Comparison

ZeroCMS vs Pages CMS for Astro 2026.

Both keep your content in the repository. ZeroCMS leads on codebase footprint, AI and publishing. Pages CMS 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
  • APIs and extensibility
  • AI capabilities

Reviewed 1 Sep 2026 Full CMS comparison →

Pages CMS

Git-based · Cloud or self-hosted · Free

Pages CMS edits the files in a GitHub repository through an admin app, configured in a YAML file in the repository. A free hosted app runs it with GitHub sign-in, or you can self-host the same app. It edits the Markdown, YAML and JSON already in the repository, which Astro reads back through astro:content.

Overview

  • Astro fit
  • Codebase fit
  • Editing
  • Publishing and review
  • Governance and access
  • Git and the repository
  • APIs and extensibility
  • AI capabilities

Reviewed 3 Sep 2026 Full CMS comparison →

Pick ZeroCMS when

You want a CMS that asks you to run nothing and finds your components on its own.

  • You want the CMS to leave your codebase alone
  • AI should do the routine work
  • AI agents edit the content

Pick Pages CMS when

API reach decides it.

  • The budget is zero
  • Other systems read and write the content

What actually differs.

Codebase fit

Infrastructure you run

ZeroCMS

Nothing beyond the site itself.

Pages CMS

You run an OAuth gateway, the product's own server and a database.

AI capabilities

AI capabilities

ZeroCMS

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

Pages CMS

No built-in AI.

Publishing and review

Review before publish

ZeroCMS

Every change is shown as a diff before it goes live.

Pages CMS

There is no way to see exactly what changed.

Cost, licence and compliance

GDPR compliance

ZeroCMS

States GDPR compliance.

Pages CMS

Makes no GDPR statement.

Editing

Components in rich text

ZeroCMS

Your own components, inserted and edited inside the prose.

Pages CMS

Nothing can be placed in the body.

Codebase fit

Component registration

ZeroCMS

The editor reads the components in your repository.

Pages CMS

Nothing can be placed in the body.

Astro fit

Preview output modes

ZeroCMS

Previews static and server-rendered.

Pages CMS

No preview for any output mode.

APIs and extensibility

Extension points

ZeroCMS

AI skills.

Pages CMS

Custom fields and forking the source.

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

Zero asks you to run nothing.

Pages CMS has you run an OAuth gateway, the product's own server and a database. That matters if there is nobody to operate a server. Connect an Astro repo and see the difference in ten minutes.

Connect your repo Try the live demo

14 days free · no credit card