Keystatic vs Statamic
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Statamic
Laravel-powered flat-file CMS for custom sites
| Feature | Keystatic | Statamic |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | source, docker | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,408 | ★ 4,897 |
| First released | 2023 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Contentful, Netlify CMS | WordPress, Contentful |
What are Keystatic and Statamic?
Keystatic
Keystatic is an open-source, Git-based content management system for content authored in Markdown, YAML, and JSON. It provides an editing UI that commits directly to your repository, working well with modern static site frameworks.
- Git-based content
- Markdown and structured data
- Editing UI commits to repo
- Framework integrations
Statamic
Statamic is a content management system built on Laravel that can run flat-file or database-backed. It offers a friendly control panel and a developer-focused workflow for building custom websites.
- Flat-file or database storage
- Built on Laravel
- Git-friendly content
- Polished control panel
Keystatic vs Statamic: key differences
Keystatic is written in TypeScript, while Statamic is built with PHP. Keystatic is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Statamic. Statamic is the more established project (first released 2012), while Keystatic arrived in 2023. Statamic has the considerably larger community, at 4,897 GitHub stars versus 2,408.
Why pick each one
Choose Keystatic if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Watch out for
- Best with specific frameworks
- Younger project
Choose Statamic if…
- Great for Laravel developers
- Easy version control of content
Watch out for
- Solo and Pro licenses can be paid
- Best suited to developers
Frequently asked questions
Is Keystatic or Statamic better?
Neither is universally better. Statamic has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Keystatic and Statamic free and open-source?
Yes. Keystatic is licensed under MIT and Statamic under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Keystatic and Statamic with Docker?
Keystatic: yes. Statamic: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Keystatic or Statamic?
Keystatic has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Statamic. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.