From ButterCMS to Hygraph

We are the ButterCMS to Hygraph migration experts

Challenges with ButterCMS

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.

Benefits of Hygraph

Key advantages

Hygraph is a GraphQL-first setup isn’t a gimmick, queries are fast, precise, and an instant upgrade from platforms still pretending REST is the future. Content teams get a clean, intuitive UI, and developers get proper modeling tools. The real flex is Content Federation. Instead of juggling five backends and duct-taped integrations, Hygraph pulls external APIs into one place and lets you manage everything from a single dashboard.

All the enterprise essentials are built-in like workflows, localization, roles, and staging. If you’re thinking of adopting it (or untangling your current setup), connect with us, and we’ll help you integrate it properly and get the most out of it.

GraphQL-first API architecture

Hygraph gives developers precise and predictable queries without over-fetching or duct-taping endpoints. If you're comfortable with GraphQL, go ahead with it.

Multi-region content delivery

Your content gets served from the closest region, so pages load fast everywhere without you having to think about infrastructure.

Fast geo-distributed responses

Because their CDN actually does its job, API calls resolve quickly across regions which is perfect for apps that can’t afford to wait on slow round-trips.

External API integration support

Hygraph’s content federation lets you pull in data from other APIs and treat everything like one unified system without any custom backend glue or microservice jungle.

Generous free tier offering

You can build real projects without paying a penny. It’s surprisingly capable for prototyping, small sites, or testing before you commit budget.

Automated webhook capabilities

All the updates trigger instantly with clean webhooks, which is great for syncing builds, triggering workflows, or piping data into other systems without manual overhead.