Complete guide to migrating your Decap CMS website to Gridsome. Leave Decap CMS's smaller team maintaining it than original netlify cms behind and get graphql data layer pulls from any cms or api source. Free migration tool included.
You can migrate from Decap CMS to Gridsome for free using LeaveWP. Enter your site URL, choose Gridsome as the destination, and download your content — posts, pages, and media — in minutes. No API keys, passwords, or CLI tools required. Difficulty: Medium. Estimated time: 20-40 minutes.
Open-source Git-based CMS (successor to Netlify CMS). JAMstack teams wanting free, open-source Git-based content management, but these limitations push teams toward modern alternatives.
Smaller team maintaining it than original Netlify CMS
This is the most common reason teams migrate away from Decap CMS. Gridsome eliminates this issue entirely.
Basic admin UI compared to commercial CMS options
With Gridsome, graphql data layer pulls from any cms or api source.
Git-based architecture limits content volume scalability
Modern architectures like Gridsome are designed to avoid this from the ground up.
Limited real-time collaboration features
After migrating, you'll no longer need to worry about this — Gridsome takes a fundamentally different approach.
Vue.js-based SSG with GraphQL data layer (unmaintained). Built with JavaScript (Vue.js), it's legacy vue 2 projects — new projects should use nuxt instead.
GraphQL data layer pulls from any CMS or API source
Vue.js framework for those in the Vue ecosystem
File-based routing similar to Next.js/Nuxt
Image optimization and lazy-loading built in
Gridsome is open-source and free to use. You own your code and data with no vendor lock-in. Deploy to any host that supports JavaScript, or use managed platforms like Vercel and Netlify for zero-config deployments.
Side-by-side comparison based on real platform characteristics
| Metric | Decap CMS | Gridsome |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 | ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 |
| Performance | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 |
| Flexibility | ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 | ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 |
| Cost | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 |
| Scalability | ⭐⭐ 2/5 | ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 |
| Ecosystem | ⭐⭐ 2/5 | ⭐ 1/5 |
| Language | JavaScript (Git-backed) | JavaScript (Vue.js) |
| Pricing | Free | Free (open-source) |
| Open Source | Yes | Yes |
Ratings are based on publicly available data, documentation, and community consensus as of 2026. Individual experience may vary.
A detailed breakdown of how your Decap CMS content maps to Gridsome
What may need manual attention
Custom server-side logic, third-party integrations, and platform-specific plugins will need equivalent solutions in Gridsome. The core content (text, images, metadata) transfers cleanly.
Migrate your content in three simple steps
Enter your Decap CMS site URL — LeaveWP connects automatically.
Select Gridsome as destination and choose content options.
Download your migrated content or preview it in your browser.
Migrating from Decap CMS to Gridsome makes the most sense if you're experiencing smaller team maintaining it than original netlify cms or outgrowing Decap CMS's architecture. Gridsome is best for legacy vue 2 projects — new projects should use nuxt instead.
You should migrate if: your Decap CMS site is slow, your hosting costs are climbing, you need developer flexibility, or you want to adopt a modern JAMstack architecture.
You might want to stay if: your Decap CMS site benefits from community-maintained successor to netlify cms and you don't have JavaScript developers on your team.
The migration itself is straightforward with LeaveWP — enter your Decap CMS URL, select Gridsome, and download your content. The more important question is whether Gridsome's architecture fits your team's skills and your project's long-term needs.
Explore more migration paths from Decap CMS or to Gridsome
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