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CMS comparison Adobe Experience Manager vs Kirby

Adobe Experience Manager vs Kirby

Adobe Experience Manager is a closed-source enterprise DXP that runs on the vendor's cloud. Kirby is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 16.

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  • Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 25 of 28 built in
  • Kirby Traditional · Closed source · 11 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Adobe Experience Manager on 29 Sept 2026, Kirby 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 Kirby feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP
Kirby 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.File-based PHP CMS with a configurable editing Panel. Content lives in text files on your own server, under a paid per-site licence.
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 Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha. Version 5.6.0, released 16 Sept 2026
Vendor Adobe business.adobe.com Content Folder GmbH & Co. KG getkirby.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Closed source Proprietary, 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 No vendor cloud
Built with Java, Apache Sling, OSGi, HTLPHP, Vue for the Panel
Database Apache Jackrabbit Oak repository, managed by AdobeFlat files, no database required
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. No free option Pricing on request. No free option Basic €99 per site if revenue is under €1M. Enterprise €349 per site. Both include 3 years of updates.
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 Blueprints are YAML files in site/blueprints. 5
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 You edit blueprints as files. The Panel has no schema editor. 5
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in 29 Built in Blocks and Layout fields. 6
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 Multi-language content is built in. 7
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 Thumbs with resize, crop and format conversion. 8
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Content Fragment Delivery with OpenAPI. 6 Built in Authenticated REST API. The official KQL plugin serves headless queries. 910
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 PHP hooks only. No webhook settings.
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 PHP templates and snippets.
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 Page drafts. Kirby 5 stores unsaved changes apart from the live version. 4
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 Kirby 5 keeps the live version and one set of changes. No revision history. 4
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Separate preview tier. Built in Preview view renders unsaved changes, with shareable links. 4
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 Not available Preview view compares versions. No click-to-edit. 4
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Built in Not available Fixed page statuses: draft, unlisted, listed. 11
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 Content locking stops two editors changing one page at once. 320
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 Built in Roles are user blueprints with permissions. 12
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 Only by loading different blueprints per role in custom code. 13
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 Not available No first-party SSO. Community OAuth plugins exist.
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
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 Not available One site per installation.
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 Panel plugins add fields, sections, views and areas. 15
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 Official plugin directory at plugins.getkirby.com. 16
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 Paid DreamForm plugin by tobimori. 17
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 Limited Frontend login is built in. Sign-up needs custom code. 14
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. Kirby Copilot is a paid third-party plugin. 18
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 Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick. 19

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

Where they differ

Adobe Experience Manager and Kirby get a different status on 16 of the 28 features and the same status on 12. Adobe Experience Manager has 25 built in on its baseline edition, Kirby has 11. 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. Kirby can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Adobe Experience Manager has a vendor-run cloud. Kirby has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Adobe Experience Manager, a different answer on Kirby 14

  • Content model in the UI Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • GraphQL API Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Webhooks Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Scheduled publishing Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Version history Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Visual editing Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Approval workflows Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Content releases Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Audit log Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Multiple sites Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Form builder Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Plugin or add-on.
  • AI writing assistant Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
  • Official MCP server Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Kirby: Not available.

Built in on neither, with different answers 2

  • Real-time co-editing Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Kirby: Not available.
  • Field-level permissions Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Kirby: Not available.

More comparisons

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

Adobe Experience Manager against other platforms

Kirby against other platforms

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

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