CMS comparison Adobe Experience Manager vs Storyblok

Adobe Experience Manager vs Storyblok

Adobe Experience Manager is a closed-source enterprise DXP that runs on the vendor's cloud. Storyblok is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 13.

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Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 25 of 28 built in
Storyblok Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Adobe Experience Manager on 29 Sept 2026, Storyblok 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 Storyblok feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP	Storyblok 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.	Hosted headless CMS with a Visual Editor where editors compose pages from developer-defined blocks. Run by Storyblok GmbH.
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	Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor	Adobe business.adobe.com	Storyblok GmbH storyblok.com
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Closed source Proprietary
Hosting	No self-hosting Vendor cloud Cloud Service runs only on Adobe's cloud. AEM 6.5 LTS is the separate self-hosted edition.	No self-hosting Vendor cloud Spaces run in Storyblok's EU, US, Canada or Australia regions.
Built with	Java, Apache Sling, OSGi, HTL	SaaS, JavaScript SDKs and CLI
Database	Apache Jackrabbit Oak repository, managed by Adobe	Managed by Storyblok
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Pricing on request.	Free to start Starter free. Growth $99, Growth Plus $349 per space per month. Premium and Elite 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 The CLI pulls and pushes JSON component schemas. Typed @storyblok/schema is in preview. 2 3 4
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 1
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in 2 9	Built in Nestable blocks inside stories. 1
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 Starter includes 2 locales. Growth adds locales at $20 each per month. 1
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 Image Optimization Service on all plans. 1
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in Content Fragment Delivery with OpenAPI. 6	Built in Content Delivery API and Management API. 1
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in GraphQL for Content Fragments. 6	Paid tier GraphQL Content Delivery API on Premium and Elite. 1
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	Built in 3 webhooks on Starter, 5 on Growth, 15 on Premium. 1
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
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
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	Paid tier Single story scheduling from Growth. Growth allows 2 scheduled stories, Premium 100. 1
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	Limited Starter keeps 1 day of versions. Growth 30 days, Premium 180, Elite unlimited. 1
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	Built in Visual Editor on all plans. 1
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Built in	Paid tier Custom workflows and stages on Premium and Elite. Lower plans get fixed default stages. 1
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	Paid tier 20 releases on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 1
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 Comments and content locking. No simultaneous editing of one story. 1 10
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 10 custom roles on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 1 5
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 Field permissions come with custom roles on Premium and Elite. 1 5
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 Premium and Elite. 1
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	Limited Activity log on all plans. Starter keeps 1 day, Growth 30 days, Elite unlimited. 1
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 One account can own many spaces, each on its own plan. 6
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 Field plugins on all plans. Tool and space plugins on Premium and Elite. 1 7
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 Storyblok App Directory. 8
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	Built in AI content generation and translation on all plans, metered by AI credits. 1
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	Built in Hosted server over the Management API. 9

Adobe Experience Manager sources

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

Storyblok sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans.

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

Where they differ

Adobe Experience Manager and Storyblok get a different status on 13 of the 28 features and the same status on 15. Adobe Experience Manager has 25 built in on its baseline edition, Storyblok has 15. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Free option: Adobe Experience Manager has no free option. Storyblok has a free option.

Built in on Adobe Experience Manager, a different answer on Storyblok 10

GraphQL API Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
Renders the website Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Storyblok: Not available.
Scheduled publishing Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
Version history Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Storyblok: Limited.
Approval workflows Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
Content releases Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
Custom roles Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
Single sign-on Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
Audit log Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Storyblok: Limited.
Form builder Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Storyblok: Not available.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

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

More comparisons

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

Adobe Experience Manager against other platforms

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

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