Decoupled.io vs Hygraph
Quick Overview
Decoupled.io is a managed headless CMS built on Drupal, offering a visual page builder (Puck), 25+ MCP tools for AI agents, and GraphQL + JSON:API on every tier. It combines Drupal's 20+ years of content architecture with modern managed hosting and zero DevOps.
Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) is a GraphQL-native headless CMS that positions itself as "fast to implement." Its standout feature is Content Federation, which lets you unify content from multiple sources (APIs, databases, other CMSes) into a single GraphQL endpoint. Hygraph also offers a newer visual editing capability and a growing marketplace. It is a fully proprietary SaaS platform based in Berlin.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Decoupled.io | Hygraph |
|---|---|---|
| Visual Page Builder | Yes (Puck drag-and-drop) | Limited (newer addition, not core focus) |
| GraphQL API | Yes (all tiers) | Yes (native, core differentiator) |
| Type-Safe Client | Yes — auto-generated TypeScript with full IDE autocomplete | No built-in typed client (manual GraphQL codegen required) |
| REST API | Yes (JSON:API, all tiers) | Yes (auto-generated from GraphQL) |
| AI Content Generation | Built-in | No native AI generation |
| MCP Tools | 25+ tools for AI agents | No native MCP support |
| Open Source | Yes (Drupal foundation) | No (fully proprietary) |
| Content Modeling | Flexible entity types + fields | Schema editor with components |
| Localization | Built-in translation workflows | Yes (locale-based content) |
| Real-time Preview | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing Model | Tier-based | Tier-based (with seat limits) |
| Free Tier | Hobby tier | Free (3 seats, 1M API calls/mo) |
Where Decoupled.io Wins
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Visual page builder maturity. Decoupled.io includes Puck, a fully featured drag-and-drop page builder, on every tier. Hygraph has added visual editing capabilities more recently, but it is not the platform's core strength. If your content team needs robust visual page composition, Decoupled.io provides a more mature solution.
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AI-native tooling. Decoupled.io provides built-in AI content generation and 25+ MCP tools for integrating with AI agents and builders like Lovable and Bolt.new. Hygraph does not offer native AI content generation or MCP support.
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Open-source foundation. Decoupled.io is built on Drupal, giving you an open-source data layer with no proprietary lock-in. Your content structure, custom logic, and data are portable. Hygraph is fully proprietary -- migrating away requires extracting everything through their API.
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Dual API standards. While Hygraph excels at GraphQL, Decoupled.io offers both GraphQL and JSON:API on every tier. This flexibility matters when different parts of your stack (or different teams) prefer different query approaches. Hygraph's REST API is auto-generated from GraphQL and is not its primary interface.
Where Hygraph Wins
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GraphQL-native architecture. Hygraph was built from the ground up around GraphQL. Its schema editor, content modeling, and query capabilities are deeply integrated with GraphQL conventions. If your team lives and breathes GraphQL and wants the most GraphQL-idiomatic CMS experience, Hygraph delivers that natively.
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Content Federation. Hygraph's Content Federation is a genuinely unique capability. It lets you pull content from external APIs, databases, and other services into a unified GraphQL schema, so your frontend queries a single endpoint for content that lives across multiple systems. No other headless CMS offers this at the platform level.
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Generous free tier API limits. Hygraph's free plan includes 1 million API calls per month and 3 seats, which is a generous starting point for evaluation and small production projects.
Pricing Comparison
| Tier | Decoupled.io | Hygraph |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Hobby (included) | Free (3 seats, 1M API calls/mo) |
| Mid-tier | Custom Business | Growth at $199/month |
| Enterprise | Custom | Enterprise (custom pricing) |
Hygraph's Growth tier at $199/month includes more seats and higher API limits, but Content Federation -- arguably Hygraph's most compelling feature -- is gated to the Enterprise tier with custom pricing. If Content Federation is the reason you're considering Hygraph, be prepared for enterprise-level pricing. Decoupled.io's custom Business tier includes all platform features without gating key capabilities behind the highest tier.
Who Should Choose Decoupled.io
- Teams that need both visual editing and strong APIs. If you want a visual page builder for your content team alongside GraphQL and REST APIs for your developers, Decoupled.io provides both as first-class capabilities.
- AI-forward development teams. If you're building with AI app builders, MCP-powered workflows, or need built-in AI content generation, Decoupled.io's tooling is purpose-built for these use cases.
- Organizations that value open-source foundations. If avoiding proprietary lock-in matters to your team, Decoupled.io's Drupal foundation provides portability and transparency that Hygraph's proprietary platform cannot match.
- Projects with complex content relationships. If your content model involves deep taxonomies, entity references, content reuse patterns, and granular permissions, Drupal's mature content architecture provides patterns that have been refined over two decades.
Who Should Choose Hygraph
- Teams that need Content Federation. If your content lives across multiple backend systems and you need to unify it into a single GraphQL endpoint without building custom aggregation layers, Hygraph's Content Federation is unique in the market. No other CMS offers this at the platform level.
- GraphQL-first development teams. If your entire stack is built around GraphQL and you want a CMS that treats GraphQL as the primary (not secondary) interface, Hygraph's GraphQL-native architecture provides the deepest integration.
- Teams evaluating with limited budget. Hygraph's free tier (3 seats, 1M API calls) is generous enough for real evaluation and small production workloads. If you're cost-sensitive during the evaluation phase, Hygraph provides a practical free starting point.
FAQ
How does Content Federation compare to Decoupled.io's approach? Content Federation solves the problem of unifying content from multiple sources into a single API. Decoupled.io approaches this differently -- Drupal's migration and integration systems can pull external data into the CMS itself, or you can use Drupal as the single source of truth with its own APIs. The right approach depends on whether you want content to live in multiple systems (Federation) or consolidate it in one place (Decoupled.io).
Can I migrate from Hygraph to Decoupled.io? Yes. Hygraph's GraphQL API makes it straightforward to export content and schema definitions. Hygraph's content models map well to Drupal's entity types and fields. Contact our team for migration assistance.
Which platform has better developer documentation? Both platforms provide solid documentation. Hygraph's docs are focused on GraphQL usage patterns and schema configuration. Decoupled.io's documentation covers GraphQL, JSON:API, MCP tools, and AI integration workflows. Browse our docs to compare.
Is Hygraph a mature platform? Hygraph (originally GraphCMS) has been in the market since 2017 and has a growing customer base. It is a credible platform, though its ecosystem (marketplace, integrations, community) is smaller than some longer-established competitors. The platform is actively developing new features like visual editing and expanding its marketplace.
Ready to Try Decoupled.io?
See how Decoupled.io compares for your use case. Start with the free Hobby tier and explore the visual page builder, GraphQL API, and MCP tools.