The Problem
Why teams leave Contentful
API call limits on all plans
Content type and locale restrictions
Team plan limited to 5 users
Enterprise pricing is opaque ($2K-$10K+/month)
Asset storage and bandwidth limits
What We Build Instead
Your custom knowledge & docs tool
Headless CMS with unlimited API calls
Custom content models and rich text editing
Multi-locale content management
Asset management and image optimization
Preview and publishing workflows
GraphQL and REST APIs for your frontend
The Math
Contentful vs. custom build
Based on 10 seats at $75/seat/month, with ~10% annual SaaS price increases.
Keep paying Contentful
Build with 86 SaaS
3-year savings with 10 seats
-$6,550
-22% less than Contentful
Pricing Breakdown
Contentful tier pricing vs. one-time custom build
Compare what you pay per seat across Contentful's tiers against a single investment in software you own forever.
| Tier | Monthly/Seat | Annual/Seat | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free | 5 users, 2 locales, Basic content model, Community support |
| Team | $60/mo | $50/mo | Unlimited content types, 5 environments, Roles & permissions, API limit: 200/sec |
| Enterprise | $150/mo | $125/mo | Unlimited environments, SSO/SAML, Custom API limits, Dedicated support, SLA |
| Custom Build by 86 SaaS | $15,000–$35,000 one-time | $0/seat | Unlimited users, full ownership, no recurring fees |
Migration Timeline
From Contentful to ownership — week by week
A structured migration plan to move off Contentful in 4-8 weeks with zero downtime.
Discovery & Audit
1 weekAudit content models, locales, editorial workflows, and API usage patterns
Architecture & Design
1-2 weeksDesign content model, API schema, and editorial workflow
Core Development
2-4 weeksBuild headless CMS with content modeling, rich text editor, asset pipeline, and APIs
Data Migration & Testing
1-2 weeksMigrate content entries, assets, and validate API responses
Deployment & Training
0.5-1 weeksDeploy CMS and train content editors on new interface
Total build time
4-8 weeks
Feature Comparison
What you keep, what you skip, and why
A transparent comparison of Contentful features vs. your custom-built alternative.
| Feature | Contentful | Custom Build | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content Modeling | |||
| Rich Text Editor | |||
| Multi-locale Support | Unlimited locales — no plan restrictions | ||
| Asset Management | |||
| REST & GraphQL APIs | |||
| Preview Environments | |||
| Publishing Workflows | |||
| Webhooks | |||
| Contentful Apps Framework | Build custom extensions directly — no app marketplace needed | ||
| Unlimited API Calls | No rate limits on your own infrastructure |
Your custom build focuses on the features your team actually uses — typically 15-20% of what Contentful offers — built exactly for your workflow.
How It Works
From Contentful to ownership in 4-8 weeks
Free Audit
We analyze your Contentful usage and identify exactly which features your team actually uses.
Scope & Build
We build your custom knowledge & docs tool with only the features you need. 4-8 weeks.
Deploy & Migrate
We deploy to your infrastructure, migrate your data from Contentful, and train your team.
You Own It
Full source code, documentation, and optional maintenance retainer. No vendor lock-in. Ever.