CMS comparison Adobe Experience Manager vs Decap CMS

Adobe Experience Manager vs Decap CMS

Adobe Experience Manager is a closed-source enterprise DXP that runs on the vendor's cloud. Decap CMS is an open-source headless 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 22.

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Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 25 of 28 built in
Decap CMS Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Adobe Experience Manager on 29 Sept 2026, Decap 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 Decap CMS feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP	Decap CMS Headless
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.	Open-source Git-based CMS. A React admin app added to your site edits Markdown, YAML or JSON files and commits them to your repository.
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	Decap CMS 3, open source. Decap Turbo hosted backend is in public preview. Version 3.16.3, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor	Adobe business.adobe.com	Decap CMS project (formerly Netlify CMS), maintained in Europe decapcms.org
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Open source MIT
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 Decap Turbo, a hosted backend for login and Git access, is in public preview.
Built with	Java, Apache Sling, OSGi, HTL	JavaScript, React
Database	Apache Jackrabbit Oak repository, managed by Adobe	Your Git repository on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea or Azure
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Pricing on request.	Free to start Free and open source. The Decap Turbo hosted backend, in public preview, has a Free plan and Pro at €19 per month.
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 Collections and fields are defined in config.yml. 6
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	Not available
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in 2 9	Built in List widget with variable types. 7
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 Side-by-side editing per locale, stored per folder, file or field. 8
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	Not available Media goes to the repo or an external media library.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in Content Fragment Delivery with OpenAPI. 6	Not available Content is files in Git. Read them through the Git host API. 2
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in GraphQL for Content Fragments. 6	Not available
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	Not available Use the Git host's webhooks on commit.
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	Not available Pairs with a static site generator. 2
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 Editorial workflow keeps drafts on a branch until merged. 9
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	Not available
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	Not available History lives in Git. The CMS has no revision view.
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in Separate preview tier.	Built in Preview pane with custom templates and styles. 10
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 Preview pane beside the form. No click-to-edit on the live page. 10
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Built in	Limited Fixed Drafts, In review and Ready stages. No per-stage permissions. 9
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	Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo, in public preview, has a custom roles add-on at €19 per month on Pro. Core uses Git access. 12 14
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	Not available
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	Limited Sign-in runs through the Git host or Turbo. SAML only where the Git host enforces it. 4 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	Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo, in public preview, has an activity log on its Free plan. Core has Git history only. 12
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	Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo organizations share members across sites. Turbo is in public preview. Extra sites €10/month. 14 12
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 Custom widgets, preview templates and editor components. 11 10
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in Extension Manager catalogue of Adobe and partner extensions. 16	Not available No official extension directory.
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	Not available
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. 18 13	Not available
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
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

Adobe Experience Manager sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Adobe Experience Manager Sites as a Cloud Service.

Decap CMS sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Decap CMS 3, open source. Decap Turbo hosted backend is in public preview..

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

Where they differ

Adobe Experience Manager and Decap CMS get a different status on 22 of the 28 features and the same status on 6. Adobe Experience Manager has 25 built in on its baseline edition, Decap CMS has 6. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Licence: Adobe Experience Manager is closed source (Proprietary). Decap CMS is open source (MIT).
Self-hosting: Adobe Experience Manager cannot be self-hosted. Decap CMS can be self-hosted.
Free option: Adobe Experience Manager has no free option. Decap CMS has a free option.

Built in on Adobe Experience Manager, a different answer on Decap CMS 19

Content model in the UI Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
Image transformations Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
REST API Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
GraphQL API Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
Webhooks Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
Renders the website Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
Scheduled publishing Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
Version history Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
Visual editing Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Limited.
Approval workflows Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Limited.
Content releases Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
Custom roles Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on.
Single sign-on Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Limited.
Audit log Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on.
Multiple sites Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on.
Plugin marketplace Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
Form builder Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
AI writing assistant Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.
Official MCP server Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Decap CMS: Not available.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

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

More comparisons

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

Adobe Experience Manager against other platforms

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