Kiln

Free plan Open source APISelf-hostedWeb

What Kiln is

Kiln is an open-source, click-to-edit CMS for static sites. Site owners invite editors to change text, images, documents, blocks, galleries, events, and calendar content directly on the page; published edits become Git commits in the owner's repository. The workflow includes drafts, scheduled publishing, named versions, history, and restoration. Owners sign in with GitHub, while invited editors can use Google sign-in and be limited to particular pages or sections. Reviewers can comment without editing, and suggest mode lets owners approve or decline changes field by field. Kiln connects to GitHub repositories and hosts that redeploy on push, including Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages. A REST API and kiln-mcp support scoped, sanitized editing by scripts and agents; optional AI assistance uses an API key supplied by the user. Site content remains plain HTML in the customer's repository, even after leaving Kiln. Self-hosted is free; Kiln Cloud is $4.99 a month and Fully managed is $14.99 a month. Both paid plans include a 7-day free trial.

Who it suits

Kiln is for people building static sites who want clients or other non-technical editors to update content themselves. It suits site owners who want changes kept in their own GitHub repository.

What it does well

Editors update content directly on the page.
Changes are stored as Git commits.
Editors can be limited to pages or sections.
Reviewers can comment without editing.
Content remains in the owner's repository after leaving.

What to know first

Uploaded documents are limited to 15 MB per file.
Self-hosted users run the worker and GitHub App.
Self-hosted users provide the site host.
Eleventy, Hugo, and Jekyll adapters are planned, not documented as available.

Limits

Uploaded documents are limited to 15 MB each. Self-hosted includes community support on GitHub; Fully managed includes priority support. Kiln Cloud costs $4.99 a month and Fully managed costs $14.99 a month; both include a 7-day free trial.

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
Self-hosted	Free forever · Every editor feature, no limits · You deploy the sign-in worker and your own GitHub App · Community support	Free
Open source	self-hosted Cloudflare sign-in service · own GitHub App · own repository and host · AI helper with own Anthropic key · GitHub-issue support	Free
Fully managed	monthly per site · Kiln setup and hosting · GitHub account required · domain email forwarding · everything in Kiln Cloud · priority support	$14.99 a month
Concierge setup & tagging	One-time · Optional hand-tagging, menu and editor-access configuration, and one revision round	$399, paid once
Concierge setup	one-time on any plan · hand-tagging including tables · menu setup · editor access setup · one revision round after a week	$399, paid once
Kiln Cloud	monthly per site · Kiln-run sign-in service and GitHub App · own repository and host · editors, members, drafts, history, scheduling, comments and suggestions · no AI helper	$4.99 a month

As kilncms.com lists them, read 29 Sept 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

Choose a self-hosted, Kiln Cloud, or Fully managed plan.
For self-hosting, run the worker and GitHub App and provide a site host.
Install the GitHub App and select the repository for the site.
Connect the repository to a host that redeploys on push, such as Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel, or GitHub Pages.
Sign in as the owner with GitHub, then invite editors or members to use Google sign-in.

Verdict

Kiln pairs on-page editing with Git-based publishing and review controls for static sites. Self-hosting is free, while Kiln Cloud costs $4.99 a month and Fully managed costs $14.99 a month.

Questions

Is Kiln free?

Yes. The Self-hosted plan is free, open source under AGPL-3.0. You run the worker and GitHub App and provide the site host.

What do the paid plans cost?

Kiln Cloud is $4.99 a month and Fully managed is $14.99 a month. Both include a 7-day free trial.

Which platforms and site types does Kiln support?

Kiln is available as a web service, an API, and self-hosted software. It supports static HTML sites and documents a source mode for Astro-generated sites.

Is Kiln open source?

The self-hosted plan is open source under AGPL-3.0.

Which services does Kiln integrate with?

Kiln works with GitHub repositories and hosts that redeploy on push, including Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages.

Who makes Kiln, and where does site content live?

Kiln’s site content remains plain HTML in the customer’s GitHub repository on every plan. The site can be kept after cancelling or leaving Kiln.

Facts from Kiln's own pages

Access control: Owners can invite editors, reviewers and members by Google email and restrict editors to selected pages, sections and tools. · kilncms.com, 15 Oct 2026
Access controls: Site owners sign in with GitHub, while invited editors and members can use Google sign-in without GitHub accounts; editors can be scoped to pages or sections. · kilncms.com, 29 Sept 2026
AI extensibility: Self-hosted installations can add an Anthropic-key AI helper for improving, shortening, changing tone, translating, generating alt text and drafting posts. · kilncms.com, 15 Oct 2026
API and AI: A REST API and kiln-mcp let scripts and agents edit scoped, sanitized fields; optional AI assist uses an API key supplied by the user. · kilncms.com, 29 Sept 2026
Astro support: Source mode currently supports Astro content files, including formatted text, metadata, images, links, drafts, scheduling and entry ordering. · kilncms.com, 15 Oct 2026
Builder migration: The rescue command copies up to 50 pages by default from Squarespace, Wix or WordPress.com into editable plain HTML and localizes assets. · kilncms.com, 15 Oct 2026
Content storage: Site files and their complete version history remain in the customer’s GitHub repository rather than a Kiln database. · kilncms.com, 15 Oct 2026
Data ownership: Site content remains plain HTML in the customer's GitHub repository on every plan, and the site can be kept after cancelling or leaving Kiln. · kilncms.com, 29 Sept 2026
Documentation: The documentation covers installation, hosting modes, editor tools, source mode, access management, configuration, troubleshooting and API schemas. · kilncms.com, 15 Oct 2026
Editing: Editors can change text, images, documents, blocks, galleries, events, and calendar content from the site itself. · kilncms.com, 29 Sept 2026
File limit: Uploaded documents are limited to 15 MB per file. · kilncms.com, 29 Sept 2026
File restrictions: Editors may change pages, stylesheets and approved media types, while SVG uploads are refused because browsers can execute scripts from them. · kilncms.com, 15 Oct 2026
Free plan: Yes · kilncms.com, 20 Sept 2026
Galleries and events: Kiln provides multi-upload photo galleries with captions and fullscreen viewing plus structured event lists with calendar views. · kilncms.com, 15 Oct 2026
GitHub public traction: The kilncms/kiln repository page showed 1 star, 0 forks and 337 commits when checked. · github.com, 15 Oct 2026
Hosting integrations: Kiln works with hosts that rebuild after Git changes, including Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel and GitHub Pages. · kilncms.com, 15 Oct 2026
Images and files: Editors can replace and resize images, set alt text, and attach PDFs or other documents; uploaded files are limited to 15 MB each. · kilncms.com, 15 Oct 2026
Integrations: Kiln works with GitHub repositories and hosts that redeploy on push, including Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages. · kilncms.com, 29 Sept 2026
Intended users: Kiln describes itself for people who build static sites and want clients or other non-technical editors to update site content themselves. · kilncms.com, 29 Sept 2026
License: The editor, worker and setup tooling are publicly available under the GNU AGPL-3.0 license. · kilncms.com, 15 Oct 2026
Limit: editor identity: Editors and members authenticate through Google, so every invited person needs a Google account. · github.com, 15 Oct 2026
Limit: integrations (G2 listing): The single G2 reviewer reported a lack of API integration with other company tools; the listing concerns Glitch’s different Kiln product. · g2.com, 15 Oct 2026
Limit: media management: The repository has no media library that lists or prunes uploaded images; each new image upload creates another file. · github.com, 15 Oct 2026
Maker identity: The product site brands the maker simply as Kiln and does not state a legal company name, headquarters or founding year on the reviewed pages. · kilncms.com, 15 Oct 2026