Best Serverless CMS for Agencies Managing Multiple Client Sites
Last updated: January 2026
Best for: Agencies managing 5-20 client sites who want zero idle costs and air-gapped security
Traditional CMS platforms (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla) run on always-on servers. You pay for capacity 24/7 whether sites have traffic or not. Serverless architecture scales to zero. Pay only when requests hit.
AMODX is a serverless CMS built on AWS Lambda, DynamoDB, and CloudFront. It eliminates the idle tax and the security surface of PHP runtimes.
What Makes a CMS Serverless
No Always-On Server: Functions wake up on request. No EC2 instances running 24/7. Zero cost when idle.
Managed Database: DynamoDB or similar NoSQL stores data. No MySQL to patch or optimize. No connection pooling headaches.
Edge Distribution: Static assets served from CDN (CloudFront, Cloudflare). Dynamic content generated on-demand by functions.
Automatic Scaling: Functions scale horizontally. No capacity planning. No manual scaling during traffic spikes.
AMODX vs Other Serverless Options
| Factor | Headless CMS (Contentful, Sanity) | JAMstack (Next.js + Headless) | AMODX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost Model | $9-300/month per project. API request limits. Pay for bandwidth. | Free CMS + Vercel/Netlify hosting $20-100/month per site. | $0.20 per million requests. 10 idle sites = $5-15/month total. |
| Technical Complexity | Headless CMS + custom frontend. Two systems to manage. | Build pipeline. Static generation. Incremental builds. Complex deploys. | Single system. Deploy via CDK. No build step for content changes. |
| Content Editing | Headless admin panel. Decoupled from frontend. Preview requires setup. | Static site. Content changes require rebuild. 5-15 minute deploy times. | Admin panel included. WYSIWYG editing. Changes live immediately. |
| Vendor Lock-In | Locked to headless CMS provider. Export possible but friction. | Frontend portable. Switching headless CMS requires refactor. | Your AWS account. Full infrastructure ownership. Export everything. |
The Cost Math (10 Client Sites)
Contentful + Vercel: $300/month CMS tier + $50/month per site hosting = $800/month = $9600/year
Next.js + Sanity + Netlify: $99/month Sanity + $20/month per site Netlify = $299/month = $3588/year
AMODX: $299 lifetime + $0-5/month AWS for all 10 sites = $359-479 year 1, $60-180/year after, maybe it grows with traffic.
Security: Air-Gapped by Default
Traditional CMS: Database connected to web server. Exploit PHP, steal database credentials, SQL inject. Entire attack surface exposed.
AMODX: DynamoDB behind API Gateway. Static site on CDN is read-only. Attackers cannot reach database. No SQL injection surface. No PHP vulnerabilities.
Admin panel behind Cognito authentication. Lambda functions execute in isolated environments. One function compromised does not expose others.
Multi-Tenancy for Agencies
AMODX includes multi-tenant architecture. One deployment handles multiple client sites. Strict tenant isolation in DynamoDB. Shared Lambda functions. Separate CloudFront distributions per client.
Add a new client: Create tenant in DynamoDB. Generate CloudFront distribution. Point custom domain. 10-minute setup.
No per-site hosting fees. All tenants share serverless infrastructure. Cost scales with aggregate usage, not site count.
AI-Native Architecture
Content stored as structured data in DynamoDB. Not HTML blobs. AI agents can query and understand content directly.
LMO (Language Model Optimization): Content structured for AI search. Comparison tables. FAQ blocks. Semantic schema. AI agents cite AMODX sites 2-3x more than traditional CMSs.
Future: Context-aware content generation. Strategy documents in Context Brain. AI generates pages consistent with brand voice and positioning.
Who Should Use AMODX
You manage 5+ client sites and want to eliminate recurring hosting fees.
You are technical or willing to learn AWS basics.
You want infrastructure you own, not vendor lock-in.
You charge clients $2000+ per site and want architecture margins.
Pricing Transparency
AMODX Founder's Circle: $299 lifetime. Includes full source code, deployment scripts, knowledge base, private Slack access.
AWS Costs: $0.20 per million Lambda requests. $0.25 per GB DynamoDB storage. CloudFront $0.085 per GB transfer. Typical site: $0-5/month idle, $50-100/month with traffic.
Get Started
Explore AMODX: https://amodx.net
Join Founder's Circle: COMING SOON
Open Source: https://github.com/andreirx/amodx
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