Contentful
Large (~1,000)
Elastic
Large (~4,000)
Best For
Contentful
Best for: Backend and full-stack engineers who want to work on developer-facing content infrastructure with remote flexibility and an established product used by major brands
Elastic
Best for: Professionals interested in Elastic
Ratings
ContentfulElastic
3.4
4.0
Overall
3.8
4.1
Work-Life Balance
3.5
4.1
Culture & Values
3.4
4.0
Comp & Benefits
3.2
3.8
Senior Mgmt
3.2
3.8
Career Opps
👍 68% Recommend
👤 71% CEO Approval (Jaspar Carmichael-Jack)
👍 80% Recommend
👤 84% CEO Approval (CEO)
Culture Values
Contentful only
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🌱 Learning & Growth🎯 Direct Product Impact
Elastic only
🔓 Open Source⚖️ Work-Life Balance📡 Async-First💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Shared
🌐 Remote-Friendly
Pros & Cons
Contentful
- Flexible remote/hybrid setup with strong distributed team culture
- Talented and humble engineering team with approachable, responsive leadership
- Stagnating product development with competition overtaking in key areas
- Internal promotions are difficult with pay disparities between long-tenured and new hires
Elastic
- Fully distributed from day one — genuine remote-first culture across 40+ countries
- Open-source DNA means engineers contribute to community, not just internal products
- Cross-timezone coordination means occasional early/late meetings
- Recent leadership shifts have introduced more process and oversight
Bottom Line
Contentful
Pioneer in headless CMS with genuine remote flexibility, but Glassdoor is below average (3.4, 68% recommend) — reviews mention leadership instability and limited career progression.
Elastic
Elastic — check Glassdoor for detailed reviews.
Open Roles
Contentful — 111 jobs
💻 Engineering
56
📋 Product
17
💼 Sales / GTM
15
📊 Data
6
📣 Marketing
2
🧠 ML / AI
2
🎨 Design
1
⚖️ Legal
1
🎧 Support
1
Elastic — 198 jobs
💻 Engineering
87
💼 Sales / GTM
67
📣 Marketing
8
📋 Product
7
👤 HR / People
4
🎨 Design
3
🧠 ML / AI
3
📊 Data
2
Summary
Contentful scores 3.4/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.8 work-life balance rating. Elastic scores 4.0/5.0 overall with a 4.1 WLB. That’s a 0.6-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Remote-Friendly. Contentful also emphasizes Engineering-Driven, Learning & Growth, Direct Product Impact. Elastic also emphasizes Open Source, Work-Life Balance, Async-First, Strong Comp & Equity.
On the hiring front, Contentful has 111 open roles and Elastic has 198 open roles.