/ 30+ Best CMS Tools for Next.js - An Easy Guide for Developers
By Sunil Joshi
08 Oct 2025
Choosing the right CMS for your Next.js project is a big decision. It affects how fast you can build, and how easily your content team can add or change things on the website. A headless CMS is a tool that manages your content but doesn't handle the design part that's what Next.js does. This guide looks at some popular CMS tools and explains their benefits, features, and why they're a good fit for Next.js.
What's good about it? Sanity is great because it treats your content like data, not just text. This means you can arrange and query your content exactly how you want. It also has a special query language called GROQ which is very fast. The best part? Multiple people can edit content at the same time without any problems.
Why use it with Next.js? If you want full control over your content and a great experience for developers, Sanity is a top choice. Its Studio is a perfect match for the Next.js workflow, and its structured content model is great for complex websites.
Who made it? Sanity was started by Magnus Hillestad and Simen Svale.
What's good about it? Strapi is an open-source CMS. This means you can use it for free and even change its code if you want. You can also host it on your own server, so you have complete control over your data.
Why use it with Next.js? Choose Strapi if you want to keep all your data on your own servers. Its open-source nature gives you total freedom to customize everything. It's a great option for Next.js because it's built to be API-first.
Who made it? Strapi was started by Pierre Burgy,Aurélien Georget and Jim.
What's good about it? Ghost is a CMS made specifically for blogging and publishing. It has a clean editor and includes tools for managing members and sending out newsletters. It's very fast, which is good for your website's SEO.
Why use it with Next.js? If your project is mainly a blog or a publication, Ghost is a perfect fit. It has all the features you need for a blog, which saves you a lot of time. Its simple API works well with Next.js to build a fast website.
Who made it? Ghost was founded by John O'Nolan and Hannah Wolfe.
What's good about it? Hygraph is built completely on GraphQL. This makes it very efficient. You can combine content from many different places into one single API.
Why use it with Next.js? If you already use GraphQL, Hygraph is a great choice. It's perfect for projects that need to pull data from many sources. Its modern, API-first approach works perfectly with Next.js to build fast, data-rich websites.
Who made it? Hygraph was founded by Michael Lukaszczyk, Daniel Peintner and Christopher Reusch.
What’s good about it? Prismic is known for its Slice Machine, which allows content teams to build and manage reusable components—called "slices"—without needing constant developer input. It empowers non-technical users to easily create and update pages.
Why use it with Next.js? Prismic is a great fit if your marketing or content teams need flexibility and control over page layouts. Its slice-based approach aligns naturally with how components are built in React and Next.js, making it easy to integrate and maintain.
Who’s behind it? Prismic was founded by Sadek Drobi and Guillaume Bort.
What’s good about it? Contentful is one of the most widely used headless CMSs, trusted by large enterprises for its flexibility and robustness. It offers powerful content modeling tools and an extensive integration marketplace, making it suitable for complex, large-scale websites.
Why use it with Next.js? Contentful is a great choice for large-scale, high-traffic websites that need a scalable, stable CMS. Its global CDN ensures fast content delivery, and the excellent documentation makes it easy to integrate with Next.js projects.
Who’s behind it? Contentful was founded by Sascha Konietzke and Paolo Negri.
What’s good about it? Storyblok stands out with its Visual Editor, which lets content editors see real-time previews of their changes directly on the page. This streamlines the content creation process and makes collaboration between developers and editors smoother.
Why use it with Next.js? Storyblok is perfect for teams that want a smooth collaboration between developers and content editors. The visual editing experience, paired with a component-based content model, aligns well with Next.js and React development practices.
Who’s behind it? Storyblok was founded by Dominik Angerer, who also serves as the CEO.
What’s good about it? DatoCMS offers a blazing-fast GraphQL API and a user-friendly interface. It's built for speed, flexibility, and scalability—suitable for both developers and content editors. It also includes tools for localization and safe testing environments.
Why use it with Next.js? DatoCMS is a great match for performance-focused Next.js projects that require speed and localization. Its fast API and CDN complement Next.js’s static generation and internationalization features.
Who’s behind it? DatoCMS was founded by Stefano Verna.
What’s good about it? ButterCMS is a simple and developer-friendly headless CMS, ideal for quickly adding content features like blogs and landing pages. Its integrated blog engine makes it easy to launch a blog without building one from scratch.
Why use it with Next.js? ButterCMS is a great choice for Next.js sites that need to launch content quickly—especially blogs or marketing pages. It’s easy to set up, and the pre-built features save time without sacrificing flexibility.
Who’s behind it? ButterCMS was founded by Jake Lumetta and Abi Noda.
What’s good about it? Suncel is a modern headless CMS built specifically for React and Next.js. It features a user-friendly visual editor that empowers non-developers to build and edit pages using pre-built blocks—no coding required.
Why use it with Next.js? Suncel is ideal for Next.js projects where you need quick setup, strong SEO, and an intuitive editing experience for content teams. Its tight integration with Next.js makes development and deployment smooth and efficient.
Who’s behind it? The founders of Suncel have not been widely publicized.
What’s good about it? Tina is a Git-backed CMS, meaning your content lives directly in your Git repository (e.g., GitHub). It offers a smooth visual editing experience right on your live Next.js site and is highly developer-friendly.
Why use it with Next.js? Tina is ideal for developers using Next.js who want a CMS that integrates into their Git-based workflow. It offers tight coupling with the codebase, making development and content editing seamless and modern.
Who’s behind it? The founders of Tina are not widely publicized, as the project focuses on being open-source and community-driven. Notably, Forestry has merged into TinaCMS.
What’s good about it? WordPress is the most widely used CMS in the world. When used as a headless CMS, it lets you manage content through its familiar admin interface while delivering the frontend with Next.js. This gives you the reliability of WordPress with the speed and flexibility of a modern React framework.
Why use it with Next.js? If your team is already using WordPress or wants access to its massive plugin ecosystem, using it headlessly is a smart move. Next.js can power a fast, modern frontend while WordPress handles content management behind the scenes.
Who’s behind it? WordPress was co-founded by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little.
What’s good about it? CraftCMS is a developer-first CMS known for its flexibility and control. It doesn’t impose rigid structures—instead, it gives you the tools to build exactly what you need. It’s ideal for custom content architectures and tailored workflows.
Why use it with Next.js? CraftCMS is perfect for Next.js developers who want a CMS that doesn’t get in the way. It provides the backend flexibility to support complex, content-heavy projects while allowing a modern React frontend powered by Next.js.
Who’s behind it? CraftCMS was created by Brandon Kelly of Pixel & Tonic.
What’s good about it? Webiny is an open-source, serverless CMS built for enterprise use. It’s designed to be highly scalable and customizable, running on modern infrastructure like AWS. With a plugin-based architecture, it gives teams the tools to extend and adapt it to fit complex needs.
Why use it with Next.js? Webiny is ideal for Next.js projects that need to handle high traffic and require scalable infrastructure. Its enterprise-level features and GraphQL API make it a strong backend choice for modern, performant websites.
Who’s behind it? Webiny was founded by Sven Al Hamad, Goran Candrlic, and Pavel Denisjuk.
What’s good about it? Directus is a headless CMS that transforms your SQL database into a powerful API with an elegant admin interface. It works with any SQL database, giving you full control and ownership of your data.
Why use it with Next.js? Directus is ideal if you want to leverage a familiar SQL database as your content backend while having a modern, powerful API and UI. It pairs well with Next.js for building performant, data-driven websites with full data ownership.
Who’s behind it? Directus was founded by Benjamin Haynes.
What’s good about it? PayloadCMS is an open-source, code-first CMS built with TypeScript. You define your content models and business logic directly in code, making it ideal for teams that want tight control and seamless integration with their development workflow.
Why use it with Next.js? PayloadCMS is perfect for Next.js developers who want a developer-friendly, code-centric CMS. Its TypeScript foundation and extensibility make integration with Next.js straightforward and efficient.
Who’s behind it? PayloadCMS was founded by Dan Ribbens, Elliot DeNolf, and James Mikrut.
What’s good about it? Keystone is an open-source CMS built on Node.js and GraphQL, designed to be a powerful backend for developers. You define your schema, and Keystone instantly provides a GraphQL API along with a customizable admin UI.
Why use it with Next.js? Keystone is ideal for developers who want to quickly build a custom backend without losing control. Its Node.js and GraphQL foundation pairs perfectly with a Next.js frontend, enabling efficient app development.
Who’s behind it? Keystone is a product of Thinkmill.
What’s good about it? Plasmic is a visual page builder that integrates seamlessly with your Next.js codebase. It empowers designers and marketers to build and manage pages visually, while developers can extend it with custom React components.
Why use it with Next.js? Plasmic is perfect for teams wanting to empower non-technical users to manage page layouts without sacrificing developer control. Its deep Next.js integration combines a modern dev stack with a user-friendly visual builder.
Who’s behind it? Plasmic was founded by Yang Zhang.
What’s good about it? CloudCannon is a Git-based CMS focused on visual editing for static sites. It enables smooth collaboration between developers and content editors by allowing content changes directly on the live website.
Why use it with Next.js? CloudCannon is ideal for static Next.js sites and teams that want a CMS tightly integrated with Git workflows. It empowers content editors with a simple visual interface while letting developers work in code.
Who’s behind it? CloudCannon was founded by John Alexander Holt, Michael Carl Neumegen, and George Paul Phillips.
What’s good about it? React Bricks is a headless CMS focused on inline visual editing and built entirely for React and Next.js. It lets you create reusable content blocks as React components, which your content team can then use to build pages visually.
Why use it with Next.js? React Bricks is perfect for Next.js projects wanting an intuitive editing experience for content teams without losing design control. Its component-based “bricks” approach fits naturally with React’s architecture.
Who’s behind it? (Information on the founder team is not publicly available.)
What’s good about it? Cosmic CMS is an intelligent, API-first CMS designed to help teams build and ship content-powered apps quickly. It offers scalability along with advanced features like AI-assisted content generation.
Why use it with Next.js? Cosmic CMS is an excellent choice for Next.js developers needing a feature-rich, scalable CMS. Its AI capabilities accelerate content creation, and its API-first design makes frontend integration simple.
Who’s behind it? Cosmic CMS was founded by Carson Gibbons and Tony Spiro.
What’s good about it? AgilityCMS is an enterprise-grade headless CMS that emphasizes easy content creation and management. It features robust page management and a content-first approach to website building.
Why use it with Next.js? AgilityCMS is ideal for complex, content-heavy Next.js websites. Its page management and live preview capabilities make it well suited for larger teams needing structured workflows.
Who’s behind it? AgilityCMS was founded by Michael Assad and Jon Voigt.
What’s good about it? Caisy is a headless CMS built for speed, scalability, and smooth developer experience. It features a high-performance GraphQL API and a clean, intuitive interface for content editors, with real-time collaboration at its core.
Why use it with Next.js? Caisy is a great fit for Next.js developers who want a fast, GraphQL-first CMS with strong collaboration tools. Its modern tooling and focus on performance make it ideal for content-rich web apps.
Who’s behind it? Caisy was founded by a team of experienced developers who previously ran a digital agency.
What’s good about it? Decap CMS is a Git-based, open-source CMS designed for static site generators. It offers a lightweight, single-page admin interface for content management and integrates easily with GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket.
Why use it with Next.js? Decap CMS is ideal for static Next.js sites that need a simple, Git-integrated content solution. It’s fast to set up and works well for smaller projects or teams already using Git for version control.
Who’s behind it? Originally created by Netlify, founded by Mathias Biilmann and Christian Bach.
What’s good about it? Pages CMS is a “No-Hassle CMS” built for static site generators like Next.js. It sits on top of GitHub, allowing non-technical users to manage website content easily—no need to learn Git or code.
Why use it with Next.js? Pages CMS is perfect for static Next.js sites managed by non-technical teams. Its GitHub-based workflow keeps things simple while offering enough flexibility for content-driven projects.
Who’s behind it? Pages CMS was created by Ronan Berder.
What’s good about it? Sitepins is a lightweight, Git-based CMS built for static site generators like Next.js. It focuses on simplicity and a smooth workflow, offering both developers and content editors a modern and flexible experience.
Why use it with Next.js? Sitepins is a great fit for static Next.js sites where speed, simplicity, and Git-based workflows are key. It provides a modern editing experience without adding unnecessary complexity.
Who’s behind it? Sitepins was founded in 2024, though the specific founders have not been publicly disclosed.
What’s good about it? BCMS is a headless CMS focused on speed, flexibility, and developer-friendliness. With a powerful content modeling system and strong TypeScript support, it positions itself as a modern alternative to platforms like Webflow and WordPress.
Why use it with Next.js? BCMS is optimized for Next.js projects, with an official NPM package for easy integration. Its TypeScript-first, component-based architecture makes it a great choice for building scalable and multilingual apps in the Next.js ecosystem.
Who’s behind it? BCMS was founded by Momcilo Popov.
What’s good about it? GitCMS is a lightweight, Git-based headless CMS made for static site generators. It turns any GitHub repository into a user-friendly CMS with a Notion-like editing experience, ideal for non-technical users working in developer-friendly environments.
Why use it with Next.js? GitCMS is a perfect fit for Next.js static sites. It's fast to set up, integrates directly with GitHub, and gives content editors a clean UI—all without needing databases or complex infrastructure.
Who’s behind it? GitCMS was built by Waishnav.
