A Statamic alternative for Astro sites

Markstage vs Statamic: both keep content as files in git. Markstage edits on your Astro site's design with no PHP and no licence fee. Checked 3 Nov 2026.

Facts about Statamic 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
Statamic
Self-hosted CMS app

A Laravel (PHP) CMS that keeps its content in flat files.

Edits on the real page
Partly Live Preview ¹⁰⁵

Content in git
Yes Flat files; git automation on Pro ¹⁰⁵ ¹⁰⁴

Self-host
Yes ¹⁰⁴

Price to start
Core free; Pro $349 per site, then $99 a year ¹⁰⁴

Licence
Commercial licence; Core free ¹⁰⁴

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

Statamic is a flat-file CMS on Laravel: content and configuration live in files and can be version-controlled with git. With Astro, you read it through its REST or GraphQL API, which is part of Statamic Pro. Markstage edits an Astro site's own Markdown and JSON files, on the site's design.

Who each one is for

Statamic suits PHP and Laravel teams who want a polished flat-file CMS, often drawing the site with Statamic itself, or using it headless.

Markstage suits Astro sites that want writers on the real design and no PHP application to run. Markstage is pre-release.

Side by side

	Markstage	Statamic
Where content lives	Markdown and JSON in git	Flat files; git automation in the Control Panel on Pro
Editing	On the Astro site's real design	Control Panel, with Live Preview
With Astro	`@markstage/astro` integration	REST or GraphQL API, on Pro
What you run	A Node server next to your static site	A Laravel (PHP) application
Users and roles	Five built-in roles plus custom roles, included	Core: one admin; Pro: unlimited users and roles
Price	Free to self-host	Core free; Pro $349 per site, then $99 a year for updates
Licence	Elastic License 2.0 (source-available)	Commercial licence; Core free

Where Statamic is stronger

Laravel: extend it with the whole Laravel ecosystem.
Polish and maturity, with a marketplace and developer support on Pro.
Multi-site and multilingual editing on Pro.

Moving from Statamic to Markstage

Statamic already keeps content in flat files. Where they are Markdown with front matter, Markstage can edit them where they are, once their folder is a collection in markstage.config.mjs. Other formats need converting to Markdown or JSON first.

Frequently asked questions

Does Statamic work with Astro?

Yes, headless: Astro's Statamic guide uses its REST or GraphQL API. Statamic's pricing page lists the headless APIs under Pro.

Is Statamic free?

Statamic Core is free with one admin user. Pro is $349 per site, including a year of updates, then $99 a year.

Is there a flat-file CMS for Astro without PHP?

Markstage runs on Node next to your Astro site and keeps content as Markdown and JSON in git.

Sources

Checked on 2026-11-03: Statamic pricing · Statamic features · Astro: Statamic guide. Markstage facts: the full comparison.

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