We've all been there: looking for a CMS yesterday that is flexible enough to adapt to our needs without complicating life too much. If this is your situation, let us tell you about one that might be what you're looking for. Hygraph is a headless CMS native to GraphQL that offers an optimized experience for developers and content teams that require a scalable and efficient solution.
With an API-first architecture and a modular structure, Hygraph makes it easy to create, manage, and distribute content across multiple channels. Whether you're a developer, content manager, or part of a marketing team, this tool promises to simplify your workflow.
In this analysis, we will explore in detail what Hygraph offers, what sets it apart from its competitors, its strengths and weaknesses, and whether it is truly worth it for your use case. So if you're looking for a modern and flexible CMS, keep reading because this will interest you.
Hygraph is a content management and federation system whose goal, to this day, has been to provide a more efficient and flexible alternative to traditional CMSs, leveraging the power of GraphQL. Since its launch, this CMS has gained great popularity among developers and companies that need a scalable system to manage structured content across multiple platforms.
Its API-first philosophy allows easy integration with various technologies, making it a very interesting option for ambitious projects. Among its most notable features are its powerful content modeling, its headless architecture, and its ability to distribute content across different platforms smoothly. But is it really the best solution for your business?
Why Hygraph?
After carefully analyzing Hygraph, we have given it the following score: 7.5 out of 10. This reflects its excellent performance in some areas, but also certain limitations that could be decisive depending on the intended use.
Among its advantages, its native integration with GraphQL stands out, allowing for faster and more efficient content retrieval. Additionally, its scalability and modular approach make it a great solution for development teams seeking flexibility.
However, the lack of advanced analytics features and the significant limitation of its customization options may lead some companies to prefer alternatives like Contentful, which offers a more comprehensive experience in these aspects.
Hygraph Highlights
Hygraph stands out for its API-first approach and integration with GraphQL, making it a powerful tool for managing structured content. Below, we explore its key features in detail:
A GraphQL API-first CMS
Hygraph has been designed from the ground up to leverage the efficiency of GraphQL, allowing for faster and more precise content retrieval. Unlike traditional REST-based CMSs, GraphQL optimizes data management, minimizing unnecessary requests and offering a smoother experience for both developers and end users.
Headless architecture
As a fully headless CMS, Hygraph separates content management from its presentation, enabling developers to use any front-end technology. This provides complete freedom to build digital experiences without being limited by a templating system or predefined structures.
Multi-channel distribution
Hygraph’s flexibility allows teams to publish content on websites, mobile apps, and other digital platforms without needing to change the data structure. Its headless approach supports integration with various frameworks and programming languages, ensuring content is efficiently distributed across any digital environment.
Advanced content modeling
Hygraph offers a highly customizable content modeling system, allowing users to easily define schemas and relationships between data. This capability is ideal for managing structured content at scale, ensuring it adapts to the specific needs of each business without rigid constraints.
Collaboration tools
Hygraph provides features designed for both developers and content creators to collaborate and work as a team. Its permission and role system allows teams to manage access to different sections, ensuring an organized and efficient workflow.
What sets Hygraph apart from its competitors?
Hygraph stands out among the competition thanks to its GraphQL-native approach, something few CMS offer with such depth. This allows faster and more efficient content queries, as well as seamless integration with multiple technologies.
However, its feature range is more limited compared to some competitors, which can be an issue for teams that require advanced analytics or marketing automation.
Hygraph Classic vs Studio
Although until recently there was only one version, Hygraph has evolved its content management platform with the launch of Hygraph Studio, an optimized version that aims to improve the user experience compared to the classic version, also known as Hygraph Classic.
Below, we detail the main differences and features of both versions:
Hygraph Classic
It is the original version of the platform, offering the essential features for content management, including models, components, enumerations, remote sources, and fields. It allows content creation and editing, localizations, content duplication, version comparison, and comments. Additionally, it features a stable, though improvable, user interface.
Hygraph Studio
Launched in beta in March 2024 and currently in early availability. This version introduces significant improvements in performance and usability, and offers a more intuitive interface, optimized navigation, greater scalability, and a high-performance architecture designed to handle complex content structures and large-scale projects.
Pros and Cons of Hygraph
Like any tool, Hygraph has positive and negative aspects that can influence your decision to adopt it:
Pros ✅
- Optimized GraphQL API for speed.
- Flexible and structured content modeling.
- Federated approach that allows data to be distributed across multiple sources, enabling unified querying.
- Scalability for enterprise applications.
- Good developer experience with API-first architecture.
- Technical support with an 86% satisfaction rating.
Cons ❌
- Limited customization options.
- Lacks advanced analytics tools.
- High price for large corporations.
- Some users report inconsistencies in the UI.
- Does not allow self-hosting servers.
Audience: Who is Hygraph for?
Hygraph is not a universal tool, but rather designed to meet specific needs. Below, we detail who can get the most out of it and who might need to consider an alternative:
Who can benefit the most from Hygraph?
- Development teams: Developers and technical teams looking for a content management system with an API-first approach and advanced GraphQL capabilities.
- Organizations with separate front-ends: Businesses that manage content independently from their user interface and need a headless solution.
- Businesses seeking an API-first architecture: Companies that require flexible integrations with multiple platforms and digital tools.
Who might need another tool?
- Companies that require advanced analytics and automation: Businesses that rely on detailed reports and automated workflows.
- Teams looking for a CMS with high customization: Organizations that need advanced customization options, an area where Hygraph falls short.
Reasons to switch to or adopt Hygraph
When choosing a content management system, it is important to consider which aspects lead users to prefer Hygraph and which may drive them to look for alternatives. Below, we detail both cases:
Reasons to choose this tool
- Faster content delivery: Thanks to its integration with GraphQL, it allows for more efficient content retrieval and distribution.
- Scalability for large-scale content operations: Designed for companies with growing content management needs across multiple platforms.
- Modern and headless architecture: Offers complete flexibility to developers to integrate it with any front-end technology.
Reasons why users leave it
- Limitations in advanced features: It lacks native marketing automation tools or advanced workflows.
- Lack of integrated analytics: Requires third-party tools to obtain detailed metrics.
- High cost for large-scale implementations: As users and advanced features are added, the price can become prohibitive for some companies.
Prices and Discounts
Hygraph offers three plans with different features and prices, so it can adapt to all kinds of needs:
Hobby Plan
Free forever. Includes 2 locales, 3 users, 2 standard roles, 10 components, unlimited asset storage, and a maximum upload size of 50 MB per asset.
Growth Plan
€182.60 per month with annual billing; €274.30 with monthly billing. Offers 3 locales, 10 users, 4 standard roles, 200 MB maximum upload size per asset, connection to remote sources, version retention for 14 days, and email support. This plan allows expanding users, entries, API calls, and more through paid add-ons.
Enterprise Plan
Custom pricing based on client needs. Includes customized limits on users, roles, entries, locales, API calls, components, and more. Also offers additional remote sources to federate content, version retention for one year, scheduled publishing, dedicated infrastructure, global CDN coverage, 24/7 monitoring, security and governance controls, single sign-on, multitenancy, instant backup recovery, and dedicated support.
Trials and Discounts Available
The Enterprise plan offers a 30-day free trial, requiring prior subscription to the Hobby plan (free). Hygraph also offers discounts for students, non-profit organizations, and open-source projects upon request.
Implementation, training, and documentation
Hygraph is relatively easy to implement, although it requires certain technical knowledge beforehand to set it up correctly. Its API-first architecture and GraphQL-based approach allow smooth integration with other systems, but users without development experience may face challenges dealing with the initial learning curve.
Regarding training, Hygraph provides educational resources such as tutorials, detailed documentation, and technical support, although its training satisfaction rating is below the industry average (76%).
It is important to highlight that Hygraph does not have a structured onboarding program, so teams must rely on available materials or the community to learn how to get the most out of it. This can make the initial implementation take longer compared to other solutions with more structured guides.
Personnel and management
The administration of Hygraph within a company usually falls to the development and IT teams, since its API-first approach and integration with GraphQL require technical knowledge for configuration and maintenance. Although it is not a platform that demands constant management, it is advisable that at least one or two developers are familiar with its operation to optimize its use and resolve possible issues.
In larger organizations, the number of people responsible for Hygraph may increase, especially if more complex content management and integrations with other platforms are required.
Decision-making process
The decision to adopt Hygraph usually takes a moderate amount of time in companies due to its technical setup and integration process. Generally, the people responsible for evaluating this tool are developers and IT leaders, who analyze its compatibility with the existing infrastructure and its customization capabilities.
However, the final decision rests with Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) or product managers, who must consider factors such as costs, scalability, and ease of implementation before opting for Hygraph over other market alternatives.
Usability and Interface
Hygraph features an intuitive and well-structured interface, although some users have reported certain issues with smoothness in its use. Its design is optimized for developers and technical teams, which facilitates integration and content management through GraphQL.
Even so, compared to other platforms, its ease of use is slightly below the industry average (81%), which can pose a small challenge for users without technical experience. Despite this, the platform offers a clear and functional experience once users become familiar with its environment.
Security Features
Hygraph complies with the main industry security standards, including GDPR, ensuring the protection of personal data. Additionally, it offers advanced security through role-based authentication (RBAC) and API-level protection. To enhance access security, Hygraph supports two-step verification (2FA) and single sign-on (SSO) options, facilitating credential management in enterprise environments.
While these features strengthen the platform's security, companies that require certifications such as SOC2 or ISO 27001 should evaluate whether the existing controls align with their internal requirements.
Reporting and Analytics Features
Hygraph offers basic reporting and analytics capabilities, although its functionality in this area is limited compared to other platforms. While it allows viewing essential data about managed content, it does not include advanced integrated analysis tools.
Because of this, users often rely on external solutions to obtain more detailed metrics and performance analysis. For companies requiring a deeper insight into interaction with their content, this limitation can be a significant drawback.
Customer Support
Hygraph offers multiple support channels for its users, including Slack, real-time chat, detailed app documentation, and direct assistance via email. Its customer service has a satisfaction rating of 86%, above the category average, indicating an effective response to user inquiries.
However, some customers have mentioned that response times may vary depending on the subscribed plan, being faster in paid plans. Although the platform does not have phone support, its active community and available resources usually facilitate the resolution of questions and technical issues.
Competition: What is the best alternative to Hygraph?
In the headless CMS market, there are several options that offer different features and are more or less suitable depending on the needs of each company. Below, we analyze some of the main alternatives and their advantages compared to Hygraph:
Hygraph vs Contentful
Contentful offers a more complete experience in terms of user interface, analytics, and workflow automation. Its platform is more accessible for marketing teams and non-developers, as it has advanced visual tools for content management.
Those who need a more intuitive CMS with better analytics capabilities will find Contentful a more suitable option.
Hygraph vs Sanity
Sanity stands out for its advanced customization and real-time collaboration options. Its document-based system allows content teams to modify and structure information more flexibly, making it ideal for projects with dynamic requirements.
Companies looking for a CMS with greater adaptability and interactive workflows may prefer Sanity over Hygraph.
Hygraph vs Strapi
Strapi is an open-source CMS that allows full customization thanks to its self-hosted nature. Unlike Hygraph, which is a fully managed solution and does not offer the ability to self-manage servers, Strapi offers developers greater control over infrastructure and security.
For those looking for an alternative with the ability to self-manage servers, Strapi represents an interesting option. However, this also means greater responsibility in terms of maintenance and scalability.
Great performance and flexibility, but lacking customization
Hygraph is one of the best options on the market for technical teams looking for an API-first content management system with native GraphQL integration. Its flexibility and scalability make it a powerful tool for developers who need to manage structured content across multiple platforms. Additionally, its intuitive interface and collaboration tools facilitate teamwork, although its customization is more limited compared to other market alternatives.
We recommend Hygraph especially for companies that prioritize efficiency in content delivery and integration with multiple technologies, making it a great choice for developers and teams looking for a CMS that optimizes data queries and offers a fast and modern experience. However, those needing advanced analytics or automated workflows might encounter serious limitations on the platform.
Companies requiring more advanced customization or data analysis options might explore alternatives like Contentful or Sanity. These platforms offer a more complete experience in terms of UI and analytical features, areas where Hygraph still has room for improvement. Even so, its headless approach and GraphQL-native architecture make it an attractive option for many projects.
In conclusion, Hygraph is a CMS that stands out for its performance and flexibility, but it is not ideal for all use cases. If you’re looking for a CMS with more customization options or advanced analytics, other solutions may fit your needs better. On the other hand, if your team values a modern, API-first architecture and ease of integration, this tool can be an excellent choice.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Hygraph open source?
No, Hygraph is not open source, but the company supports open source projects and is willing to collaborate with developers in specific cases. Although its free plan has certain limitations, Hygraph has shown flexibility by working with the open source community to find viable solutions that allow its use within these projects.
Can Hygraph connect with a NextJS frontend?
Yes, Hygraph can connect with a Next.js frontend efficiently thanks to its API-first architecture based on GraphQL. When connected, it is possible to retrieve content quickly and in a structured way, optimizing performance and data management in Next.js applications. Additionally, it provides specific support tools to facilitate this connection, such as code examples and detailed documentation on its use with Next.js.
What are React Hooks and how do they work with Hygraph?
React Hooks are special React functions that allow developers to use state and other React features without writing classes. With Hygraph, Hooks can be used to retrieve and manage content efficiently through GraphQL.
Using Hooks like “useEffect” and “useState”, developers can make requests to the Hygraph API, handle data responses, and dynamically update the user interface in React applications.
Does Hygraph have planned maintenance?
Yes, Hygraph frequently performs scheduled maintenance, which can last several hours. However, these maintenances are not always reflected in their downtime records. To check when planned maintenance is scheduled, you can consult the status section on their website.
What are Hygraph webhooks and what are they for?
Hygraph webhooks allow sending automatic notifications to other applications when changes occur in the CMS data. They are useful for maintaining real-time synchronization with other systems, automating workflows, and triggering specific events based on content updates.
With Hygraph, users can configure custom webhooks to respond to events such as creating, updating, or deleting entries, facilitating integration with external tools and improving operational efficiency.
