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Comparison · Mkt Auto

Craft CMS vs Flodesk

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Craft CMS and Flodesk — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Craft CMS vs Flodesk: at a glance

FeatureCraft CMSFlodesk
SectorMkt AutoMkt Auto
Velocity score6.36.3
Sparks · 30d11
Top themescms, laravel, plugin-api, inertiaemail-marketing, ai-agents, mcp, smb-tools
Last editorial update4h ago12h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is 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.

Read the full Craft CMS trajectory →

What is Flodesk?

Flodesk just moved its analytics out of the dashboard and into Claude and ChatGPT.

Flodesk ships one clearly-scoped feature at a time, roughly twice a month, and the recent run has been list hygiene and account security: a self-maintaining unengaged-subscriber segment, reversible archiving, subject-line A/B testing, calendar view, and multi-factor authentication. The newest release breaks that pattern — a connector that lets members query their own email, subscriber, form and sales data from inside Claude or ChatGPT, read-only, at no extra cost.

Read the full Flodesk trajectory →

Craft CMS vs Flodesk: editorial side-by-side

C
Craft CMS
MKT AUTO
6.3

Craft 6's alphas keep converting the plugin API, one removal at a time

◆ Current state

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.

◆ Where it's heading

The pattern established at alpha 14 has not changed shape, only advanced: every alpha retires another Yii-era extension point and re-lands it on the new stack, with craftcms/yii2-adapter carrying the compatibility burden. Alpha 17 adds an Inertia-native slideout system that renders any CpScreenResponse as an in-page panel, which is the control panel moving from a legacy JavaScript layer to a genuinely Inertia/Vue one rather than wrapping it. The long fix list — stale permission trees, autosave firing on unchanged values, provisional drafts created on page open, queue jobs stuck reserved — reads as the cost of that churn being paid down alpha by alpha.

◆ Prediction

Expect further alphas that remove specific Yii-era plugin APIs with adapter fallbacks, and the 5.10 line to keep shipping single-fix patches until a Craft 6 beta absorbs the team's attention.

F
Flodesk
MKT AUTO
6.3

Flodesk just moved its analytics out of the dashboard and into Claude and ChatGPT.

◆ Current state

Flodesk ships one clearly-scoped feature at a time, roughly twice a month, and the recent run has been list hygiene and account security: a self-maintaining unengaged-subscriber segment, reversible archiving, subject-line A/B testing, calendar view, and multi-factor authentication. The newest release breaks that pattern — a connector that lets members query their own email, subscriber, form and sales data from inside Claude or ChatGPT, read-only, at no extra cost.

◆ Where it's heading

Everything before this was about removing work inside the product; the connector removes the product from the interaction entirely for the questions people ask most. Flodesk states this is phase one, with audience segmentation and subscriber management to follow, which would turn a read-only connector into a place the account is actually operated. The security work — MFA extended to third-party API authorizations — reads in hindsight as the prerequisite that had to land first.

◆ Prediction

The stated roadmap points to write access next, starting with segmentation and subscriber management, which is where a read-only connector becomes an operating surface. What is unclear from the entries is whether campaign creation and sending follow, since that is where an external agent acting on a member's list gets genuinely consequential.

Alternatives to Craft CMS and Flodesk

Other Mkt Auto products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Craft CMS or Flodesk.

See all Craft CMS alternatives → · See all Flodesk alternatives →

Recent activity from Craft CMS and Flodesk

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 12h agoCraft CMSAlpha 17 retires plugin settingsHtml and adds Inertia slideouts
  2. 1d agoFlodeskClaude Connector and ChatGPT Plugin
  3. 13d agoCraft CMSAlpha 16 fixes double-required migrations and a widget gap
  4. 13d agoCraft CMS5.10.13.2 fixes a SQL error on empty Categories fields
  5. 14d agoCraft CMS5.10.13.1 restores rendering of sanitized SVGs
  6. 14d agoCraft CMSCraft 6 swaps its image pipeline to intervention/image and libvips
  7. 14d agoFlodeskMulti-factor Authentication (MFA)
  8. 15d agoFlodeskUnengaged Subscribers segment
  9. 27d agoCraft CMSCraft 6 alpha 14 breaks plugin providers and lifecycle hooks
  10. 2mo agoFlodeskA/B test your subject lines
  11. 2mo agoFlodeskCalendar view
  12. 3mo agoFlodeskArchive subscribers

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Craft CMS and Flodesk?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Craft CMS and Flodesk are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 6.3 vs 6.3, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Craft CMS better than Flodesk?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Craft CMS and Flodesk are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 6.3 vs 6.3, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Mkt Auto products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Craft CMS?

Top Craft CMS alternatives in Mkt Auto are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Craft CMS alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/craft-cms for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Flodesk?

Top Flodesk alternatives in Mkt Auto are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Flodesk alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/flodesk for the full list with editorial commentary on each.