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It's a split decision.
Pick Craft CMS if your priority is flexible structured content, a custom authoring back end, Twig or GraphQL front ends, and localization; its free Solo plan fits personal projects. Choose Umbraco if you want an open-source .NET CMS or managed hosting starting at €45/month, but Starter has capacity caps. Craft paid licenses are per project, while Umbraco add-ons can add unpublished costs. Both offer free options; compare hosting, seats, and required extras before switching.
01Side by side
| Craft CMS | Umbraco CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $279/project; $99/year updates after included first year | €45/month Starter; Free self-hosted plan also available |
| Free plan | Solo is free forever | Free self-hosted plan |
| Best for | Flexible content models and tailored authoring back ends | .NET teams wanting editor tools and hosting options |
| Core strength | Twig, GraphQL, localization, and customizable content | Open .NET platform with AI choice and governance |
| Learning curve | Ease-of-use review score: 6/10 | Ease-of-use review score: 6/10 |
| Integrations and data | Plugin Store, custom plugins, Twig, and GraphQL | Open integrations; AI tools of your choice |
| Team and seat costs | Team: five users; Pro: unlimited, per project | User caps not published; managed plans charge monthly |
| Support | Enterprise includes dedicated premium support | Enterprise includes 24/7 support and customer success manager |
Craft CMS Choose Craft CMS if
- You need flexible content and customizable authoring workflows
- Your project needs Twig templates or a decoupled GraphQL API
- You prefer per-project licensing to monthly managed tiers
Umbraco CMS Choose Umbraco CMS if
- Your team builds on .NET and wants an open-source CMS
- You want managed hosting with published storage and bandwidth caps
- You need Enterprise 24/7 support and a dedicated success manager
02Pricing compared
Both offer a free option, but their paid pricing works differently. Craft Solo is free forever and includes one user account, multi-site, localization, Twig and GraphQL. Team costs $279 per project and includes up to five accounts; Pro costs $399 per project and includes unlimited accounts and groups. Both paid licenses include one year of updates, then updates cost $99/year.
Umbraco Free is for self-hosting. Managed hosting starts at €45/month for Starter, with 5 GB media storage, 50 GB monthly bandwidth and 10 custom domains. Standard is €280/month; Professional is €730/month. Extra environments and add-ons can increase the bill, and many add-on prices are not published. Compare Craft’s project license and update cost with Umbraco hosting, capacity and required extras—not just the entry price.
03Features and depth
Craft is built for teams that want to shape both content structures and the authoring back end. It supports flexible content, Twig templates or a decoupled GraphQL API, and localization across unlimited sites, languages and locales. Craft Commerce adds customizable ecommerce, while plugins can extend the platform. That flexibility is useful when fixed CMS structures do not fit, but teams should check that the editing workflow suits their content operation.
Umbraco is an open-source .NET CMS with customizable development options and editor tools. Its Free plan includes content and media management, multilingual setup, headless APIs and webhooks. The product also describes support for AI tools and agents of a team’s choice, with governance controls. Its hosted plans add defined storage, bandwidth and domain limits. Choose Craft for flexible content modeling and Twig or GraphQL options; choose Umbraco if an open-source .NET foundation, managed hosting or its AI approach fits your requirements. Both products can be extended, but Umbraco add-on prices may be unpublished.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Neither comparison is only about the editor. Craft lets teams customize the back end, so editors may get a workflow tailored to them, but that means agreeing on the setup before committing. The review advises having editors test the workflow and costs first.
Umbraco describes its editor tools as intuitive, while also giving developers room to customize the CMS. Its Free option is self-hosted; managed plans have specific capacity limits to check. In either case, decide who will configure and maintain the system, then test common editorial tasks with the people who will publish. A smooth migration depends on the content model and workflow you need, not just the product’s ease-of-use claims.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, Craft CMS or Umbraco?
It depends on how you host and what you need. Craft Solo is free, while Team and Pro cost $279 and $399 per project, respectively, plus $99/year for updates after the first year. Umbraco Starter is €45/month, but add-ons and extra environments may add costs.
Does Craft CMS have a free plan?
Yes. Craft Solo is free forever and includes one user account, unlimited content types, entries, pages and locales, plus multi-site, localization, Twig and GraphQL. It is listed for personal sites and learning Craft; Team and Pro add paid project licenses and more accounts.
Can I use Craft CMS or Umbraco as a headless CMS?
Both offer headless options in the published product details. Craft supports a decoupled GraphQL API. Umbraco Free includes headless APIs and webhooks. Compare the APIs and your implementation needs before switching; the source details do not specify limits for either API.
Should I choose Craft CMS or Umbraco?
Choose Craft if flexible structured content, a custom authoring back end, Twig or GraphQL, and localization are priorities. Choose Umbraco if you want an open-source .NET CMS or managed hosting. Before deciding, check Craft’s update cost and Umbraco’s hosting caps and unpublished add-on prices.