We are the Contentstack to Dato CMS migration experts

Challenges with Contentstack

Contentstack comes with a hefty price tag and an even heftier learning curve. You don’t just “spin it up,” you architect it, model it, train teams, fight through workflows, and hope your budget survives the onboarding. The editor can drag when the content tree gets big, and the visual builder starts feeling like it's running a marathon with ankle weights.

Pricing is also locked behind sales calls and enterprise paperwork. Good luck, if you want to switch platforms later. The custom setups and integrations turn migration into a full-blown project. Even with strong APIs, a lot of “advanced” tasks still need bespoke dev work, meaning you’ll rely on specialists whether you like it or not.

Key pain points

Steep learning curve

Even seasoned teams need time to get comfortable. Content modeling and workflows aren’t “plug and play,” expect onboarding sessions and a couple of headaches.

Complex initial setup

Getting everything wired up the way you want takes real developer hours. This isn’t a “spin it up on a Friday” CMS.

Performance lags in editor

Large content models and lots of entries can make the editor feel sluggish, especially when teams scale up.

Limited self-service customization

Anything beyond the basics tends to require a developer. Marketers won’t be bending this platform to their will alone.

Editor usability concerns

The visual builder is powerful but can get overwhelming fast, especially with deep nesting or complex blocks.

Content modeling complexity

You’ll spend time architecting your content upfront. If your team isn’t used to strict modeling, brace yourself.

Benefits of Dato CMS

DatoCMS has a low learning curve, clean UI, and a drag-and-drop schema builder that lets teams shape content without a single existential crisis. Editors love it. Developers tolerate it. Everyone gets to ship faster.

The APIs are solid, the media pipeline is excellent, and the multilingual tooling is actually usable. But lto be honest, it’s expensive, and the drag-and-drop approach means it’s not exactly winning awards for flexibility. Still, if you want something that feels polished out of the box and integrates nicely with Next.js, Shopify, and friends, DatoCMS delivers a pretty smooth experience.

Key advantages

User-friendly interface

DatoCMS has a clean, approachable UI that editors can pick up instantly. Little training needed, and teams can publish content without tripping over the system.