Contentstack, Optimizely, Piwigo, Canto

Side by side on what we have verified on each vendor’s own pages. Where a fact was not checked, the table says so rather than leaving a blank that reads as “no”.

What decides it · Runs on your own servers

If the files genuinely cannot leave your infrastructure, this is not a close race — the platforms marked No below should not be on the call at all.

Contentstack

Optimizely

Piwigo

Yes

Canto

Everything else

Contentstack

Optimizely

Piwigo

Canto

Verdict

Not checked

Price published

Yes

Billed on

Quoted per customer

Flat price per account by storage; users are unlimited

Team size and storage volume

Deployment

Cloud

On-premise, Cloud

Cloud

Free plan

Yes

Free trial

Yes

Transparency index

30%

100%

20%

Most common complaint

A free start exists, but the terms for moving to a paid tier are not on the page

Not one tier and not one figure on the pricing page

A ten per cent price rise is announced for 1 September 2026

The tiers are named and described but cannot be compared on cost

“Not checked” means exactly that: we have not verified it, not that the platform lacks it. Every other value was read off the vendor’s own pages on the date shown on each platform page.

What to ask on the demo

One question per platform, drawn from what actually goes wrong with it — not a generic checklist. Vendors run the demo; this hands the agenda back to you.

Contentstack A free start exists, but the terms for moving to a paid tier are not on the page — ask them to answer this in writing before the trial.

Optimizely Not one tier and not one figure on the pricing page — ask them to answer this in writing before the trial.

Piwigo A ten per cent price rise is announced for 1 September 2026 — ask them to answer this in writing before the trial.

Canto The tiers are named and described but cannot be compared on cost — ask them to answer this in writing before the trial.

No email required — the page prints as it stands.