Quick answer
Contentful - Contentful wins for teams that want a very generous free API and bandwidth allowance, while Squidex wins if you need a free tier with no credit card and lower-friction limits for a small open-source CMS setup.
How the free tiers compare
These two free tiers solve different problems. Contentful is the better fit when your free project is mostly about structured content delivery at scale, because its free plan includes 100K API calls, 50 GB CDN bandwidth, 10 users, and 1 Starter Space. The catch is that it is tightly defined and the next step up jumps to a $300/month Lite plan. Squidex is smaller on raw quotas, with 20,000 API calls, 2 GB traffic, 500 MB storage, and 2 contributors, plus a required powered-by label. But it is easier to start with because no credit card is required, and its paid cloud ladder starts much lower at €19/month. If you are testing a CMS with a tiny team, Squidex is easier to adopt. If you expect meaningful traffic or API usage before you pay, Contentful stretches further.
Contentful vs Squidex free tier, side by side
| ContentfulFTV 35 | SquidexFTV 54 | |
|---|---|---|
| API callsContentful gives 5x the free API volume. | 100K/month | 20,000/month |
| Users / contributorsNot the same unit, but both are the main collaboration limit on the free tier. | 10 users | 2 contributors |
| LocalesLocale limits are explicit for Contentful only. | 2 locales | Not listed |
| CDN / trafficDifferent wording, same idea: Contentful is much larger on delivery volume. | 50 GB CDN bandwidth/month | 2 GB traffic included |
| StorageStorage is explicit for Squidex only. | Not listed | 500 MB storage included |
| Branding requirementSquidex free tier includes a public attribution requirement. | Not listed | Powered by label required |
After you outgrow the free tier
Contentful is flat-priced after free, with Lite at $300/month and a custom Premium tier above that, so the jump from free is steep. Squidex uses a flatter ladder with a much lower first paid step: Cloud at €29/month, then Basic at €19/month, Professional at €49/month, Business at €99/month, and higher managed options above that. For small teams, Squidex is cheaper once you outgrow the free tier. Contentful only makes sense financially after free if you specifically need its higher quotas or enterprise-style controls.
When to pick each one
Pick Contentful when…
- You need the larger free API budget for a content-heavy prototype or small site.
- You want 10 free users and more room for editors than a 2-contributor cap.
- Your main constraint is CDN bandwidth, not storage or contributor count.
- You are evaluating structured content workflows and want a free tier that feels closer to production usage.
Pick Squidex when…
- You want to start without a credit card.
- You are running a very small CMS with one or two contributors.
- You care about having lower paid-plan entry pricing after the free tier.
- You are okay with a required powered-by label on free usage.
Bottom line
For the most common builder use case, Contentful is the better free tier if you want to ship a small but real content app and avoid hitting limits quickly. Squidex is the better starting point if your priority is starting free with no card and keeping the eventual paid entry cost low. So the practical winner depends on whether you value headroom now or lower friction and lower pricing later. For most teams with moderate content traffic, Contentful wins on free-tier substance.
Read the full listings: Contentful and Squidex. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.