Comparison

ZeroCMS vs EmDash for Astro 2026.

ZeroCMS keeps your content in the repository. EmDash keeps it in a database you host, inside your own app. ZeroCMS leads on codebase footprint, cost and compliance, and AI. EmDash leads on API reach.

ZeroCMS

Git-based · Cloud · From $15 / month, editors need no seat

Connect a GitHub repository and Zero reads your Astro Zod schemas and .astro components to generate the editor — no plugins, no config, nothing added to your repository. Editors work against a live preview of the real site, and every publish lands as a clean commit. An AI agent works in the editor, and eight content checks run on demand or as a pre-publish gate.

Overview

  • Astro fit
  • Codebase fit
  • Editing
  • Publishing and review
  • Governance and access
  • Git and the repository — Not compared
  • APIs and extensibility
  • AI capabilities

Reviewed 1 Sep 2026 Full CMS comparison →

EmDash

Coupled · Self-hosted · Free

EmDash is Cloudflare's Astro-only CMS: it stores content in a database on Cloudflare's platform rather than in Git, and deploys to your own Cloudflare account. It wires into Astro directly and ships an MCP server so AI agents can read and write content. It is MIT-licensed and young.

Overview

  • Astro fit
  • Codebase fit
  • Editing
  • Publishing and review
  • Governance and access
  • Git and the repository — Not compared
  • APIs and extensibility
  • AI capabilities

Reviewed 3 Sep 2026 Full CMS comparison →

Pick ZeroCMS when

You want a CMS that adds nothing to the repository and asks you to run nothing.

  • You want the CMS to leave your codebase alone
  • Price, licence or compliance decides it
  • AI agents edit the content

Pick EmDash when

You want a CMS that schedules a publish and runs locally with no account.

  • The budget is zero
  • Other systems read and write the content
  • You're modelling an ecommerce catalogue

What actually differs.

Codebase fit

Code in your repository

ZeroCMS

Nothing. The editor is generated from the schemas and components already in the repository.

EmDash

A dependency, an integration in your Astro config, fetching and rendering code you maintain, an admin route served by your own site, and generated types committed to the repo.

AI capabilities

AI capabilities

ZeroCMS

A built-in agent you hand tasks to, with custom skills.

EmDash

No built-in AI.

APIs and extensibility

REST API

ZeroCMS

No HTTP API. The content is files in the repository, and that is the interface.

EmDash

A full HTTP API, reads and writes, for any consumer.

Codebase fit

Infrastructure you run

ZeroCMS

Nothing beyond the site itself.

EmDash

You run the product's own server, a database and a build pipeline.

Editing

Custom field controls

ZeroCMS

No custom field controls.

EmDash

Custom field controls are supported.

Editing

Content checks

ZeroCMS

Eight built-in checks, custom ones written in plain language, run as a pre-publish gate.

EmDash

No built-in content checks.

Astro fit

Astro build requirements

ZeroCMS

Nothing. Your build stays untouched.

EmDash

An adapter has to be installed before its own surfaces work.

Cost, licence and compliance

Additional costs

ZeroCMS

Extra for aI credits beyond the monthly quota.

EmDash

Extra for your own hosting, database and media storage, and a paid Cloudflare plan for sandboxed plugins.

Every aspect, side by side, in the full Astro CMS comparison →
Still not sure?

Zero adds nothing to the repository.

EmDash adds five things to your repository. That matters if you want the repo left alone. Connect an Astro repo and see the difference in ten minutes.

Connect your repo Try the live demo

14 days free · no credit card