Cockpit CMS and TinaCMS are both open-source, self-hostable headless CMS options, but they differ sharply in content storage and pricing structure. Cockpit…
Best for Cockpit CMS: Cockpit CMS suits developers who want content in a traditional database (SQLite or MongoDB) with REST and GraphQL access, and who prefer a one-time €299 license over an ongoing subscription.
Best for TinaCMS: TinaCMS suits teams publishing to static site generators who want free, built-in visual in-context editing tied to Git version history, with the option to scale into paid editorial workflows as the team grows.
At a Glance
Cockpit CMS
TinaCMS
Primary category
CMS
CMS
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Free/Open Source
freemium
Starting price
Free
Free (self-hosted); TinaCloud from $24/month
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Yes
Key Differences
Content Storage Model
Cockpit CMS: Cockpit CMS stores content in a self-hosted SQLite or MongoDB database.
TinaCMS: TinaCMS stores content directly in a Git repository as Markdown, MDX, JSON, or YAML.
Database storage suits dynamic apps; Git storage suits static-site content that benefits from version control.
Pricing Structure
Cockpit CMS: Cockpit's Pro tier is a one-time €299 fee per project, with an optional €99/year renewal to keep receiving updates.
TinaCMS: TinaCMS's paid Team plans are recurring subscriptions, from $24/month ($290/year) up to $249/month for Business.
One-time versus recurring pricing changes long-term cost projections significantly.
Visual Editing Access
Cockpit CMS: Cockpit's visual page builder (Layouts & Pages) is only available as part of the paid €299 Pro addon bundle.
TinaCMS: TinaCMS's visual, in-context editing is included even on the free 2-user Tina Cloud tier.
Free access to visual editing lowers the barrier for small teams or solo developers to try it.
AI Content Assistance
Cockpit CMS: Cockpit's Autopilot addon (paid Pro tier) provides AI-assisted content and image generation, plus AI-assisted translation via DeepL or LibreTranslate.
TinaCMS: TinaCMS lists AI features as still in development on its Team Plus and Business plans.
Availability of AI tooling today versus in development affects near-term workflow automation.
API Type
Cockpit CMS: Cockpit offers both REST and GraphQL APIs.
TinaCMS: TinaCMS's documented API is GraphQL-based, auto-generated for querying and mutating Git content.
REST availability matters for integrations or legacy systems that don't support GraphQL.
Feature-by-Feature
Content Model & Storage
Feature
Cockpit CMS
TinaCMS
Backend content store
Available
Available
REST API
Available
Not documented
GraphQL API
Available
Available
Built-in multi-language content with AI-assisted translation
Available
Not documented
Editing & Visual Tools
Feature
Cockpit CMS
TinaCMS
Visual in-context/page editing
Limited
Available
AI content assistant
Limited
Unavailable
Full-text search
Limited
Not documented
Content revision history
Available
Available
Pricing & Licensing
Feature
Cockpit CMS
TinaCMS
Free open-source core
Available
Available
Paid tier billing model
Available
Available
Self-hosted without vendor account
Available
Available
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Cockpit CMS
Open Source (Self-Hosted) — Free N/A
TinaCMS
Free — $0 forever
Team — $24/month monthly (or $290/year)
Team Plus — $41/month monthly (or $490/year)
Business — $249/month monthly (or $2,990/year)
Enterprise — Custom contact sales
Pros & Cons
Cockpit CMS
Pros
Genuinely free MIT-licensed core with no subscription, unlike many open-core headless CMS competitors
Framework-agnostic API-first design works with Next.js, React, Vue, PHP, Ruby, and more
Fast, lightweight five-minute setup with no vendor account required
Full data sovereignty appeals to GDPR-sensitive and public-sector organizations
Cons
Self-hosted only — no official managed cloud/SaaS offering, requiring users to handle their own hosting and scaling
Smaller ecosystem and community than larger headless CMS players like Strapi or Contentful
Documentation and enterprise-grade support are less extensive than venture-backed competitors
Long project history means some legacy design decisions persist alongside newer features
TinaCMS
Pros
Content stays in the team's own Git repository rather than a proprietary vendor database, avoiding lock-in
Free self-hosted option with no user limits for teams comfortable managing their own infrastructure
Strong fit for JAMstack and static-site workflows already using Next.js or Gatsby
Editorial workflow and role-based access make it viable for larger content teams via TinaCloud
Cons
Primarily built for React-based frameworks, so it is a weaker fit for non-React stacks
Requires developer setup to define the content schema before non-technical editors can use it
Free TinaCloud tier is capped at two users, so most real teams need a paid plan
Git-based content model has a learning curve for editors unfamiliar with version control concepts
Recent ownership change following the SSW acquisition introduces some uncertainty about the open-source project's long-term roadmap
Use Cases
Choose Cockpit CMS: Cockpit CMS suits developers who want content in a traditional database (SQLite or MongoDB) with REST and GraphQL access, and who prefer a one-time €299 license over an ongoing subscription.
Choose TinaCMS: TinaCMS suits teams publishing to static site generators who want free, built-in visual in-context editing tied to Git version history, with the option to scale into paid editorial workflows as the team grows.
Need both: There's no common scenario for using both on the same project since they're competing headless CMS backends; a developer might evaluate both in parallel when choosing a CMS but would settle on one as the system of record.
Cockpit CMS
Decoupled website content backend — Developers use Cockpit as the structured content API behind a Next.js or React frontend, keeping content management separate from presentation.
Vendor-independent content infrastructure — Organizations with GDPR or data-residency requirements self-host Cockpit to retain full control over where content is stored.
Multi-channel content distribution — Marketers and creators manage a single content source that feeds websites, apps, and other channels via API.
TinaCMS
JAMstack marketing sites with a Git-based workflow — Development teams building marketing or documentation sites on Next.js or Gatsby use TinaCMS to let content editors update copy without needing to write Markdown by hand or use a separate database-backed CMS.
Documentation sites with reviewable content changes — Teams maintaining developer documentation use TinaCMS's Git-backed storage so content edits go through the same pull-request review process as code changes.
Agencies building client-editable static sites — Agencies use TinaCMS and TinaCloud to hand off statically generated sites to clients who need to edit copy and images themselves without touching code or a GitHub account.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Cockpit and TinaCMS store content differently?
Cockpit stores content in a self-hosted SQLite or MongoDB database. TinaCMS stores content as Markdown, MDX, JSON, or YAML directly in your Git repository.
Which has cheaper long-term pricing?
Cockpit's Pro tier is a one-time €299 fee per project, with an optional €99/year renewal for continued updates. TinaCMS's paid Team plans are recurring subscriptions starting at $24/month ($290/year).
Is visual page editing free on either?
TinaCMS includes visual, in-context editing even on its free 2-user Tina Cloud tier. On Cockpit, the visual page builder (Layouts & Pages) requires the paid €299 Pro addon license.
Do either offer AI content assistance?
Cockpit's Autopilot is a paid Pro addon providing AI content and image generation. TinaCMS lists AI features as still in development on its paid Team Plus and Business plans, so they weren't fully available at time of review.
Can both be fully self-hosted without a vendor cloud account?
Yes. Cockpit requires no account at all and runs on your own PHP server. TinaCMS's Apache-2.0 backend can be self-hosted on any Express-compatible platform as an alternative to Tina Cloud.
Which one supports REST APIs?
Cockpit supports both REST and GraphQL APIs. TinaCMS's documented API is GraphQL-based only.