MKT AUTO
Location becomes a trigger, Twilio stops being the only SMS path, and the LLM layer gets a memory
Alternatives · marketing automation tools
Craft CMS alternatives
The best Craft CMS alternatives in marketing automation tools, ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score.
Updated Jul 31, 2026
Looking for the best alternatives to Craft CMS? Sparkpulse tracks and ranks 12 alternatives in marketing automation tools by shipping velocity — how frequently each ships meaningful updates, verified from official changelogs. For reference, Craft CMS shipped 1 meaningful update in the last 30 days and carries a velocity score of 6.3 out of 10 in 2026. The alternatives below are ranked the same way, so you're comparing real release momentum, not marketing claims.
About Craft CMS
Craft 6 is being rebuilt on Laravel in public, one alpha at a time
Craft CMS is running its 6.0 line through rapid alphas, and each one moves another subsystem onto Laravel. Blade views can now be loaded inside Twig templates with Craft registering Blade directives for near parity; asset I/O resolves through Laravel filesystem disks; queue jobs resolve dependencies through the service container; user elements implement Illuminate's HasLocalePreference. SQLite is now a supported database, login is rate limited, and accounts can connect to Socialite providers.
Velocity 6.3 · Last update 1h ago
Top 12 alternatives to Craft CMS
Ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial breakdown, or pivot to a head-to-head.
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Customer.io's summer wave pushes messaging into location triggers and live device surfaces.
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Gumloop is turning its whole connector catalog into agent memory, one week at a time.
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Cold-email tooling that wants you to skip its own dashboard.
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Formaloo now lets you describe a form's logic instead of building it rule by rule.
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ClickFunnels grinds on funnel-attribution analytics and checkout precision, no directional break.
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OpnForm's V2 bet: import your Typeform, generate the PDF, self-host the lot.
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Three release lines in parallel, and changelogs that publish checksums instead of changes
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Buttondown ships something almost every day, and most of it is somebody's bug report.
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Systeme.io's feed is an unbroken run of customer success stories, not a changelog.
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Mautic is patching three supported branches at once while 7.2 grinds through release candidates.
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n8n ships almost daily, and nearly all of it is the AI builder being held together.
Craft CMS vs alternatives — shipping velocity at a glance
Velocity score (0–10) and meaningful releases shipped in the last 30 days, from official changelogs. Higher = shipping faster.
| Product | Velocity | Sparks · 30d | Focus areas | Latest release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craft CMS (baseline) | 6.3 | 1 | cmsphplaravel | Craft 6 alpha runs Blade inside Twig and adds SQLite support |
| Customer.io | 7.5 | 2 | geofencingllm knowledgebyo sms | Add reusable knowledge sources to LLM actions |
| Customer.io | 7.5 | 2 | location-triggerslive-notificationsdevice-surfaces | Geofences: message people when they enter or exit a location |
| Gumloop | 7.5 | 1 | agent platformcompany brainmcp connectors | Any Connector as a Brain Source |
| SalesBlink | 6.3 | 1 | cold-emailsales-outreachai-copilot | 🚀 SalesBlink AI Copilot is live in Dashboard |
| Formaloo | 6.3 | 1 | form-builderai-generationvoice-input | Magic Logic writes form rules from a plain-English brief |
| ClickFunnels | 6.3 | 0 | funnel-analyticsattributioncheckout | — |
| OpnForm | 5.0 | 0 | form-builderopen-sourceself-hosting | v2.0.0: OpnForm V2 |
| Joomla | 5.0 | 0 | cmsphpopen-source | — |
| Buttondown | 5.0 | 0 | email newslettersincremental fixesaccessibility | — |
| Systeme.io | 5.0 | 0 | all-in-one-funnelscourse-creatorsstack-consolidation | — |
| Mautic | 5.0 | 0 | open-source-marketing-automationsecurity-patchingcampaign-engine | — |
| n8n | 5.0 | 0 | ai-builderinstance-airelease-cadence | — |
The 12 best Craft CMS alternatives, in depth
1. Customer.io · velocity 7.5
Location becomes a trigger, Twilio stops being the only SMS path, and the LLM layer gets a memory.
Over the last 30 days Customer.io shipped 2 meaningful updates vs Craft CMS's 1, most recently “Add reusable knowledge sources to LLM actions”. Its velocity score of 7.5/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, php and laravel, Customer.io focuses on geofencing, llm knowledge and byo sms.
Over the last 30 days Customer.io has been shipping faster than Craft CMS — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
Full Customer.io trajectory → · Compare Craft CMS vs Customer.io →
2. Customer.io · velocity 7.5
Customer.io's summer wave pushes messaging into location triggers and live device surfaces.
Over the last 30 days Customer.io shipped 2 meaningful updates vs Craft CMS's 1, most recently “Geofences: message people when they enter or exit a location”. Its velocity score of 7.5/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, php and laravel, Customer.io focuses on location triggers, live notifications and device surfaces.
Over the last 30 days Customer.io has been shipping faster than Craft CMS — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
Full Customer.io trajectory → · Compare Craft CMS vs Customer.io →
3. Gumloop · velocity 7.5
Gumloop is turning its whole connector catalog into agent memory, one week at a time.
Over the last 30 days Gumloop shipped 1 meaningful update vs Craft CMS's 1, most recently “Any Connector as a Brain Source”. Its velocity score of 7.5/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, php and laravel, Gumloop focuses on agent platform, company brain and mcp connectors.
Gumloop and Craft CMS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
4. SalesBlink · velocity 6.3
Cold-email tooling that wants you to skip its own dashboard.
Over the last 30 days SalesBlink shipped 1 meaningful update vs Craft CMS's 1, most recently “🚀 SalesBlink AI Copilot is live in Dashboard”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, php and laravel, SalesBlink focuses on cold email, sales outreach and ai copilot.
SalesBlink and Craft CMS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full SalesBlink trajectory → · Compare Craft CMS vs SalesBlink →
5. Formaloo · velocity 6.3
Formaloo now lets you describe a form's logic instead of building it rule by rule.
Over the last 30 days Formaloo shipped 1 meaningful update vs Craft CMS's 1, most recently “Magic Logic writes form rules from a plain-English brief”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, php and laravel, Formaloo focuses on form builder, ai generation and voice input.
Formaloo and Craft CMS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full Formaloo trajectory → · Compare Craft CMS vs Formaloo →
6. ClickFunnels · velocity 6.3
ClickFunnels grinds on funnel-attribution analytics and checkout precision, no directional break.
Over the last 30 days ClickFunnels shipped 0 meaningful updates vs Craft CMS's 1. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, php and laravel, ClickFunnels focuses on funnel analytics, attribution and checkout.
ClickFunnels has shipped fewer meaningful updates than Craft CMS in the last 30 days, so weigh it on fit and feature depth rather than recent pace.
Full ClickFunnels trajectory → · Compare Craft CMS vs ClickFunnels →
7. OpnForm · velocity 5.0
OpnForm's V2 bet: import your Typeform, generate the PDF, self-host the lot.
Over the last 30 days OpnForm shipped 0 meaningful updates vs Craft CMS's 1, most recently “v2.0.0: OpnForm V2”. Its velocity score of 5.0/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, php and laravel, OpnForm focuses on form builder, open source and self hosting.
OpnForm has shipped fewer meaningful updates than Craft CMS in the last 30 days, so weigh it on fit and feature depth rather than recent pace.
8. Joomla · velocity 5.0
Three release lines in parallel, and changelogs that publish checksums instead of changes.
Over the last 30 days Joomla shipped 0 meaningful updates vs Craft CMS's 1. Its velocity score of 5.0/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, php and laravel, Joomla focuses on cms, php and open source.
Joomla has shipped fewer meaningful updates than Craft CMS in the last 30 days, so weigh it on fit and feature depth rather than recent pace.
9. Buttondown · velocity 5.0
Buttondown ships something almost every day, and most of it is somebody's bug report.
Over the last 30 days Buttondown shipped 0 meaningful updates vs Craft CMS's 1. Its velocity score of 5.0/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, php and laravel, Buttondown focuses on email newsletters, incremental fixes and accessibility.
Buttondown has shipped fewer meaningful updates than Craft CMS in the last 30 days, so weigh it on fit and feature depth rather than recent pace.
Full Buttondown trajectory → · Compare Craft CMS vs Buttondown →
10. Systeme.io · velocity 5.0
Systeme.io's feed is an unbroken run of customer success stories, not a changelog.
Over the last 30 days Systeme.io shipped 0 meaningful updates vs Craft CMS's 1. Its velocity score of 5.0/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, php and laravel, Systeme.io focuses on all in one funnels, course creators and stack consolidation.
Systeme.io has shipped fewer meaningful updates than Craft CMS in the last 30 days, so weigh it on fit and feature depth rather than recent pace.
Full Systeme.io trajectory → · Compare Craft CMS vs Systeme.io →
11. Mautic · velocity 5.0
Mautic is patching three supported branches at once while 7.2 grinds through release candidates.
Over the last 30 days Mautic shipped 0 meaningful updates vs Craft CMS's 1. Its velocity score of 5.0/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, php and laravel, Mautic focuses on open source marketing automation, security patching and campaign engine.
Mautic has shipped fewer meaningful updates than Craft CMS in the last 30 days, so weigh it on fit and feature depth rather than recent pace.
12. n8n · velocity 5.0
N8n ships almost daily, and nearly all of it is the AI builder being held together.
Over the last 30 days n8n shipped 0 meaningful updates vs Craft CMS's 1. Its velocity score of 5.0/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, php and laravel, n8n focuses on ai builder, instance ai and release cadence.
n8n has shipped fewer meaningful updates than Craft CMS in the last 30 days, so weigh it on fit and feature depth rather than recent pace.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best alternatives to Craft CMS?
The top Craft CMS alternatives we currently track in marketing automation tools are Customer.io, Customer.io, Gumloop, SalesBlink, Formaloo, ranked by recent ship velocity.
How is this list of Craft CMS alternatives ranked?
Alternatives are ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score — release cadence + 30-day spark count + sector-relative ship rate.
Can I compare Craft CMS directly with one of these alternatives?
Yes — every card has a "Compare with Craft CMS" link to a side-by-side /compare page.