Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GraphCMS VS DatoCMS

Compare GraphCMS VS DatoCMS and see what are their differences

GraphCMS logo GraphCMS

The GraphQL Headless CMS

DatoCMS logo DatoCMS

Connect DatoCMS to your favorite site generator, build the perfect backend and deploy anywhere you like.
  • GraphCMS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-19
  • DatoCMS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-18

GraphCMS features and specs

  • GraphQL Native
    GraphCMS is designed around GraphQL, allowing for flexible and efficient querying of data and improving developer experience.
  • Headless CMS
    It serves as a headless CMS, separating content management from presentation, providing flexibility in delivering content to multiple channels such as websites, mobile apps, and IoT devices.
  • Scalability
    GraphCMS offers scalable architecture, capable of handling large volumes of content and high traffic, making it suitable for enterprise-level projects.
  • Content Modeling
    It provides advanced content modeling capabilities, allowing users to create complex and custom content structures tailored to their specific needs.
  • API-first Approach
    GraphCMS uses an API-first approach, facilitating easy integration with other tools and services within your digital ecosystem.
  • Extensive Plugins and Integrations
    It supports a wide array of plugins and integrations, enhancing functionality and streamlining workflows.
  • Real-time Updates
    Supports real-time updates, essential for applications that require most updated content without delay.
  • Multilingual Support
    Offers robust multilingual support, allowing content creators to manage and deliver content in multiple languages seamlessly.

Possible disadvantages of GraphCMS

  • Pricing
    Compared to some alternatives, GraphCMS can be relatively expensive, especially for small businesses or individual developers.
  • Learning Curve
    The GraphQL-based approach might have a learning curve for those unfamiliar with GraphQL, potentially increasing the time needed to onboard new developers.
  • Complexity for Simple Projects
    GraphCMS's advanced features and capabilities might be overkill for simpler projects, where a more basic CMS could suffice.
  • Dependency on External Services
    Being a cloud-based service, it requires a reliable internet connection and can be dependent on the service uptime and performance of GraphCMS infrastructure.
  • Limited Built-in Marketing Tools
    It lacks some built-in marketing tools that other CMS platforms might offer, requiring additional integration for comprehensive marketing functionalities.

DatoCMS features and specs

  • Flexible Content Modeling
    DatoCMS offers a highly flexible content modeling system that allows users to define custom content types and fields to suit their specific needs.
  • Headless CMS
    DatoCMS is a headless CMS, enabling content delivery via APIs, which provides more versatility for developers to create frontend applications using different technologies.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The platform has a clean and intuitive interface that makes it easy for non-technical users to manage content without a steep learning curve.
  • Scalable and Performant
    DatoCMS is designed to be scalable and performant, making it suitable for both small projects and large enterprise-level applications.
  • Integration Capabilities
    It offers extensive integration capabilities with various third-party services and tools, enhancing its functionality and adaptability.
  • GraphQL API
    DatoCMS provides a robust GraphQL API which allows more efficient data querying and flexibility compared to traditional REST APIs.
  • Multilingual Support
    The platform supports multiple languages out of the box, making it easier to manage content in different languages.
  • Detailed Documentation
    It comes with comprehensive documentation and tutorials that help developers get up to speed quickly.

Possible disadvantages of DatoCMS

  • Cost
    DatoCMS pricing may be considered high for smaller projects or startups compared to some other CMS solutions.
  • Learning Curve for Developers
    While the interface is user-friendly for non-technical users, developers might face a learning curve due to the specific conventions and methods used by the platform.
  • Limited Built-in Templating
    Unlike some other CMS platforms, DatoCMS does not provide built-in templating solutions, requiring developers to handle this aspect separately.
  • Dependency on Internet Connectivity
    As a cloud-based solution, DatoCMS requires an internet connection to access and manage content, which might be a drawback for remote or offline environments.
  • API Rate Limits
    There might be API rate limits which can impact performance, especially during high-traffic periods or bulk operations.
  • Custom Plugins Limitations
    While DatoCMS supports custom plugins, the ecosystem is not as vast as some other platforms, potentially limiting feature extensibility.
  • Complex Migration
    Migrating large volumes of content or complex data structures from other CMS platforms to DatoCMS could be intricate and time-consuming.

Analysis of GraphCMS

Overall verdict

  • Yes, GraphCMS is considered a good option for those looking for a headless CMS solution with strong API capabilities and flexibility in content management.

Why this product is good

  • GraphCMS is often regarded as a good choice for handling content management solutions because it combines the flexibility of headless CMS with powerful GraphQL APIs. It allows for efficient content querying and management, offers scalability, and provides a smooth user experience with a modern UI. Additionally, its integration with various technologies and platforms makes it adaptable for different development environments.

Recommended for

    GraphCMS is recommended for developers and companies looking for a scalable and flexible content management solution, particularly those who prefer working with GraphQL APIs. It is ideal for projects requiring complex content structures, such as e-commerce platforms, large-scale websites, and applications needing customized content delivery across different channels.

Analysis of DatoCMS

Overall verdict

  • DatoCMS is a solid choice for developers and businesses looking for a flexible, modern headless CMS solution. Its comprehensive feature set, ease of use, and strong integration possibilities make it appealing to a broad audience. However, the best CMS ultimately depends on the specific needs and preferences of the project and team.

Why this product is good

  • DatoCMS is considered a good choice for many users due to its user-friendly interface, robust API capabilities, and flexibility in handling structured content. It provides a headless CMS solution that allows developers to create efficient and scalable websites and applications. Its feature set includes real-time updates, image and video support, and multilingual support, making it suitable for a variety of use cases. Additionally, it offers integrations with popular frameworks and tools such as React, Gatsby, and Next.js, enhancing its appeal to modern web developers.

Recommended for

    DatoCMS is recommended for developers and digital agencies looking to build scalable web applications and sites, content creators who need a user-friendly interface for managing structured content, and teams that require a CMS with strong API support and integration capabilities. It's also well-suited for projects that need multi-language support or extensive media handling capabilities.

GraphCMS videos

GraphCMS + eCommerce

More videos:

  • Review - GraphCMS x Next.js | Working with getStaticProps, getStaticPaths and GraphQL

DatoCMS videos

Nuxt.js With A Headless CMS Tutorial (Using DatoCMS)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GraphCMS and DatoCMS)
CMS
56 56%
44% 44
Blogging
60 60%
40% 40
Blogging Platform
68 68%
32% 32
Developer Tools
71 71%
29% 29

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GraphCMS and DatoCMS

GraphCMS Reviews

34 Headless CMS That Should Be On Your Radar
GraphCMS allows you to develop a hosted GraphQL back-end for your application where you can define relations, structures, and permissions of your application data. It also comes with a number of tools to create and manage your content, including text editors, asset management, workflows, user roles, and multi-lingual support.
Source: www.cmswire.com

DatoCMS Reviews

Best Headless CMS in 2022
If you want a CMS that’s easy to use and is highly agreeable with a wide range of other technologies, DatoCMS has a lot to offer. Even the free plan supports GraphQL API, and integrating with site generators like Gatsby or libraries like Next.js or React (used in Gatsby, of course) isn’t a problem.
Source: flatlogic.com
34 Headless CMS That Should Be On Your Radar
Italy-based DatoCMS is a headless content as a service (CaaS) platform. Supporting multiple languages, DatoCMS enables brands to organize digital assets in folders, locate media files quickly using AI-powered tagging or sophisticated search capabilities, and publish them wherever they need it.
Source: www.cmswire.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GraphCMS seems to be a lot more popular than DatoCMS. While we know about 19 links to GraphCMS, we've tracked only 1 mention of DatoCMS. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GraphCMS mentions (19)

  • Build a Task Manager CRUD App with React and Hygraph
    Hygraph, formerly known as GraphCMS, is a backend-only content management system (i.e., a headless CMS) that uses GraphQL to query data and perform mutations (or updates) to the content, making it accessible via a single endpoint (API) for display on any device without a built-in frontend or presentation layer. It allows teams to use a single content repository to deliver content from a single source to endless... - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • free-for.dev
    GraphCMS - Offers free tier for small projects. GraphQL first API. Move away from legacy solutions to the GraphQL native Headless CMS - and deliver omnichannel content API first. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Generate Types for Your GraphQL Schemas in 5 Minutes
    I'm building an app using GraphCMS (super awesome, by the way) but the only gotcha is it doesn't offer a plugin to export your schema types. Since I can't function without TypeScript, that was a big problem the second I tried to write mutations or generate static pages using my schemas. - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
  • Serverless blog with 11ty, GraphCMS and Firebase
    In comes GraphCMS, a competitor of the beloved DatoCMS. It lacks some features - like repeatable blocks and the UI is a bit too cluttered, but has a generous free tier. For a blog, this will do just fine. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
  • Using GitHub as a CMS
    I found most people were happy to recommend other headless CMS services like Strapi, Sanity, GraphCMS, etc which did seem to do the job I wanted of providing a platform for me to curate & manage my content without having to redeploy. But most of them had the same issues that I didn't like. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
View more

DatoCMS mentions (1)

  • incentivizing plastics picker ecomony
    Website publishing via management via datocms.com and vercel/netlify/github. Source: about 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GraphCMS and DatoCMS, you can also consider the following products

Contentful - You don't need another CMS. You need a better way to manage content — unified, structured, and ready to deploy to any digital channel.

WordPress - WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

Prismic - prismic.io is a web software you can use to manage content in any kind of website or app. API-driven.

Craft CMS - Content management system built on Yii PHP Framework

Strapi - Manage any content. Anywhere. The leading open-source headless CMS. 100% JavaScript / TypeScript and fully customizable.

Drupal - Drupal - the leading open-source CMS for ambitious digital experiences that reach your audience across multiple channels. Because we all have different needs, Drupal allows you to create a unique space in a world of cookie-cutter solutions.