A Keystatic alternative for Astro sites

Markstage vs Keystatic: Markstage reads your Keystatic schema, edits pages on the real design and saves JSON byte-identical. Facts checked 3 Nov 2026.

Facts about Keystatic checked on 2026-11-03, from its own website. Markstage is not affiliated with it.

Markstage
Visual editor

A visual editor for Astro: writers edit on the site’s real design; content stays Markdown and JSON in git.

Edits on the real page
Yes The site's own components and CSS; text and rich text typed on the page, other fields in a side panel. Components mark their fields with a helper ⁴

Content in git
Yes ³

Self-host
Yes One docker run with the server image, Docker Compose, or systemd and nginx ⁹ ⁸

Price to start
Free to self-host ³

Licence
Elastic License 2.0 Source-available, free to self-host ²⁰
Keystatic
Git-based editor

A typed admin for Markdown, Markdoc or MDX inside your Astro project.

Edits on the real page
No Admin UI with fields and a WYSIWYG editor ⁴²

Content in git
Yes Local or GitHub ⁴²

Self-host
Yes ⁴²

Price to start
Free; Cloud Pro from $10/mo ⁴³

Licence
MIT ⁴⁵

From the full comparison; each number links to its source.

Keystatic gives an Astro project a typed admin for Markdown, Markdoc, MDX, JSON and YAML files, with no database. Markstage can sit on top of the same files: it reads your Keystatic schema and saves JSON exactly as Keystatic would, while writers edit on the page.

Who each one is for

Keystatic suits developers who want a schema-first admin inside their Astro project, with MDX and Markdoc fields, in local mode or GitHub mode, and optional Keystatic Cloud for sign-in and images.

Markstage suits teams whose writers should edit on the site's real design, with staging, roles, single sign-on, a forms inbox and SEO checks. Markstage is pre-release.

Side by side

	Markstage	Keystatic
Editing	On the real page; other fields in a side panel	Admin UI with fields and a WYSIWYG editor
Formats	Markdown, MDX and JSON	Markdown, Markdoc, MDX, JSON, YAML
Astro output	The live site stays fully static	Pages stay static; the admin routes are rendered on demand, so an adapter is needed
Storage	Git on your server	Local files or GitHub
Roles	Five built in, plus custom roles	Keystatic Cloud: access per team; no roles described
Staging, forms inbox, SEO checks	Included	Not listed
Price	Free to self-host	Free; Keystatic Cloud free up to 3 users per team, Pro from $10/mo plus $5 per extra user
Licence	Elastic License 2.0 (source-available)	MIT

Where Keystatic is stronger

MDX and Markdoc fields. Markstage edits Markdown, MDX (words and simple settings; code kept as written) and JSON, and not Markdoc.
A typed reader API for your Astro code, with TypeScript.
No extra server. Keystatic runs inside your Astro project (with an adapter).
GitHub mode with Keystatic Cloud handling sign-in.

Moving from Keystatic to Markstage

You do not have to move your files or your schema. Point Markstage at it: schema: { keystatic: './keystatic.config.ts' } in markstage.config.mjs. Each JSON collection takes the Keystatic collection with the same folder, and a save writes the same bytes Keystatic's own Save would (proven on a real site's pages). You can even keep both while your team switches. One thing to know: keys Markstage owns (draft, publishAt, protected) should be added to your Keystatic schema as fields.ignored(), or a Keystatic save drops them.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Markstage and Keystatic on the same site?

Yes. Markstage reads the Keystatic schema and keeps your JSON files byte-identical to Keystatic's save, so both can edit the same files.

Does Keystatic have visual editing?

Keystatic's admin uses fields and a WYSIWYG editor. Its site does not describe editing on the page. Markstage edits on the page.

Is Keystatic free?

Yes. Keystatic Cloud is free for up to 3 users per team; Pro starts at $10 a month, plus $5 a month for each user beyond 3.

Does Keystatic need a server?

Only for its admin. Astro's Keystatic guide starts from "an existing Astro project with an adapter configured": Keystatic's admin routes (/keystatic and its API) are rendered on demand, while your pages can stay static. Markstage runs as its own server and leaves your whole site static.

Sources

Checked on 2026-11-03: Keystatic · Keystatic Cloud · Keystatic Astro installation · Keystatic on GitHub · Keystatic's Astro integration code · Astro: Keystatic guide. Markstage facts: the full comparison and the API contract.

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