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Craft CMS alternative

Hatamoto vs Craft CMS

Craft has some of the best content modelling of any CMS, and its pricing table lists SEO and forms as "with plugin". Hatamoto builds those into the free download. Craft is ahead on languages, multi-site and sign-in options.

Install Hatamoto See the full comparison

37 lines compared

Updated 28 October 2026, against Craft 5.11 with the Team and Pro editions, plugin prices from the Plugin Store.

Hatamoto ahead
14 Built-in SEO, forms, page cache, AI agents and plugin safety
Craft CMS ahead
14 Content modelling, languages, multi-site, GraphQL and sign-in
About the same
9 Live preview, revisions, redirects and exports

Line by line

The full comparison

37 lines in nine groups. Open a group to see each line. "Ahead" means better out of the box for a typical business website.

Hatamoto aheadCraft CMS aheadAbout the same

Platform and hostingHatamoto 3Craft CMS 3Even 1
Platform and hosting: Hatamoto vs Craft CMS
LineHatamotoCraft CMSAhead
What you runOne Go binary and a Postgres databasePHP 8.2 or later on Yii 2, with MySQL, MariaDB or PostgresHatamoto
LicenceApache-2.0, open sourceProprietary Craft License, with the source on GitHubHatamoto
PriceFree for every featureSolo is free for one user. Team is US$279 and Pro US$399 per project, then US$99 a yearHatamoto
If you stop payingNothing changes, there was never a feeYou keep the version you have and stop getting updatesEven
Managed hostingNone, you run it yourselfCraft Cloud from US$120 a month, licence includedCraft CMS
More than one languageNo, one language per siteBuilt in, in every editionCraft CMS
Several sites from one installNo, one install per siteBuilt in, for sites run by the same teamCraft CMS
Editing and contentHatamoto 1Craft CMS 2Even 4
Editing and content: Hatamoto vs Craft CMS
LineHatamotoCraft CMSAhead
Writing postsRich text editor built inFree first-party CKEditor pluginEven
Content modellingContent types, fields, sections and taxonomiesSections, entry types and nested Matrix entries, as flexible as any CMSCraft CMS
Building pagesSection-based page builder with live previewMatrix blocks rendered by your Twig templatesEven
Live previewBuilt inBuilt in, including for headless front endsEven
Drafts, revisions and schedulingBuilt inBuilt inEven
Staff accountsUnlimited, freeOne on Solo, five on Team, unlimited on ProHatamoto
Roles and permissionsOwner and editorUser groups with fine-grained permissions, on ProCraft CMS
SEO and AI searchHatamoto 4
SEO and AI search: Hatamoto vs Craft CMS
LineHatamotoCraft CMSAhead
SEO titles, schema and sitemapsBuilt inSEOmatic plugin, US$99 then US$69 a yearHatamoto
Redirects and 404 logBuilt inRetour plugin, US$59 then US$39 a yearHatamoto
llms.txt and AI crawler controlsBuilt inNot in coreHatamoto
AI crawler reportsWhich AI read which page, and the visits it sentNot availableHatamoto
AI agents and developer toolsHatamoto 1Craft CMS 2Even 1
AI agents and developer tools: Hatamoto vs Craft CMS
LineHatamotoCraft CMSAhead
MCP serverBuilt inThird-party plugins on Craft 5. Built in from Craft 6, now in alphaHatamoto
APIREST API with scoped keysGraphQL in every edition, plus a free JSON pluginCraft CMS
Command linehatamoto CLIcraft console commandsEven
Schema in version controlContent types live in the databaseProject config in YAML files you commitCraft CMS
SpeedHatamoto 1Craft CMS 1Even 1
Speed: Hatamoto vs Craft CMS
LineHatamotoCraft CMSAhead
Full-page cachingBuilt in, cleared on every editBlitz plugin, US$99 then US$69 a year, or Craft CloudHatamoto
Partial caching in templatesNot includedTwig cache tags that clear themselvesCraft CMS
Page weightServer-rendered, about 70 lines of scriptDepends on your templatesEven
Site featuresHatamoto 2Craft CMS 1
Site features: Hatamoto vs Craft CMS
LineHatamotoCraft CMSAhead
FormsBuilt in, with spam protection and CSV exportFormie plugin, US$99 then US$49 a yearHatamoto
Visitor analyticsBuilt in, no cookiesNot in coreHatamoto
Online shopNot includedCraft Commerce, from US$1,199 per projectCraft CMS
Plugins and themesHatamoto 1Craft CMS 2
Plugins and themes: Hatamoto vs Craft CMS
LineHatamotoCraft CMSAhead
Plugin safetyEvery plugin runs in a WebAssembly sandboxPlugins are PHP packages with full accessHatamoto
Plugin storeA small set of signed first-party pluginsHundreds of free and paid plugins in the control panelCraft CMS
TemplatingGo templatesTwig, which many front-end developers knowCraft CMS
Security and dataHatamoto 1Craft CMS 1Even 1
Security and data: Hatamoto vs Craft CMS
LineHatamotoCraft CMSAhead
Staff sign-inPassword, rate limits and a private admin addressTwo-factor sign-in and passkeys in every editionCraft CMS
UpdatesSigned and automatic, with release channels and rollbackUpdate from the control panel or Composer, then deployHatamoto
Getting your data outOne command exports content, media and settingsExports to CSV, JSON, XML, XLSX or YAML from any listingEven
Track record and communityCraft CMS 2Even 1
Track record and community: Hatamoto vs Craft CMS
LineHatamotoCraft CMSAhead
MaturityPre-1.0, runs hatamoto.devSince 2013, with Craft 5 supported for five years after Craft 6Craft CMS
Agency ecosystemSmall and growingMany specialist Craft agencies and plugin vendorsCraft CMS
Importing from WordPressBuilt in, with a URL auditOfficial wp-import toolEven

Compared against Craft 5.11 with the Team and Pro editions, plugin prices from the Plugin Store on 28 October 2026. Sources: Craft pricing, licence, licence renewals, Craft Cloud, SEOmatic, Retour, Formie, Blitz, Craft 6 alpha. Found something out of date? Open an issue.

Six differences you will see on the invoice and the server

  • 01

    SEO and forms are in the binary

    Hatamoto writes meta tags, JSON-LD and sitemaps and stores form entries with no plugins. Craft sites usually buy SEOmatic and Formie.

    SEO and AI search
  • 02

    Nothing to renew

    There is no licence fee, plugin fee or renewal. A Craft Pro site with the usual plugins pays a yearly renewal on each one.

    Install Hatamoto
  • 03

    Craft's content model is deeper

    Structures, nested Matrix entries and multi-site with per-site translation suit large content programmes better than Hatamoto does.

    What Hatamoto leaves out
  • 04

    Plugins that cannot reach everything

    A Hatamoto plugin runs in a sandbox with the permissions it declares. A Craft plugin is PHP code with full access to the site and its database.

    How plugins are sandboxed
  • 05

    An MCP server you can use today

    Hatamoto's MCP server is stable and built in. Craft adds one in Craft 6, which is in alpha, and relies on third-party plugins until then.

    Hatamoto's MCP server
  • 06

    Updates without Composer

    Hatamoto installs signed releases itself and rolls back any version that fails to start. There is no PHP, Composer or plugin compatibility to manage.

    How updates work

The plugin bill

5 things a Craft business site usually pays for

Craft's own pricing table lists SEO and forms as "with plugin". Prices are from the Craft Plugin Store, per project.

Craft

Price, then the yearly renewal

  • SEO, schema and sitemaps: SEOmatic, US$99 then US$69
  • Redirects: Retour, US$59 then US$39
  • Forms: Formie, US$99 then US$49
  • Full-page cache: Blitz, US$99 then US$69
  • More than one user: Team or Pro, from US$279 then US$99

Hatamoto

In the free download

  • Meta tags, JSON-LD and sitemaps
  • Redirects with a 404 log
  • Forms with spam protection and CSV export
  • A page cache that clears on every edit
  • Unlimited staff accounts

Being straight with you

When Craft CMS is the better choice

Choose Craft if any of these describe your project.

  • Your content model is complex, with nested and related entries.
  • You publish in several languages or run sister sites from one install.
  • You want a GraphQL API alongside the website.
  • You need an online shop built by the same company as the CMS.
  • Your agency already builds in Craft and Twig.
  • Staff must sign in with passkeys or two-factor codes.

Moving from Craft

Moving from Craft takes some mapping

There is no Craft importer. Craft exports any listing as JSON and its GraphQL API reads everything, so a script or an AI agent can carry your content across.

  1. 1

    Install Hatamoto

    Run it with Docker or the single binary, next to a Postgres database. Getting started

  2. 2

    Map sections to types

    Create a Hatamoto content type for each Craft section, and sections in the page builder for your Matrix blocks. Content types

  3. 3

    Copy entries and assets

    Read entries over GraphQL or a JSON export, then create them through Hatamoto's MCP server or CLI with the same slugs. Connect an AI agent

  4. 4

    Bring redirects across

    Export your Retour redirects, add them in Hatamoto, then point the domain at the new site. Redirects

Questions people ask

Written by the Hatamoto team, from Craft's pricing, Plugin Store and documentation as of October 2026.

Is Hatamoto a Craft CMS alternative?

Yes, for business sites that want SEO, forms and caching without paid plugins. For complex content models, multilingual or multi-site work, and online shops, Craft is the stronger choice today.

How much does Craft CMS cost?

Solo is free for one user. Team is US$279 per project for up to five users and Pro is US$399 for unlimited users, each with a year of updates, then US$99 a year. Plugins such as SEOmatic and Formie have their own fees.

Does Craft have built-in SEO?

Craft's own pricing table lists SEO as "with plugin" in every edition. Most sites use SEOmatic for meta, schema and sitemaps and Retour for redirects. Hatamoto includes these in the core.

Is Craft open source?

The source is public on GitHub, but the Craft License is proprietary. It requires one licence per production site and forbids getting around its licensing features. Hatamoto is Apache-2.0.

Does Craft support MCP and AI agents?

Craft 6, now in alpha, adds built-in MCP servers. On Craft 5 you need a third-party plugin. Hatamoto's MCP server is built in and stable, alongside llms.txt and AI crawler reports.

What happens to Craft 5 when Craft 6 ships?

Craft says Craft 5 will be supported for five years after Craft 6 reaches general release, and Craft 6 includes an adapter so most Craft 5 plugins keep working.

How do I move from Craft to Hatamoto?

Create matching content types, export entries as JSON or read them over GraphQL, and create them through Hatamoto's MCP server or CLI. Copy your redirects and keep your slugs.

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