Concrete CMS vs Grav vs Statamic

Concrete CMS, Grav, and Statamic are all free-to-start, self-hosted content platforms, but they solve very different problems. Concrete CMS is a traditional…

Concrete CMS

Freemium (free open-source core, paid managed hosting) · From Free (self-hosted); managed hosting from $4.99/month

Best for: Government, educational, and institutional sites that need strong built-in page permissions and in-context editing without extra plugins.

Grav

Open Source (free core; paid premium themes and plugins) · From Free

Best for: Developers and agencies who want a completely free, database-free CMS with Git-native content and no per-site licensing cost.

Statamic

freemium (free Core tier, paid Pro licenses) · From Free (Core); Pro from $349 per site first year, $99/year renewal

Best for: Laravel developers and agencies who want a polished control panel plus flat-file, Git-based content, and are willing to pay a per-site Pro license for multi-user and headless features.

At a Glance

 Concrete CMSGravStatamic
Primary categoryCMSCMSCMS
RatingNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelFreemium (free open-source core, paid managed hosting)Open Source (free core; paid premium themes and plugins)freemium (free Core tier, paid Pro licenses)
Starting priceFree (self-hosted); managed hosting from $4.99/monthFreeFree (Core); Pro from $349 per site first year, $99/year renewal
Free planYesYesYes
Free trialNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
PlatformsWebWebWeb
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresNot documentedNot documentedNot documented
Public APIYesYesYes

Standout Differences

Two flat-file options, one traditional CMS

Grav and Statamic both store content as Git-trackable Markdown and YAML files with no required database, while Concrete CMS relies on a conventional database-backed architecture more like WordPress or Drupal.

Grav, Statamic, Concrete CMS

Free forever versus per-site licensing

Grav's core CMS, admin panel, and package manager are free for unlimited self-hosted sites, with revenue coming only from optional premium themes. Statamic's Core tier is free only for single-admin sites, and multi-user, headless API, and multi-site features require a $349 Pro license per site.

Grav, Statamic

Built-in permissions without plugins

Concrete CMS ships a role-based, fine-grained permissions system and full page version history out of the box, a heavier out-of-the-box access-control model than either Grav or Statamic documents in their free tiers.

Concrete CMS

Official managed hosting

Concrete CMS is the only one of the three with its own first-party managed hosting plans, starting around $4.99/month, for teams that don't want to self-host at all.

Concrete CMS

Headless APIs for developers

Grav ships a free first-party REST API, plus an MCP server for AI agents, on every install, while Statamic's REST and GraphQL APIs are reserved for the paid Pro tier.

Grav, Statamic

Feature-by-Feature

Architecture and Workflow

FeatureConcrete CMSGravStatamic
Flat-file, no-database architectureUnavailableAvailableAvailable
Git-native content workflowNot documentedAvailableAvailable
Headless REST or GraphQL APINot documentedAvailableLimited

Editing and Permissions

FeatureConcrete CMSGravStatamic
In-context or live page editingAvailableNot documentedLimited
Fine-grained roles and permissionsAvailableNot documentedLimited

Licensing and Hosting

FeatureConcrete CMSGravStatamic
Free tier usable in productionAvailableAvailableLimited
Official managed hostingAvailableNot documentedNot documented

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Concrete CMS

Open Source (Self-Hosted) — Free N/A
Starter Hosting — $4.99/month Monthly
Business Hosting — $19/month Monthly

Grav

Open Source Core — Free N/A
Premium Themes — From around $50 per theme One-time
Premium Bundles — Around $200 One-time

Statamic

Core — Free N/A
Pro — $349 per site (first year), $99/year renewal annual
Enterprise — Custom custom

Pros & Cons

Concrete CMS

Pros

  • Free and open source under the permissive MIT license
  • Strong built-in permissions and page version history without extra plugins
  • In-context editing is approachable for non-technical content editors
  • Active marketplace and optional managed hosting for teams that want it

Cons

  • Smaller plugin, theme, and developer ecosystem than WordPress
  • Managed hosting adds recurring cost beyond the free open-source core
  • Sites still on the legacy 5.x (concrete5) branch require migration to stay supported
  • Fewer third-party integrations available compared to larger CMS platforms

Grav

Pros

  • Completely free, open source core under the permissive MIT License
  • No database to install, secure or migrate; content is portable plain-text files
  • Native Git version control for all content and configuration
  • Modern, fast admin interface with real-time collaborative editing

Cons

  • Smaller plugin and theme ecosystem than WordPress
  • Flat-file architecture can be less efficient than a database for very large sites
  • Premium themes and advanced search require additional paid purchases
  • Requires more technical comfort with Git, the CLI and YAML than typical point-and-click site builders

Statamic

Pros

  • Free Core tier with no cost for single-admin, single-site use
  • Flat-file storage enables true Git-based content version control
  • Built on Laravel, appealing to PHP and Laravel developers
  • Polished, modern control panel that non-technical editors can use comfortably
  • Flexible headless API options for decoupled front-end architectures

Cons

  • Pro tier requires a per-site license fee, which can add up for agencies managing many sites
  • Smaller plugin and theme ecosystem compared to WordPress
  • Requires PHP and Laravel familiarity to extend or customize deeply
  • Flat-file storage can become harder to manage at very large content scale

Use Cases

Choose Concrete CMS: Government, educational, and institutional sites that need strong built-in page permissions and in-context editing without extra plugins.
Choose Grav: Developers and agencies who want a completely free, database-free CMS with Git-native content and no per-site licensing cost.
Choose Statamic: Laravel developers and agencies who want a polished control panel plus flat-file, Git-based content, and are willing to pay a per-site Pro license for multi-user and headless features.

Concrete CMS

  • Government and Institutional Websites — Organizations needing granular, role-based editorial permissions use Concrete CMS's built-in access controls.
  • Small Business and Agency Sites — In-context editing lets non-technical staff update site content without training on a separate admin panel.

Grav

  • Developer Blogs and Documentation Sites — Build fast, Git-versioned technical blogs and documentation without a database.
  • Agency Client Websites Needing Git-Based Workflows — Deliver client sites with version-controlled content and simple portability between servers.
  • Lightweight Portfolio and Brochure Sites — Run small, fast-loading marketing or portfolio sites without database overhead.

Statamic

  • Agency client websites — Web agencies use Statamic's white-label Pro tier and Git-based workflows to build and maintain marketing sites for multiple clients.
  • Developer-controlled content sites — Laravel developers use Statamic's flat-file storage to keep content under version control alongside application code.
  • Headless content delivery — Teams building decoupled front ends use Statamic Pro's REST and GraphQL APIs to serve content to custom applications.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Concrete CMS, Grav, and Statamic require a database?

Concrete CMS is a traditional database-backed CMS. Grav is fully flat-file and never requires a database. Statamic is flat-file-first but also supports an optional database-driven mode for teams that prefer it.

Which of the three is completely free for production use?

Concrete CMS's open-source core and Grav's core CMS are both free for unlimited, unrestricted production use. Statamic's Core tier is free only for single-admin, single-site use; anything beyond that requires a paid Pro license.

Which one is best for non-technical content editors?

Concrete CMS is built around in-context editing, letting non-technical editors change text, images, and layout directly on the live page. Statamic pairs a polished control panel with Live Preview, while Grav's admin panel is modern but assumes more comfort with Git, YAML, and the command line.

Can I manage multiple sites from one installation?

Concrete CMS added native multisite support in version 9. Statamic supports multi-site and multilingual setups on its Pro tier. Grav's provided feature set does not document built-in multisite management.

How does pricing work if I need a headless API?

Grav includes a first-party REST API for free on every installation. Statamic's headless REST and GraphQL APIs require the Pro license, priced at $349 for the first year per site with a $99/year renewal. Concrete CMS's developer API is documented but not specifically marketed as a headless REST or GraphQL layer.

Does Concrete CMS offer managed hosting?

Yes, Concrete CMS's maintainer, PortlandLabs, sells managed hosting plans starting around $4.99/month for a Starter tier, in addition to the free self-hosted open-source option. Grav and Statamic don't document an equivalent first-party hosting product in the provided data.

Read the full Concrete CMS review · Read the full Grav review · Read the full Statamic review