--- title: "Leiho vs Headless WordPress (ACF + WPGraphQL): headless CMS comparison" description: "Leiho builds on headless WordPress: it keeps your ACF fields and WordPress, and adds what the classic setup lacks, visual editing on your decoupled front end, a one-request content API and publishing." url: https://leiho.dev/compare/wordpress-headless lang: en updated: 2026-11-04 --- Compare # Leiho vs Headless WordPress (ACF + WPGraphQL) Leiho builds on headless WordPress: it keeps your ACF fields and WordPress, and adds what the classic setup lacks, visual editing on your decoupled front end, a one-request content API and publishing. | | Leiho | Headless WordPress (ACF + WPGraphQL) | | --- | --- | --- | | Hosting | Your own WordPress, on any PHP host. Your front end stays wherever it is. | Self-hosted (any PHP/MySQL host or managed WordPress host). | | Open source | Yes, GPL-2.0-or-later (plugin and bridge). | WordPress GPL-2.0-or-later; WPGraphQL GPL-3.0; ACF free version GPL, ACF PRO paid. | | Pricing | Free. No seats, no usage limits. | Free: yes (WordPress, WPGraphQL, WPGraphQL for ACF, ACF free). Paid: ACF PRO Personal $49/year for 1 site (repeater, options pages, etc.). | | Visual editing | Yes: editors click text and images on the real front end, inside wp-admin, and it updates as they type. | No: editors use wp-admin forms; WordPress preview does not render the decoupled front end without custom work. | | Content model | Leiho Collections (schema builder or leiho.schema.json), or your existing ACF fields. | Both (ACF field groups built in the UI, or registered in PHP/JSON). | | AI | Writing with your brand context on every text field, through WordPress’s own AI connectors (WordPress 7.0+). | None in ACF/WPGraphQL; WordPress 7.0 core (May 2026) adds an AI client with provider Connectors. | | MCP server | Yes, through the official WordPress MCP Adapter: agents read content and write drafts only. | Yes, via the official WordPress MCP Adapter plugin, separate from core. | | Localization | Built in, field by field: one entry holds every language, fields are translatable or shared, and AI or agents (MCP) translate what is missing. | Not built into core content; requires a plugin such as WPML or Polylang. | | SEO and AI search | Built in: each collection maps its fields to schema.org, description and FAQ. Leiho serves JSON-LD, llms.txt and every page as Markdown, in every language. | Yoast and Rank Math output meta and schema.org JSON-LD and generate llms.txt, on WordPress's own pages. A headless front end reads Yoast's data through a community WPGraphQL add-on and builds the rest. | Checked on 5 November 2026 from each vendor’s site. Prices and plans change: follow the sources below. - Large plugin ecosystem and widely known editor. - Free, GPL software with any hosting provider. - GraphQL API (WPGraphQL) with opt-in ACF field exposure. - Visual editing on your decoupled front end: editors see the page they edit. - A content API that serves the whole site in one request, with types and caching. - Publishing from wp-admin: build hook, GitHub Actions, commit or Coolify. - Leiho Collections when you’d rather not depend on ACF. ### Choose Headless WordPress (ACF + WPGraphQL) if… You need GraphQL specifically, your editors are happy with wp-admin forms, or you already run WPGraphQL in production. ### Choose Leiho if… Your team or your clients already know WordPress, you want them to edit the real page of a Next.js, Astro, Nuxt or SvelteKit site, and you’d rather not pay per seat or move content to a vendor’s cloud. ## Can I keep WPGraphQL with Leiho? Yes. Leiho doesn’t replace WPGraphQL: it adds visual editing and its own REST content API. Your front end can keep reading GraphQL while editors use Leiho. ## Do I have to rewrite my ACF fields? No. Leiho reads and writes the ACF fields you already have. You can later move a content type to Leiho Collections with the same JSON on the front end, or never. Sources: [advancedcustomfields.com/pro](https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/pro/) · [wpgraphql.com](https://www.wpgraphql.com/) · [github.com/wp-graphql/wpgraphql-acf](https://github.com/wp-graphql/wpgraphql-acf) · [wordpress.org/news/category/releases](https://wordpress.org/news/category/releases/) · [github.com/WordPress/mcp-adapter](https://github.com/WordPress/mcp-adapter) · [yoast.com/features/llms-txt](https://yoast.com/features/llms-txt/) · [rankmath.com/kb/llms-txt](https://rankmath.com/kb/llms-txt/). Something out of date? [Tell us](https://github.com/pixelersagency/leiho/issues/new?title=Comparison%20update). Other comparisons - [**Leiho vs Sanity**](https://leiho.dev/compare/sanity) - [**Leiho vs Strapi**](https://leiho.dev/compare/strapi) - [**Leiho vs Contentful**](https://leiho.dev/compare/contentful) - [**Leiho vs Storyblok**](https://leiho.dev/compare/storyblok) - [**Leiho vs Payload CMS**](https://leiho.dev/compare/payload-cms) - [**Leiho vs Directus**](https://leiho.dev/compare/directus) - [**Leiho vs Prismic**](https://leiho.dev/compare/prismic) - [**Leiho vs TinaCMS**](https://leiho.dev/compare/tinacms) - [**Leiho vs Builder.io**](https://leiho.dev/compare/builder-io) - [**Leiho vs Hygraph**](https://leiho.dev/compare/hygraph) - [**Leiho vs DatoCMS**](https://leiho.dev/compare/datocms) - [**Leiho vs Decap CMS**](https://leiho.dev/compare/decap-cms) - [**Leiho vs Keystatic**](https://leiho.dev/compare/keystatic) - [**Leiho vs Webflow (CMS)**](https://leiho.dev/compare/webflow) ## Edit the real site. Free and open source. Try it on a real WordPress, in your browser. - [Try it in your browser](https://leiho.dev/try) - [View on GitHub](https://github.com/pixelersagency/leiho)