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CMS comparison Adobe Experience Manager vs Craft CMS

Adobe Experience Manager vs Craft CMS

Adobe Experience Manager is a closed-source enterprise DXP that runs on the vendor's cloud. Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 14.

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  • Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 25 of 28 built in
  • Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Adobe Experience Manager on 29 Sept 2026, Craft CMS on 29 Sept 2026. Plans and releases can change after those dates.

WAYF is an official Payload partner and top contributor. Every platform in the table is classified by the same published definitions, and each answer lists the vendor page it came from.

Feature comparison

Built inPaid tierPlugin or add-onLimitedNot available
Adobe Experience Manager vs Craft CMS feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP
Craft CMS Traditional
Overview
What it is Adobe's enterprise CMS for websites and headless content, run by Adobe as a cloud service with page, fragment and document-based authoring.Self-hosted PHP CMS with custom fields and Twig templates. Pixel & Tonic sells licences per project and runs Craft Cloud hosting.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Adobe Experience Manager Sites as a Cloud Service Version 2026.9.0, released 24 Sept 2026 Craft CMS 5 in Solo, Team and Pro editions. Craft 6 is in alpha. Version 5.11.3, released 18 Sept 2026
Vendor Adobe business.adobe.com Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Closed source Proprietary Craft License, source available
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud Cloud Service runs only on Adobe's cloud. AEM 6.5 LTS is the separate self-hosted edition. Self-hosting Vendor cloud Craft Cloud starts at $120 per month per project and includes a Team licence.
Built with Java, Apache Sling, OSGi, HTLPHP, Yii 2, Twig
Database Apache Jackrabbit Oak repository, managed by AdobeMySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. No free option Pricing on request. Free to start Solo free for one user. Team $279, Pro $399 per project, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise on request.
Content modelling
Content model in code You define content types in files in your repository, review them like any other code and apply them from there. Imperative migration scripts alone count as limited. Built in Components, dialogs and Universal Editor models live in the project repository. 2 Built in Project config YAML records sections, entry types and fields for Git. 7
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in Content Fragment Model editor. 3 Built in 6
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in 29 Built in Matrix fields with nested entry types. 8
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in Language copies with translation projects and connectors. 4 Built in Per-site and per-language field translation on every edition. 61
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in Web-optimized image delivery resizes, crops and converts DAM images to WebP. 5 Built in 10
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Content Fragment Delivery with OpenAPI. 6 Plugin or add-on Free first-party Element API plugin. 12
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in GraphQL for Content Fragments. 6 Built in 111
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in AEM Eventing delivers events through Adobe I/O Events. 7 Plugin or add-on Free first-party Webhooks plugin. 13
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Built in HTL page rendering or Edge Delivery Services. 10 Built in Twig templates.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in Edits stay on the author tier until published. 11 Built in 14
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Publish later and unpublish later. 11 Built in Post date and expiry date on entries. 15
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Built in Editors can view and restore revisions. 14
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Separate preview tier. Built in 1
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Built in Universal Editor and Page Editor. 9 Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 14
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Built in Plugin or add-on Workflow plugin by Verbb, $49. 16
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Built in Launches group changes across pages and promote them together. 8 Not available
Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live. Limited Only with document authoring in Word or Google Docs. The Universal Editor has no co-editing. 10 Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Built in AEM groups with repository permissions. 12 Paid tier Pro. Team allows one user group. Solo has one user. 51
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Limited Repository ACL restrictions can target named properties. No per-field setting in the editors. 12 Paid tier Per-field Current User Condition. Rules by user group need Pro. 65
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Built in SAML or OIDC federation through Adobe Admin Console. 13 Paid tier First-party SAML SSO on Enterprise. 13
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Built in Page, replication and DAM audit logs. 14 Not available No core log. Craft 5 audit plugins exist but are niche. 20
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Built in Multi Site Manager with live copies. 15 Built in Included on every edition. 19
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in UI extensions built with App Builder. 16 Built in 18
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Extension Manager catalogue of Adobe and partner extensions. 16 Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Built in Core Components form container emails, posts or stores submissions. 17 Plugin or add-on Formie by Verbb, $99. Pricing page lists forms as plugin-only. 171
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Limited Publish-tier login via SAML or OIDC. Sign-up flows need custom code and user sync. 1813 Paid tier Public registration needs Pro. 5
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Built in Generate Variations needs AEM Cloud Service with Edge Delivery entitlement. Licence includes an action allowance; extra actions cost more. 19 Not available No first-party AI feature.
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Built in AEM MCP Server for pages, fragments and assets. 20 Not available Third-party Craft CMS MCP plugin by Stimmt Digital. 19

Considering more platforms? Compare Adobe Experience Manager and Craft CMS with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Adobe Experience Manager and Craft CMS get a different status on 14 of the 28 features and the same status on 14. Adobe Experience Manager has 25 built in on its baseline edition, Craft CMS has 14. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Self-hosting
Adobe Experience Manager cannot be self-hosted. Craft CMS can be self-hosted.
Free option
Adobe Experience Manager has no free option. Craft CMS has a free option.

Built in on Adobe Experience Manager, a different answer on Craft CMS 11

  • REST API Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on.
  • Webhooks Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on.
  • Visual editing Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Craft CMS: Limited.
  • Approval workflows Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on.
  • Content releases Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Craft CMS: Not available.
  • Custom roles Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Craft CMS: Paid tier.
  • Single sign-on Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Craft CMS: Paid tier.
  • Audit log Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Craft CMS: Not available.
  • Form builder Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on.
  • AI writing assistant Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Craft CMS: Not available.
  • Official MCP server Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Craft CMS: Not available.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

  • Real-time co-editing Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Craft CMS: Not available.
  • Field-level permissions Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Craft CMS: Paid tier.
  • Site member accounts Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Craft CMS: Paid tier.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Adobe Experience Manager vs Payload and Craft CMS vs Payload.

Adobe Experience Manager against other platforms

Craft CMS against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

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