MKT AUTO
Mailtrap is assembling a full email operations platform, one category step at a time
Alternatives · marketing automation tools
Craft CMS alternatives
The best Craft CMS alternatives in marketing automation tools, ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score.
Updated Aug 19, 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's alphas keep converting the plugin API, one removal at a time
Craft is running two lines with very different energy. The 5.10 maintenance branch ships one-bug releases hours apart and nothing else. Craft 6 is in its seventeenth alpha, still migrating onto Laravel: alpha 17 removes Plugin::settingsHtml() in favour of a settingsForm() built on the Control Panel Form system, replaces the Pane.vue component with a craft-pane web component, and moves another management command onto Laravel's schema API.
Velocity 6.3 · Last update 3h 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.
MKT AUTO
Customer.io spent the summer pushing messaging off the screen and into location, time, and the lock screen
MKT AUTO
Gumloop is building the enterprise floor under an agent it now ships pre-assembled
MKT AUTO
Customer.io is turning messaging context — location, knowledge, carriers — into platform primitives
MKT AUTO
Flodesk just moved its analytics out of the dashboard and into Claude and ChatGPT.
MKT AUTO
Formidable widens MCP compatibility and locks down signature files
MKT AUTO
AWeber is moving the console out of the browser and into the chat window
MKT AUTO
Formaloo is turning its form builder into something you describe rather than configure.
MKT AUTO
Two security releases ship the same day, and 6.2 finally clears alpha
MKT AUTO
Buttondown ships almost daily, and most of it is someone else's bug report closed.
MKT AUTO
MailerLite keeps widening the gap between its simple editor and its drag-and-drop one
MKT AUTO
Pimcore is shipping a security advisory almost every week.
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 | cmslaravelplugin-api | Craft 6 alpha 14 breaks plugin providers and lifecycle hooks |
| Mailtrap | 7.5 | 2 | email-apideliverabilityinbound-email | Automated Domain Reputation Monitoring |
| Customer.io | 7.5 | 1 | geofencingpush-notificationsworkflow-triggers | Geofences: message people when they enter or exit a location |
| Gumloop | 7.5 | 2 | agentsmcpenterprise-governance | Meet Gumball (Beta) |
| Customer.io | 7.5 | 2 | geofencingllm-actionsmulti-channel-messaging | Add reusable knowledge sources to LLM actions |
| Flodesk | 6.3 | 1 | email-marketingai-agentsmcp | Claude Connector and ChatGPT Plugin |
| Formidable Forms | 6.3 | 1 | wordpressformsmcp | Forms API v2.0 |
| AWeber | 6.3 | 1 | mcp-connectoremail-marketingai-authoring | Run Your Email Marketing From Claude With AWeber’s New Claude Connector |
| Formaloo | 6.3 | 0 | form-builderai-authoringno-code-logic | Magic Logic generates form rules from a plain-English description |
| Joomla | 5.0 | 0 | cmssecurity-releaseparallel-branches | — |
| Buttondown | 5.0 | 0 | newslettersemail-marketingbug-fixes | — |
| MailerLite | 5.0 | 0 | email-marketingeditorautomation | — |
| Pimcore | 5.0 | 0 | cmsdxpsecurity-advisories | — |
The 12 best Craft CMS alternatives, in depth
1. Mailtrap · velocity 7.5
Mailtrap is assembling a full email operations platform, one category step at a time.
Over the last 30 days Mailtrap shipped 2 meaningful updates vs Craft CMS's 1, most recently “Automated Domain Reputation Monitoring”. Its velocity score of 7.5/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, laravel and plugin api, Mailtrap focuses on email api, deliverability and inbound email.
Over the last 30 days Mailtrap has been shipping faster than Craft CMS — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
Full Mailtrap trajectory → · Compare Craft CMS vs Mailtrap →
2. Customer.io · velocity 7.5
Customer.io spent the summer pushing messaging off the screen and into location, time, and the lock screen.
Over the last 30 days Customer.io shipped 1 meaningful update 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, laravel and plugin api, Customer.io focuses on geofencing, push notifications and workflow triggers.
Customer.io 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 Customer.io trajectory → · Compare Craft CMS vs Customer.io →
3. Gumloop · velocity 7.5
Gumloop is building the enterprise floor under an agent it now ships pre-assembled.
Over the last 30 days Gumloop shipped 2 meaningful updates vs Craft CMS's 1, most recently “Meet Gumball (Beta)”. Its velocity score of 7.5/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, laravel and plugin api, Gumloop focuses on agents, mcp and enterprise governance.
Over the last 30 days Gumloop has been shipping faster than Craft CMS — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
4. Customer.io · velocity 7.5
Customer.io is turning messaging context — location, knowledge, carriers — into platform primitives.
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, laravel and plugin api, Customer.io focuses on geofencing, llm actions and multi channel messaging.
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 →
5. Flodesk · velocity 6.3
Flodesk just moved its analytics out of the dashboard and into Claude and ChatGPT.
Over the last 30 days Flodesk shipped 1 meaningful update vs Craft CMS's 1, most recently “Claude Connector and ChatGPT Plugin”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, laravel and plugin api, Flodesk focuses on email marketing, ai agents and mcp.
Flodesk and Craft CMS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
6. Formidable Forms · velocity 6.3
Formidable widens MCP compatibility and locks down signature files.
Over the last 30 days Formidable Forms shipped 1 meaningful update vs Craft CMS's 1, most recently “Forms API v2.0”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, laravel and plugin api, Formidable Forms focuses on wordpress, forms and mcp.
Formidable Forms 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 Formidable Forms trajectory → · Compare Craft CMS vs Formidable Forms →
7. AWeber · velocity 6.3
AWeber is moving the console out of the browser and into the chat window.
Over the last 30 days AWeber shipped 1 meaningful update vs Craft CMS's 1, most recently “Run Your Email Marketing From Claude With AWeber’s New Claude Connector”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, laravel and plugin api, AWeber focuses on mcp connector, email marketing and ai authoring.
AWeber and Craft CMS have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
8. Formaloo · velocity 6.3
Formaloo is turning its form builder into something you describe rather than configure.
Over the last 30 days Formaloo shipped 0 meaningful updates vs Craft CMS's 1, most recently “Magic Logic generates form rules from a plain-English description”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Craft CMS leans on cms, laravel and plugin api, Formaloo focuses on form builder, ai authoring and no code logic.
Formaloo 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 Formaloo trajectory → · Compare Craft CMS vs Formaloo →
9. Joomla · velocity 5.0
Two security releases ship the same day, and 6.2 finally clears alpha.
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, laravel and plugin api, Joomla focuses on cms, security release and parallel branches.
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.
10. Buttondown · velocity 5.0
Buttondown ships almost daily, and most of it is someone else's bug report closed.
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, laravel and plugin api, Buttondown focuses on newsletters, email marketing and bug fixes.
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 →
11. MailerLite · velocity 5.0
MailerLite keeps widening the gap between its simple editor and its drag-and-drop one.
Over the last 30 days MailerLite 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, laravel and plugin api, MailerLite focuses on email marketing, editor and automation.
MailerLite 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 MailerLite trajectory → · Compare Craft CMS vs MailerLite →
12. Pimcore · velocity 5.0
Pimcore is shipping a security advisory almost every week.
Over the last 30 days Pimcore 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, laravel and plugin api, Pimcore focuses on cms, dxp and security advisories.
Pimcore 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 Mailtrap, Customer.io, Gumloop, Customer.io, Flodesk, 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.