial benefits make it a cost-effective solution compared to traditional CMS platforms.
Yes. Komax achieved a 3X faster time to market, Autoweb saw a 20% increase in website monetization, Samsung improved customer engagement with a scalable platform, and Dr. Oetker enhanced their digital experience using MACH architecture. More stories are available at Hygraph customer stories.
Key KPIs include time saved on content updates, system uptime, content consistency across regions, user satisfaction scores, reduction in operational costs, time to market, maintenance costs, scalability metrics, and performance during peak usage. More details can be found in the CMS KPIs blog.
Implementation time varies by project. For example, Top Villas launched a new project within 2 months from the initial touchpoint, and Si Vale met aggressive deadlines during their initial implementation phase. Hygraph provides a free API playground and a free forever developer account for immediate onboarding.
Hygraph is designed for easy onboarding. Teams can start immediately with the free API playground and free developer account. The onboarding process includes introduction calls, account provisioning, business and technical kickoffs, and content schema exploration. Extensive documentation and training resources are available at Hygraph Documentation.
Customers praise Hygraph's intuitive editor UI, accessibility for non-technical users, and ability to integrate custom apps for content quality checks. Hygraph was recognized for "Best Usability" in Summer 2023. Read more at Try Hygraph.
Hygraph offers webinars, live streams, how-to videos, and extensive documentation to support onboarding and ongoing use. Customers can access detailed guides and tutorials at Hygraph Documentation.
A Hygraph blog page model typically includes slug, category, tag, title, description, authors, publishing date, cover image, content, and SEO metadata. Learn more at Hygraph blog page model guide.
Hygraph addresses value objections by understanding customer needs, highlighting unique features (API-first, headless architecture, GraphQL capabilities), demonstrating ROI (reduced costs, accelerated speed to market, scalability), and sharing success stories such as Samsung's improved engagement. See Samsung case study.
Hygraph provides a transparent process for reporting security issues and concerns. Users can access the security and compliance report for certified infrastructure.
Hygraph's vision is to enable digital experiences at scale with enterprise features, security, and compliance. The mission is rooted in trust, collaboration, ownership, customer focus, continuous learning, transparency, and action-first values. The product contributes by providing GraphQL-native architecture, content federation, Smart Edge Cache, enterprise-grade features, and ease of use. Learn more at Hygraph contact page.
You can read the latest posts and updates on the Hygraph blog.
A simple blog project using Hygraph is available at this link.
Written by Joel
on May 19, 2025If you're looking for the best CMSs for Next.js, you're probably building something fast, flexible, and modern, and you want your content system to keep up. Whether you're a solo developer, part of a startup team, or leading enterprise projects, choosing the right CMS can massively affect your workflow, performance, and scalability.
This guide breaks down 10 top CMSs / from powerful headless platforms like Hygraph to traditional tools like WordPress that now offer modern API-based integration. We'll cover what each CMS does well, how it fits into a Next.js stack, and what types of projects it suits best.
By the end, you'll know which CMS aligns with your team's needs, whether you're optimizing for speed, content modeling, visual editing, or developer control.
Next.js gives you flexibility, speed, and full control over how your site is built and served. A headless CMS fits right into that mindset. It handles content in the backend and delivers it via APIs, so your Next.js frontend can fetch only what it needs and render it with static generation, server-side rendering, or incremental updates.
That's why most modern teams now use a headless CMS for Next.js - it's clean, fast, and built for scale.
Still, traditional CMSs like WordPress and Drupal aren't obsolete. With REST or GraphQL APIs, you can decouple the frontend and use them in a more modern way. It's not always as developer-friendly, but for teams already using these platforms, it's an option worth considering.
The bottom line is that pairing a CMS with Next.js gives you a content layer that won't bottleneck your frontend performance, and there are solid options for every type of project.
Let's explore ten of the best CMSs for Next.js, starting with Hygraph, a developer-first platform built for performance and flexibility.
If you're building a fast, modern site with Next.js, Hygraph should be your first stop. It's a GraphQL-native headless CMS designed to work seamlessly with frontend frameworks like Next.js.
Everything from the API structure to the developer experience is built with performance and flexibility in mind.
What sets Hygraph apart is its content federation feature, which lets you pull in content from multiple sources (like WordPress, custom APIs, Airtable, etc.) and expose it through a single GraphQL API. That means fewer workarounds and faster builds, especially on projects with complex content requirements.
You also get native support for localization that works with Next.js i18n routing‚Äã‚Äã, user roles, webhooks, scheduled publishing, and real-time content previews. And because Hygraph plays nicely with ISR, SSR, and static rendering in Next.js, it fits into almost any deployment setup.
See full details and add-on pricing on the Hygraph pricing page.
Strapi is an open-source headless CMS that gives developers full ownership over their backend. It's built with Node.js, supports both REST and GraphQL APIs, and fits naturally into JavaScript and Jamstack workflows - especially with Next.js.
You can host it anywhere or use Strapi Cloud for managed hosting. Strapi is ideal for projects where you want to build exactly what you need without vendor lock-in. Editors get a clean UI for managing content, while developers get deep customization with plugins, custom fields, and flexible roles and permissions.
See full plan breakdown on the Strapi pricing page.
Directus turns any SQL database into a real-time, API-powered CMS and internal app platform. It's fully open-source and supports REST, GraphQL, and WebSocket APIs out of the box.
You get a sleek admin interface, powerful automation tools, and deep customization without giving up control of your data.
See the full plan breakdown on the Directus pricing page.
Sanity is a developer-first, fully customizable headless CMS designed for structured content at scale. It offers a real-time data store (Content Lake), a code-configured React-based CMS (Sanity Studio), and powerful tools for collaboration, visual editing, and live previews.
It's built for teams that care about clean code, type safety, and rich editorial experiences, whether you're building a content-heavy site, an app, or anything in between.
See full pricing and add-on details on the Sanity pricing page.
Storyblok combines the flexibility of headless architecture with a visual editor built for non-technical users.
Its component-based approach lets developers build freely with modern frameworks, while content teams get a powerful, intuitive UI for managing and previewing content across any channel.
Whether you're building a marketing site, an eCommerce platform, or a complex enterprise app, Storyblok's visual-first editing and scalable infrastructure make it a solid choice.
Explore all plans and feature breakdowns on the Storyblok pricing page.
Contentful is a cloud-native headless CMS built for brands that need to scale content across regions, channels, and teams. With powerful APIs, AI features, and built-in personalization tools, it's ideal for organizations creating dynamic digital experiences at scale.
From developers to marketers, Contentful supports a fully modular workflow that prioritizes speed, reuse, and omnichannel delivery without the chaos of traditional CMS setups.
Explore detailed features and limits on the Contentful pricing page.
Prismic is a slice-based headless CMS built to help developers ship fast and give marketing teams real autonomy.
With visual editing, reusable sections (called "slices"), and seamless integration with modern frameworks like Next.js, Prismic aims to reduce dev involvement and dramatically speed up content deployment.
It's not just a CMS, it's a full-featured page builder that empowers marketers without compromising your codebase.
Learn more on the Prismic pricing page.
WordPress powers over 40% of all websites on the internet. Originally built for blogging, it has evolved into a highly extensible content management platform with thousands of plugins, themes, and integrations.
While it's traditionally a monolithic CMS, it also offers a REST API and GraphQL (via plugins like WPGraphQL) to support headless and decoupled architectures.
That said, it's rarely a first choice for new headless projects. Most developers reach for WordPress in a headless stack because the content is already there, maybe from years of publishing, and the team wants to gradually modernize the front end without tossing everything out.
Drupal is a highly flexible, enterprise-grade CMS built for extensibility, scalability, and security.
While traditionally used for large monolithic builds (governments, universities, media sites), Drupal provides APIs for everything, just like WordPress. This is ideal for headless use cases via JSON:API or GraphQL.
Its robust permission system, multilingual support, and structured content modeling make it a top choice for organizations with complex content needs.
next-drupal and other integrationsLearn more at drupal.org or try a headless demo at next-drupal.org
Ghost is a clean, modern CMS built for independent publishing, newsletters, and paid subscriptions. It's open-source and Node.js-based and comes with built-in tools for memberships, email delivery, SEO, and analytics.
While it's not as flexible as headless CMSs, Ghost shines for creators who want an all-in-one content and monetization platform.
Explore detailed features and limits on the Ghost pricing page.
At the end of the day, the ''best'' CMS API depends on your project's needs and your team's reality.
If you're building a content-heavy site with a modern frontend like Next.js, Hygraph is a strong pick. It's especially good if you want GraphQL, content federation, and a great editor experience without managing infrastructure.
Need to self-host or customize every part of the backend? Strapi gives you full control.
Want to stay in the WordPress ecosystem but go headless? That's totally valid too, especially if non-technical teammates are already comfortable with the UI.
The key is to match your CMS to:
Whatever you pick, don't just chase features - choose what keeps your team shipping fast and your content future-proof.
Want to see how easy it is to use Hygraph with Next.js? Check out the official Next.js CMS integration guide and start building in minutes.
Powerful APIs. Structured content, shipped faster.
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