Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Agility CMS

Strapi is an open-source headless CMS for building content-driven applications with a customizable admin panel and API-first architecture. It lets teams model content, manage media, and deliver content to any frontend via REST or GraphQL.

Key Features

• Content-type builder for modeling structured content (including components and dynamic zones)
• Auto-generated REST and optional GraphQL APIs for content delivery
• Customizable and extensible admin panel with plugin architecture
• Role-based access control and permissions for APIs and admin users
• Media library for managing uploads and reusable assets
• Internationalization support for localized content
• Multi-database support, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, and SQLite
• CLI tooling to scaffold projects and accelerate development

Use Cases

• Headless CMS backend for websites built with modern frontend frameworks
• Content API for mobile apps and multi-channel publishing workflows
• Custom backend framework for building internal tools and content services

Strapi is well-suited for teams that want full control over content modeling, API behavior, and deployment. Its plugin system and API-first approach make it a flexible foundation for many application backends.

KeystoneJS is a developer-focused, open-source headless CMS and app framework for Node.js. It lets you declare data models (lists) in TypeScript or JavaScript and immediately provides a GraphQL API plus a configurable React-based Admin UI for managing content and data.

Key Features

• Schema-first data modelling with Lists and rich field types (text, relationship, document, password, timestamp, etc.).
• Auto-generated GraphQL API and CRUD resolvers that follow your schema and access rules.
• Full TypeScript typing and developer DX for compile-time safety and editor autocompletion.
• Admin UI built with React and Next.js, supporting custom React components and field views.
• Prisma-powered database layer with automated migrations and direct Prisma client access.
• Built-in access control, session management, hooks, and custom queries/mutations.
• Pluggable storage adapters and file handling to integrate with object stores or local storage.
• Designed to fit git-based workflows and common CI/CD/deployment targets.

Use Cases

• Headless CMS for websites, marketing sites, and multi-channel content delivery.
• Backend and content platform for web or mobile applications requiring custom schemas and role-based access.
• Internal admin panels, editorial tools, or lightweight e-commerce backends built on top of a generated API.

Limitations and Considerations

• Keystone 6 relies on Prisma as its ORM abstraction; currently supported database providers are relational (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite). Official MongoDB support is not provided due to Prisma/migrations considerations.
• Behaviour of text filtering and some field types can differ between supported SQL providers; developers must consider provider-specific column types and collation implications.
• Large-scale or highly-custom multi-database scenarios may require additional engineering around migrations, transactions, and Prisma client extensions.

KeystoneJS is focused on giving developers a fast, type-safe starting point for APIs and content management while allowing deep customization of UI, access control, and persistence. Its core strengths are schema-driven APIs, TypeScript-first tooling, and a React-based Admin experience.

Squidex is an open-source headless CMS and content management hub designed for structured content and an API-first workflow. It provides a web UI for editors while developers consume content via robust APIs to power websites, apps, and backend services.

Key Features

• Schema-based content modeling for structured, reusable content
• REST API with OpenAPI/Swagger definitions and advanced querying (OData-style filtering)
• GraphQL endpoint, including support for real-time subscriptions
• Workflow and role-based permissions to control draft, review, and publishing processes
• Content versioning with history, comparisons, rollback, and audit-oriented change tracking
• Event-driven integrations and automation hooks to connect external systems
• Asset management and import/export tools, including CLI-based administration
• Built-in backup and restore capabilities for migrations and recovery

Use Cases

• Centralized content backend for websites, mobile apps, and multi-channel publishing
• Product catalogs, marketing pages, and structured content for multiple frontends
• Content hub integrated with internal systems via events and APIs

Limitations and Considerations

• Requires external database infrastructure and careful sizing for high-scale deployments
• API-first approach means frontend rendering must be implemented separately

Squidex is well-suited for teams that want a flexible, developer-friendly headless CMS with strong APIs, workflows, and operational tooling. It can be deployed via containers or platform-native setups and scaled for production workloads.