Contentful is a powerful enterprise headless CMS—it's also expensive and locks you into their infrastructure. Liteshow gives you the developer experience you love about Contentful, with true git version control, zero vendor lock-in, and costs that are 95% lower.
| Feature | Liteshow | Contentful |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Self-hosted anywhere | SaaS only |
| Pricing | Free (open source) | $300-2,000+/month |
| Version Control | Native git commits | Built-in (proprietary) |
| Database | SQLite (file-based) | Proprietary cloud DB |
| Content Storage | Git repository | Contentful cloud |
| Vendor Lock-in | None (open source) | High |
| Content Modeling | Code-first | UI-first |
| Data Ownership | Full (in your repo) | Limited (export only) |
Hidden costs:
| Need | Contentful | Liteshow |
|---|---|---|
| 10 users | $300-2,000/mo | $0/mo |
| 500k records | Premium tier | $0/mo |
| 10M API calls/mo | Extra charges | $0/mo |
| 5 environments | Extra cost | $0/mo (git branches) |
| Annual Total | $20,000-$50,000 | $0-240 |
Save $19,000-$50,000/year
That's a full-time developer salary
Contentful:
Liteshow:
Contentful has version history, but it's proprietary and limited:
Liteshow difference:
Every content change is a real git commit:
git log --oneline
7f3a8c2 Update pricing page
4b2e1f9 Add new case study
3d1c7a8 Fix typo in hero
git diff 4b2e1f9 7f3a8c2
# See exactly what changedContentful charges for API calls over your plan limit:
For a busy site:
10M API calls/month = $10-20k/year in overages
Liteshow:
// Dependent on Contentful API
const products = await fetch(
contentful_api_url,
{ headers: { Auth: token } }
)// No external API dependency
import { getProducts } from '@/lib/content'
const products = await getProducts()Save $3,600-$24,000/year
# 1. Export from Contentful
npm install contentful-export
contentful-export --space-id YOUR_SPACE_ID
# 2. Convert to Liteshow format
npx liteshow-migrate contentful ./export.json
# 3. Review in git
git add content/
git commit -m "Migrate from Contentful"
# 4. Deploy
git push origin main
# 5. Cancel Contentful subscription
# Save $300-2,000/month 💰Your content is yours. Your data is yours. Your costs are near zero. Welcome to CMS freedom.
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