Agility CMS vs. Storyblok in 2025: A Strategic Headless CMS Comparison for Developers

Click here for the marketer comparison of Agility CMS and Storyblok

Choosing the right headless CMS isn’t just a marketing decision. It’s a critical choice for your tech stack, architecture, and long-term scalability.

The right platform gives developers a flexible, API-first CMS that accelerates delivery and integrates nicely with modern frameworks. The wrong platform locks you into rigid models, excessive handoffs, or unnecessary complexity.

If you’re in the market for a headless CMS, Agility CMS and Storyblok are two popular choices. This post delivers a strategic, developer-focused comparison to help you make the right choice for 2025.

Developer Expectations in 2025: What a Modern Headless CMS Must Deliver

Before diving in, here’s what developers should demand from a headless CMS in 2025:

• API-first, framework-agnostic MACH architecture.
• Clean separation of content and presentation.
• High-performance content delivery and scalability.
• Structured governance, permissions, and workflows.
• Support for DevOps and seamless CI/CD support.

Developer Experience (DX) and Flexibility

Criteria: How developer-friendly is the platform for modeling content, building frontends, and maintaining long-term scalability.

Feature	Agility CMS	Storyblok
Content Modeling	JSON schema-driven with visual modeler, supports reusable modular components.	Visual editor-driven content modeling with a component/block-based system.
Framework Support	Framework-agnostic. JAMstack-friendly with SDKs and starter kits.	Framework-agnostic. Ecosystem built around Vue/Nuxt, but also supports others.
API Access	REST and GraphQL APIs with preview tokens built in.	REST and GraphQL APIs. GraphQL is read-only and REST is recommended as a default option.
CLI and SDKs	CLI, SDKs for JS/TS. GitHub integration via CLI/CI.	CLI and SDKs available. Schema management still primarily UI-driven.

Agility CMS: Dev-Friendly for Fast Starts

Agility CMS combines a JSON modeler with visual tooling and code-based schema portability. APIs are straightforward, with built-in preview tokens and GitHub-friendly workflows. Developers can hit the ground running with minimal friction.

Key Highlights:

• JSON + visual modeler with schema portability.
• REST and GraphQL with preview tokens.
• CLI tooling and GitOps integration.

Storyblok: UI-First Flexibility with a Visual Editor

Storyblok focuses on the visual editing experience with its component/block system. It’s great for content teams, but developers may face CI/CD friction. This is because schemas are managed primarily in the UI.

Key Highlights:

• Component/block-based modeling via UI.
• REST and GraphQL APIs are available.
• Strong Vue/Nuxt integrations.

Verdict

• Choose Agility CMS if your strategy prefers code-first workflows and CI/CD integration.
• Choose Storyblok if your strategy places value on UI-driven modeling and a strong visual editor.

Collaboration, Workflows, and Permissions

Criteria: How well does the CMS support structured workflows, roles, and permissions for dev and non-dev contributors?

Feature	Agility CMS	Storyblok
Roles and Permissions	Pre-defined roles with environment-level access.	Custom roles available. Define custom space roles and hide/mark specific fields per role.
Workflow Management	Built-in approval flows, notifications, and task assignment.	Workflows are supported (basic and custom) but may require setup for advanced governance.
Collaboration Tools	Inline visual commenting (Draggable Visual Comments within Web Studio), notifications and tagging.	Visual editor collaboration with inline comments.
Versioning	Built-in version history and rollback.	Content versioning supported. Restore to previous versions supported.
Localization	Built-in multi-language workflow tools.	Strong multilingual and internationalization support with field-level capabilities.

Agility CMS: Out-of-the-Box Streamlined Governance

Agility CMS is ready to support multilingual and multi-environment strategies. Pre-defined roles, approvals, and collaboration tools work out of the box. No extra setup needed.

Key Highlights:

• Predefined governance and workflows.
• Inline commenting in Web Studio.
• Version history and rollback.

Storyblok: Flexible, But More Manual Setup

Storyblok supports collaboration via inline comments and roles, but manual setup may be needed for advanced workflows. Workflows are flexible, but advanced governance requires more developer setup.

Key Highlights:

• Customizable workflows.
• Visual editor with inline comments.
• Strong multilingual management.

Verdict

• Choose Agility CMS for turnkey governance with minimal developer setup, along with built-in roles, approvals, and versioning ready to use.
• Choose Storyblok if your strategy needs flexible workflows and collaboration, and you’re ready to manually configure governance through its workflow builder and custom roles.

Performance, Scalability, and Delivery

Criteria: How well does the headless CMS scale technically across environments, users, and delivery channels?

Feature	Agility CMS	Storyblok
Architecture	Decoupled SaaS backend with global CDN (Content Delivery Network) delivery.	SaaS backend with API delivery via global CDN.
Content Delivery	Optimized REST/GraphQL with built-in cache control.	API delivery via Amazon CloudFront. Responses are cached and controlled.
Multisite and Multichannel	Built-in multi-site and multi-channel content support.	Multi-language and multi-site support. Setup may be heavier.
Performance Monitoring	CDN-integrated, cache-aware endpoints.	Basic API log exposure/limited built-in metrics. For advanced monitoring, external tooling is needed.
Infrastructure Scaling	SaaS-managed scaling with minimal config.	Solid SaaS scaling, but with less DevOps visibility.

Agility CMS: Built For Speed and Simplicity

Agility CMS delivers performance with CDN integration and cache-aware endpoints, reducing developer overhead. Developers don’t need to add extra caching layers or infrastructure management because the system scales seamlessly.

Key Highlights:

• CDN-integrated delivery out-of-the-box.
• Optimized REST/GraphQL endpoints with cache control.
• Scales automatically without DevOps overhead.

Storyblok: Strong Delivery, More Setup

Like Agility CMS, Storyblok delivers content via CDN and supports REST and GraphQL APIs. CDN caching is built-in, but advanced monitoring or custom cache strategies require extra setup.

Key Highlights:

• CDN-backed REST and GraphQL APIs.
• Multi-lingual and multi-site support.
• Additional setup needed for caching and performance monitoring.

Verdict

• Choose Agility CMS if your strategy requires fast delivery, global scaling, and minimal infrastructure complexity.
• Choose Storyblok if you value CDN-backed delivery with multilingual and multi-site support, and your team is prepared to manage caching and performance tuning manually.

Extensibility and Integration with Developer Stacks

Criteria: How well does the CMS integrate with modern frameworks, DevOps tools, and third-party platforms?

Feature	Agility CMS	Storyblok
API Standards	REST and GraphQL. Schema-based. MACH-aligned.	REST and GraphQL APIs with flexible queries.
Dev Tooling	CLI. GitHub integration. Webhooks. Web Studio API.	CLI and SDKs for JS frameworks. Webhooks for event-driven builds.
Marketplace Ecosystem	App Marketplace, featuring Vercel, Netlify, Shopify, Salesforce, and more).	Plugin ecosystem and App Directory for extending UI and functionality.
Automation and CI/CD	GitOps-friendly with schema-as-code. CI/CD deployment integrations and CLI pipelines.	CLI/API support for migrations and deployments. Models are mostly UI-managed.
Custom Extensions	Extend Web Studio UI, build apps, or leverage serverless functions.	Extend via custom plugins and apps within the editor.

Agility CMS: MACH-Ready and GitOps-Friendly

Agility CMS follows MACH principles and integrates seamlessly with JAMstack tooling. Its schema-as-code model supports GitOps, while the marketplace adds turnkey integrations for commerce, hosting, and enterprise services.

Key Highlights:

• REST + GraphQL APIs aligned with MACH.
• GitOps-ready with schema portability.
• Marketplace integrations (Vercel, Netlify, Shopify, Salesforce, Zapier).

Storyblok: Plugin-Driven and UI-Centric

Storyblok features a robust plugin ecosystem and visual editor extensions. Developers can add custom plugins or use Webhooks for automation. Schema governance remains largely UI-driven, which limits deep CI/CD alignment.

Key Highlights:

• REST + GraphQL APIs with flexible queries.
• Plugin/App ecosystem for editor enhancements.
• Webhooks for automation.

Verdict

• Choose Agility CMS if your team needs developer-first integrations, GitOps workflows, and a MACH-ready approach with schema-as-code and turnkey marketplace apps.
• Choose Storyblok if your team values a plugin-driven ecosystem and UI-first extensibility and doesn’t mind handling schema management primarily in the editor.

Final Thoughts: Which Headless CMS Should Developers Choose in 2025?

Both Agility CMS and Storyblok deliver modern headless architectures. The difference lies in developer experience and governance.

• Agility CMS is best for teams prioritizing speed, developer-first workflows, and CI/CD automation. Its SaaS backend, built-in CDN, and schema-as-code approach make it low-friction for dev teams.
• Storyblok is for teams prioritizing UI-driven content management with a strong visual editor for marketers. It often requires more setup for developer workflows.

The right headless CMS choice depends on your strategic needs:

• If you want simplicity, CI/CD alignment, and scalability without operational overhead, choose Agility CMS.
• If you want visual-first modeling and a strong editor experience for content teams, choose Storyblok.

Summary Table

Category	Agility CMS	Storyblok
Developer Experience	-Visual + JSON schema modeler. -Fast API setup. GitOps-friendly.	-Visual editor, block-based modeling. -UI-first. Schema management UI-driven.
Governance and Workflows	-Built-in roles. -Simple approvals. -Turnkey governance.	-Custom roles. -Inline comments. -Workflows supported. Setup required for advanced governance.
Scalability	-SaaS-native. -CDN delivery. -Minimal ops.	-Solid SaaS scaling. -CDN-backed. -More manual tuning.
DevOps and Tooling	-CLI. -Webhooks. -Git-friendly. -JAMstack ready.	-CLI. -SDKs. -Plugins -UI-driven setup. -Less CI/CD automation.
Best For…	Teams that want speed, schema-as-code, and low-lift scalability.	Teams that want visual-first content modeling and a strong editor UI.

Ready to Empower Your Development Team in 2025?

If you’ve read this far, thank you. We hope this comparison has helped guide your decision.

That said, you’re on the Agility CMS website. So here’s the CTA:

If you’re looking for a headless CMS that puts developers in control – with schema-as-code, REST/GraphQL APIs, GitOps-friendly workflows, and zero infrastructure overhead – Agility CMS is built for you.

Experience content delivery with a platform that combines developer productivity, enterprise-grade scalability, and MACH-aligned composability, all without the operational complexity.

Start your free trial or book a demo today. See how Agility CMS can streamline your development workflows and CI/CD pipelines in 2025 and beyond.

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External Sources

GraphQL API Getting Started Visual Editor Storyblok Vue Space Roles Workflows: Basic, Custom

Page History CDN Internationalization Storyblok CLI Content Delivery API Introducing Storyblok CLI v4