Quick answer
Cosmic - Cosmic wins for most builders choosing a free tier because it is card-free, more generous on practical usage, and gives you a fuller path into a paid plan before you hit a hard ceiling; Contentful only wins if you specifically need its stricter CMS controls or are already committed to its ecosystem.
How the free tiers compare
These two free tiers solve different problems. Contentful’s free plan is a narrow but legitimate entry into a more traditional headless CMS: one starter space, 10 users, 2 roles, 2 locales, 100K API calls, and 50 GB CDN bandwidth. It is fine for evaluating structured content workflows, but the jump to paid is steep at $300/month for Lite, and the free tier is constrained in ways you will feel quickly if you need more locales, collaboration, or API headroom. Cosmic is broader and more builder-friendly at the free level: 2 team members, 1 bucket, 1,000 objects, basic AI/agent workflows, media limits, and separate API and bandwidth allowances. It also clearly states no credit card is required. Its first paid tier is only $49/month, so the ramp is gentler and easier to test in a real project.
Contentful vs Cosmic free tier, side by side
| ContentfulFTV 35 | CosmicFTV 61 | |
|---|---|---|
| Users / team membersContentful gives more human seats on free; Cosmic is tighter but enough for a small pair or solo-plus-collaborator setup. | 10 users | 2 team members |
| Content containersThe units are different, but both free tiers start with a single primary content container. | 1 Starter Space | 1 Bucket, 1 Project |
| RolesContentful exposes role limits on free; Cosmic’s provided free-tier details do not list roles. | 2 roles | Not specified |
| LocalesContentful is better if multilingual content matters early. | 2 locales | Not specified |
| API requestsCosmic separates cached and non-cached requests, so the raw numbers are not directly comparable. | 100K API calls per month | 10k non-cached API requests per month, 100k cached API requests per month |
| BandwidthContentful includes much more CDN bandwidth on the free plan. | 50 GB CDN bandwidth per month | 1GB API bandwidth per month, 1GB media bandwidth per month |
| Content volumeCosmic clearly caps object count on free; Contentful’s provided free-tier facts do not list a content-item count. | Not specified | 1,000 objects |
| AI / automationCosmic includes AI and workflow features in free; Contentful’s provided free-tier facts do not mention them. | Not specified | 300k input AI tokens and 300k output AI tokens per month, 1 agent + 1 workflow |
| MediaCosmic is more explicit about asset handling on the free tier. | Not specified | 1,000 media files, 1GB media storage, 1M media requests per month |
| AnalyticsCosmic includes basic insights on free. | Not specified | 100K Cosmic Insights events per month, 30 days retention |
| Credit card requiredThe no-card claim is only stated for Cosmic via ftv_no_cc_required=true. Contentful’s field is absent in the input, so we do not assume. | Unknown | No |
After you outgrow the free tier
Contentful is flat-priced once you leave free: the first paid tier is Lite at $300/month, with a much larger jump to Premium by custom sales pricing. Cosmic is also mostly flat-priced, but the ramp is gentler: Builder is $49/month, then Team at $299/month, then Business at $499/month, with Enterprise custom. For a small team, Cosmic stays closer to free for longer and is far cheaper to start paying. Contentful’s paid entry point is much higher, so it only makes sense if you need its CMS model enough to justify the jump.
Cost at real usage
| Usage | Contentful | Cosmic |
|---|---|---|
| small editorial site, 2 users, under 100K API calls/moBoth fit the free tier as described. | Free (within tier) | Free (within tier) |
| team outgrows free collaboration needsThis is the first meaningful paid step for each product. | $300/mo (Lite) | $49/mo (Builder) |
| need more than 1 bucket/space and a small paid planContentful’s Lite includes 1 Starter Space; Cosmic Builder includes 2 Buckets and 3 Team members. | $300/mo | $49/mo |
Estimates, not quotes. Usage-based rates change - verify with the vendor's pricing page before committing.
When to pick each one
Pick Contentful when…
- You want a classic headless CMS for structured editorial content and plan to stay small.
- You need 2 locales or fewer and can live within 100K API calls and 50 GB CDN bandwidth.
- You are evaluating Contentful specifically for its content model, roles, and editorial workflow.
- You expect to upgrade into a premium enterprise-style CMS later, not a low-cost self-serve plan.
Pick Cosmic when…
- You want to start without a credit card and keep experimenting on the free plan.
- You need a small team to build a real app with content, media, API requests, and analytics limits in one place.
- You want AI tokens, an agent, and a workflow included in the free tier.
- You expect to outgrow free and want a cheaper first paid step at $49/month instead of a $300 jump.
- You need more practical room for objects, media, or API activity before paying.
Bottom line
For the most common builder case, Cosmic is the better free-tier starting point. It asks for less up front, does not require a credit card, and gives you a more complete sandbox with objects, media, API access, and some AI/workflow capacity before you pay. Contentful is still the better pick if your project is specifically a structured editorial CMS and you are comfortable with a much pricier first step once free is not enough.
Read the full listings: Contentful and Cosmic. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.