"What’s the best CMS for our startup?" If you’re a New Zealand entrepreneur asking this question, you’re not alone. With over 2,400 active startups in the country as of 2025, businesses are shifting towards headless CMS platforms for flexibility, scalability, and seamless content management.
The traditional CMS platforms limit how and where you can render content. But, in today's multi-device world, however, startups need a headless CMS to deliver content across websites, mobile apps, IoT devices, and even VR experiences.
So, which headless CMS New Zealand startups should choose? In this blog, let's discover the top headless content management systems that can empower your startup in 2025.
Top 4 Headless CMS Platforms for New Zealand Startups in 2025
1. Strapi – Best Open-Source Headless CMS for Startups
Why Strapi?
If your startup needs complete control over content management, Strapi is a powerful open-source headless CMS that provides flexibility without licensing costs. With Strapi, you own your data, manage your hosting, and customize every part of the platform.
Key Features:
- Open-Source & Self-Hosted: Keep complete control over your infrastructure with self-hosting options on AWS, DigitalOcean, or your servers.
- Custom APIs: Supports RESTful and GraphQL APIs for seamless integration with React, Vue.js, and other frameworks.
- User-Friendly Dashboard: Non-tech teams can manage content efficiently.
- Role-Based Access Control: Assign different permissions for team members to protect sensitive content.
- Plugin Ecosystem: Add SEO tools, authentication features, and analytics with built-in plugins.
What’s Great About It:
- High Customization: Developers can adjust the CMS according to specific project requirements that cannot accommodate pre-made templates.
- Active Community Support: It helps with continuous evolution and provides resources through forums and documentation.
- Cost-Effective Solution: Being an open-source platform, Strapi may seem more economical than proprietary ones. Therefore, it is helpful for startups who are in their initial phases.
Things to Keep in Mind:
- Technical Expertise: Although the admin panel is straightforward to use, setting up and customizing Strapi requires good knowledge of web development.
- Limited Off-the-Shelf Features: Startups would take more development hours to develop required functionalities that are not included by default.
Who Should Use It and Why
Target Users:
- Tech-Savvy Startups: Suitable for start-ups with a strong technical team that can utilize the broad customizing options available in Strapi.
- E-commerce Businesses: Most suitable for e-commerce businesses requiring custom applications integrated with their inventory management systems.
Why Use Strapi:
Strapi is a fantastic headless CMS for New Zealand startups or businesses looking to create unique, API-driven applications that need content management flexibility. Its open-source nature allows innovation without hefty financial burdens while giving complete control of the infrastructure of the start-ups.
2. Sanity.io – Best for Real-Time Collaboration
Why Sanity.io?
Sanity stands out for real-time editing and structured content modelling, making it an excellent choice for fast-paced startups and digital agencies.
Key Features:
- Real-time collaboration: Up to multiple simultaneous content editors—a dream for teams in remote.
- Custom content structure: Define a schema for blogs, products, and more structured content.
- Portable Text feature: Easy embedding of rich media like video and images.
- Powerful APIs: REST and GraphQL support are great for ease of front-end development.
- Third-party integrations: Connect your applications with other services like Zapier, Algolia, or Slack.
What’s Great About It:
- Highly Customizable Workflows: Startups can build workflows according to their unique business models without being restricted by the traditional CMS.
- Strong Developer Experience: A developer-first platform offers excellent documentation and support resources.
- Scalable Pricing Model: Sanity.io offers flexible pricing plans based on usage metrics (e.g., API calls), making it accessible for startups at different stages of growth.
Things to Keep in Mind:
- Learning Curve for Non-Tech Users: Though it is mighty, it is hard for non-developers due to its advanced features.
- Cost Factors: With increasing usage, that is, more API calls, the cost shoots up drastically.
Who Should Use It and Why
Target Users:
- Creative Agencies: Agencies that require collaborative environments to manage different types of content efficiently.
- Media Companies: Suitable for media businesses requiring real-time updates and collaboration across teams.
Why Choose Sanity.io:
Sanity.io is ideal for highly collaborative startups that require a strong structure to handle complex content. Its real-time editing capabilities support dynamic workflows for teams working on fast-paced projects or campaigns. Moreover, its ability to handle structured data makes it adaptable across industries.
3. Contentful – Best for Scalability and Global Reach
Why Contentful?
Contentful is an enterprise headless CMS developed for companies managing large-scale content distribution. If your startup plans to scale fast or go global, Contentful is a great choice.
Key Features:
- API-First Approach: Build front-end experiences without constraints.
- Multilingual Support: Easily manage content in multiple various languages.
- Automation & Webhooks: Set triggers for publishing workflows.
- Digital Asset Management: Organize images, videos, and documents effectively.
- Enterprise Security: Advanced access control and compliance.
What’s Great About It:
- Enterprise-Level Scalability: Contentful can accommodate large-sized projects with much content volume without any impact on speed or performance.
- Superb Security Features: The product offers enhanced security features that are fit for corporate use if one works with confidential data or in regulated industries.
- Comprehensive Documentation and Support: Contentful provides extensive material regarding onboarding users while troubleshooting problems efficiently.
Things to Keep in Mind:
- Higher Cost Structure: Though it is a feature-rich tool, it might be expensive for small startups or those with a small budget.
- Complex Setup Process: The setup process would take a lot of time since it has an all-inclusive feature set.
Who Should Use It and Why
Target Users:
- Prominent Startups or Companies: Suitable for companies that intend to grow very fast or already deal with a lot of content in different channels.
- Travel or E-commerce Companies with Global Reach: Businesses that require real strength in multilingual support and rich digital asset management.
Why use Contentful:
Contentful is best suited for New Zealand startups looking forward to establishing themselves as a dominant force in a multi-channel web presence. This scalability ensures that as businesses expand and require a more complex solution for content management, Contentful can scale without losing performance. Its ability to manage complex content structures will also make it an excellent fit for businesses looking forward to tremendous growth or operating in competitive markets.
4. Contentstack: Enterprise-Grade Composable Content Ecosystems
Contentstack is a content management system (CMS) that focuses on composability to build scalable and secure content ecosystems, streamlining content delivery through an API-first and cloud-native approach.
Key Features:
- Composable Content Models: Contentstack utilizes modular and reusable content structures designed for efficient, omnichannel content management. Content models define content structure, fields, and relationships, providing a blueprint for content types and enabling consistency across all content entries.
- API-First Architecture: Contentstack offers seamless integration with front-end technologies like React, Angular, and Next.js, using an API-first approach. This architecture enhances interoperability among various machine learning (ML) frameworks and tools and streamlines development.
- Enterprise-Ready Scalability: Contentstack is built for high-traffic platforms with robust CDN-backed performance and multilingual support. Its flexible architecture facilitates the creation of unified information platforms for internal and external audiences.
What’s Great About It:
- Efficient Content Modeling: Contentstack's content modelling process involves analyzing requirements, identifying structure, and developing content types. Prebuilt content models are also available via the Contentstack Marketplace.
- Strategic Portals: Contentstack provides capabilities to build customizable hubs packed with relevant content for any business need. Its flexible foundation allows the construction of custom portals tailored to specific organizational requirements.
- Enhanced Collaboration: The Contentstack platform enhances team collaboration, streamlines the development process and facilitates the rapid creation of new content.
Things to Keep in Mind:
- Cost Considerations: Contentstack's pricing, while scalable, can become significant, especially when needing advanced features or higher API call limits.
- API Rate Limit Awareness: Be mindful of the Management API rate limits (10 read/write requests per second per organization) when planning automated processes or large-scale content operations.
- Content Model Design is Key: Plan your content models carefully upfront, as they cannot be edited after creation.
- Integration Options: Evaluate the Contentstack Marketplace to ensure necessary integrations are available; custom development may be required for some integrations.
- Migration Planning: If migrating from another CMS, factor in the complexity and potential effort involved in the data migration process.
Who Should Use It and Why:
The search results do not explicitly mention particular users that should utilize Contentstack.
Contentstack's composable architecture allows businesses to create strategic portals with customizable content models, automate repetitive tasks, and integrate with existing systems. Its API-first platform enables decoupling and customization of the front end, while developer-friendly SDKs facilitate rapidly building custom interfaces and interactions. Contentstack provides a unified content hub, complete flexibility, and advanced workflows.
How to Select the Best CMS for Your Startup?
The best CMS for startups in 2025 depends on your business model and goals. Here's a quick guide to help:
1. Define Your Content Needs
- For custom applications? → Go with Strapi.
- For real-time collaboration? → Choose Sanity.io.
- For scalability and multi-channel distribution? → Opt for Contentful.
- For composable digital experiences? → Choose Contentstack.
2. Check API & Integration Support
A promising headless CMS New Zealand startup must offer strong API capabilities.
- Contentful → Best API support with extensive documentation.
- Strapi → Highly customizable APIs but requires developer expertise.
- Sanity.io → Strong API integrations with real-time data updates.
- Contentstack → Seamless integration with front-end technologies through its API-first architecture.
3. Assess Costs and Scalability
- Startups on a budget? → Strapi (free & open-source).
- Need flexible pricing? → Sanity.io scales based on usage.
- Enterprise-ready? → Contentful is the best choice for scaling startups.
- Need enterprise-grade scalability? → Contentstack is built for high-traffic platforms.
Final Thoughts: The Best Headless CMS for New Zealand Startups in 2025
Choosing the right headless CMS New Zealand startups need in 2025 is critical for growth. Each of these top headless content management systems offers unique strengths:
- Strapi → Best for customizable, developer-centric projects.
- Sanity.io → Best for collaborative, content-driven startups.
- Contentful → Best for scalable, enterprise-level content management.
- Contentstack → Best for composable, enterprise-ready digital experiences with AI and automation.
Are you still uncertain whether to start with Strapi for its flexibility, test Sanity.io if collaboration is a priority, or opt for Contentful if scalability is your main concern or choose Contentstack for its composable architecture, AI capabilities, and automation feature? Don’t worry! At Kombee, we’re here to guide you in making the best choice tailored to your business goals and help you get started with the ideal headless CMS for your needs.
As New Zealand’s startup ecosystem evolves, selecting the right CMS for startups in 2025 will be essential for definitely staying ahead in the competitive landscape.
