CMS comparison Adobe Experience Manager vs Strapi

Adobe Experience Manager vs Strapi

Adobe Experience Manager is a closed-source enterprise DXP that runs on the vendor's cloud. Strapi 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 15.

Book a call

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

Sources checked: Adobe Experience Manager on 29 Sept 2026, Strapi 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 Strapi feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP	Strapi 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 Node.js headless CMS with a visual content-type builder, self-hosted or run on Strapi Cloud. Paid plans add governance features.
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	Strapi 5 CMS, free Community edition with paid Growth and Enterprise plans for self-hosted projects Version 5.55.1, released 24 Sept 2026
Vendor	Adobe business.adobe.com	Strapi strapi.io
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 Strapi Cloud removed its free plan in 2026. Hosting starts at the Starter plan.
Built with	Java, Apache Sling, OSGi, HTL	TypeScript, Node.js, React
Database	Apache Jackrabbit Oak repository, managed by Adobe	PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Pricing on request.	Free to start Community free. Growth $45 per month with 3 seats, then $15 per seat. Cloud from $35 per project 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 Content types are schema.json files in the project. 19
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 Content-type Builder works in development mode only. 16
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in 2 9	Built in Components and dynamic zones. 2 16
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
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 Generates small, medium and large sizes on upload. No crops on request. 15
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in Content Fragment Delivery with OpenAPI. 6	Built in 2
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in GraphQL for Content Fragments. 6	Plugin or add-on Official GraphQL plugin. 14
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 2 18
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 Draft & Publish. 2
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 Growth plan, by scheduling a Release. 6
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	Paid tier Content History keeps 14 days on Growth, 30 to 90 days on Enterprise. 7
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in Separate preview tier.	Built in Basic preview is free. Side-by-side Live Preview needs Growth. 5
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	Paid tier On Growth, editors double-click content in Live Preview to edit it. 5
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Built in	Paid tier Review Workflows on Enterprise. 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	Paid tier Releases on Growth and Enterprise. 6
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	Built in Unlimited admin roles on Community. 2 8
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	Built in 8
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 Enterprise, or a $150 per month add-on on Growth. 2 11
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	Paid tier Enterprise plan. 10
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
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 20
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 Strapi Marketplace. 2
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	Built in Users & Permissions feature for end users. 17
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	Paid tier AI translation and image alt text on Growth. Not yet available on Enterprise. 2 12
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 Built in. Developers switch it on in the server config. 13

Adobe Experience Manager sources

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

Strapi sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Strapi 5 CMS, free Community edition with paid Growth and Enterprise plans for self-hosted projects.

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

Where they differ

Adobe Experience Manager and Strapi get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. Adobe Experience Manager has 25 built in on its baseline edition, Strapi 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.

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

Built in on Adobe Experience Manager, a different answer on Strapi 12

GraphQL API Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Strapi: Plugin or add-on.
Renders the website Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Strapi: Not available.
Scheduled publishing Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Version history Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Visual editing Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Approval workflows Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Content releases Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Single sign-on Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Audit log Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Multiple sites Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Strapi: Not available.
Form builder Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Strapi: Not available.
AI writing assistant Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.

Built in on Strapi, a different answer on Adobe Experience Manager 2

Field-level permissions Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
Site member accounts Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Strapi: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 1

Real-time co-editing Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Strapi: Not available.

More comparisons

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

Adobe Experience Manager against other platforms

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

We're booking content platform
engagements for 2026.

Twenty-five minutes to walk through the work and decide if we're the right team for it. Scoping and a fixed price come after.

Book a 25-min call Or email us instead