TessTess vs Contentful
Composable content platform (SaaS)
An enterprise headless CMS delivered as SaaS, with REST and GraphQL delivery APIs and a large app ecosystem.
Side by side
| Criterion | Tess | Contentful |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery | Software you run yourself | Managed SaaS only |
| API | GraphQL generated from the models | REST delivery and management APIs, plus a GraphQL Content API |
| Content models | Admin UI or API, applied immediately | Web app or management API, with environments |
| Data location | Your servers and your database | Contentful's cloud |
| Localization | No per-field content localization yet | Built-in locales |
| Extensibility | Sandboxed WebAssembly plugins | App Framework and marketplace |
| Pricing | Community free for personal use; Enterprise license for commercial use | Free tier, then paid plans with usage limits |
Choose Contentful if…
- You need an enterprise SaaS with SLAs, many locales and a large app marketplace.
Choose Tess if…
- You want to own the infrastructure and the data.
- You prefer a predictable license to usage-based limits.
Moving from Contentful to Tess
Contentful content types and their fields map to Tess content types; references become RELATION fields and assets become Asset relations. Import the models with tess-transfer, then copy entries with the Contentful export and the Tess GraphQL API.
Facts checked on October 20, 2026 from Contentful's public documentation (www.contentful.com). Products change quickly: check the vendor's site for the latest features and pricing.