Decap CMS review
Free git-based editing
Decap CMS is the tool that made git-based content editing normal, first as Netlify CMS and now community-maintained under the Decap name. It is a single-page React app you add at /admin, configured with a YAML file, that authenticates against GitHub or GitLab and commits Markdown and media to your repository.
There is no backend to run and no vendor at all. That is the appeal and also the ceiling.
Who Decap CMS is for
Small static sites, documentation and personal projects where content lives in Markdown and the editors are comfortable with a simple form.
Not suitable for large teams, high content volume or anyone who needs a live visual preview.
Strengths and limits
What it does well
- Genuinely free and MIT licensed, with no hosted component and therefore no bill and no vendor risk.
- Configured with one YAML file, so a working editing interface is often thirty minutes of work.
- Editorial workflow maps drafts onto pull requests, which is a natural review process for developer-led teams.
- Enormous installed base from its Netlify CMS era, so most problems are already answered somewhere.
Where it falls short
- The editing experience is a form over Markdown. There is no live preview of the real page and it feels dated beside Tina or Sveltia.
- Development pace slowed considerably after the Netlify handover, and the community fork Sveltia exists largely because of it.
- Git ceilings apply: concurrent editing, large media libraries and thousands of entries are all painful.
- Authentication needs an OAuth provider you configure yourself unless you host on a platform that provides one.
Decap CMS pricing
Free. Decap CMS is MIT licensed with no paid tier, no hosted service and no usage limits. The only costs are your static host and, if you need one, an OAuth proxy for authentication.
Verdict
Still the right answer for a small Markdown site that needs a non-developer to change copy occasionally, and the price is unbeatable. Set expectations about the editing experience before handing it to a marketing team.
If you like the git model but want a modern editor, look at Sveltia CMS, which is a drop-in successor, or Tina if you want visual editing and can pay for it.
Decap CMS FAQ
Is Decap CMS the same as Netlify CMS?
Yes. Netlify CMS was renamed Decap CMS when maintenance moved to the community. It is the same project and configuration format, and existing Netlify CMS setups migrate by changing the package.Is Decap CMS free?
Completely. It is MIT licensed with no hosted service and no paid tier. You pay only for static hosting and, if your platform does not provide one, an OAuth proxy for authentication.
Other platforms worth a look
This is an independent review. We have no affiliate relationship with Decap CMS, earn nothing if you sign up, and no vendor pays for placement in the directory. Prices were read from the vendor's own pages in August 2026 and change without notice.