Case Study
View Case StudyTray.ai
Migrating hundreds of thousands of pages, re-platforming and extending for the leading composable AI integration platform

From ButterCMS to BaseHub
Key pain points
Where ButterCMS starts to show cracks is when projects grow beyond its comfort zone. The content modeling is adequate for straightforward use cases, but it lacks the depth and flexibility of platforms like Sanity or Contentful. Components are only available for pages, not collections or blog posts, which creates frustrating inconsistencies when you're trying to build a cohesive content architecture. The 1,000 content field limit, even on expensive plans, can become a real ceiling for ambitious projects.
The platform's smaller ecosystem is a double-edged sword. While anyone who knows JavaScript can work with the API, you won't find the same depth of community resources, plugins, or third-party integrations that larger platforms offer. Media management is also noticeably behind, with no bulk upload capability and limited asset organisation tools. For agencies managing multiple client sites, these paper cuts add up quickly.
There have also been transparency concerns. In 2024, a DNS incident affected thousands of sites using ButterCMS, but their status page showed no downtime. That kind of communication gap is a red flag for any team relying on a third-party CMS in production. The pricing, while competitive on the surface, can feel steep for smaller teams once you move past the limited free tier, and the jump between plans isn't always proportional to what you get.

Limited content modeling flexibility
Components are only available for pages, not collections or blog posts. This creates awkward workarounds when you need consistent structured content across different content types.

Content field limits on all plans
Even the most expensive plans cap you at 1,000 content fields. For complex, multi-locale projects this ceiling arrives faster than you'd expect.

No bulk media upload
The media library only supports single-file uploads with limited organisation tools. Managing assets across a large site becomes tedious quickly.

Small ecosystem and community
Compared to Contentful or Sanity, the community is tiny. Fewer plugins, fewer tutorials, and fewer developers with direct experience means more problem-solving on your own.

Transparency concerns around incidents
In 2024, a DNS incident reportedly affected sites using ButterCMS, but limited public acknowledgement on their status page raised concerns about transparency. The details are difficult to verify independently.

Pricing jumps between tiers
The free tier is very limited, and paid plans start at $71 per month. For small projects or startups, the cost can be hard to justify when alternatives offer more generous free tiers.
Key advantages
BaseHub CMS is generating buzz among developers for its fast, collaborative, and AI-powered environment. We really like the Notion style editor. Feels great to drop a / and you type in what you want. E.g heading, or bullet points etc.
It's pretty good for creating and organizing content. Even for teams that are new to CMS platforms. Features like easy nested repeater fields, real-time branching for team workflows, and seamless GraphQL integration impress both solo makers and growing agencies. The platform’s Typesafe approach and AI-assisted writing tools help speed up the publishing process, while modern UI design keeps the learning curve gentle for newcomers.
If you can handle the initial information overload when you first spin up an environment it's an incredible tool for collaboration and rapid site scaffolding.
They also have a pretty good freemium pricing model (nodody has as good as Sanity) and strong documentation help projects get off the ground quickly, especially for Next.js and React use cases. Frequent updates and community engagement is high, and the core team that built it, are from a really nice design focused agency. So can't knock it that much.

Intuitive Notion-style editor
If you can use Notion, you can get content into BaseHub without begging a developer for help. It is light, fast and easy to navigate
Effortless nested repeater fields
You can nest and stack content structures. It’s one of the few tools where complex schemas don’t instantly become a crime scene.

Real-time content branching
Branching lets teams experiment, test ideas, and push updates without breaking production. Preview changes instantly, merge when ready, panic never.

Ready-to-use GraphQL integration
BaseHub ships with clean, auto-generated GraphQL APIs, so developers don’t waste hours wiring resolvers or schema stitching. Query, fetch, and ship.

Typesafe SDK support
You get fully typed responses out of the box, which means fewer runtime surprises and a smoother dev experience. Your IDE becomes your safety net.

Collaborative team workflows
Teams can work together without stepping on each other’s toes, with clean approval flows and role-based editing. It’s built for fast-moving content teams.
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