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CMS comparison Adobe Experience Manager vs Wagtail

Adobe Experience Manager vs Wagtail

Adobe Experience Manager is a closed-source enterprise DXP that runs on the vendor's cloud. Wagtail is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 10.

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  • Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 25 of 28 built in
  • Wagtail Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Adobe Experience Manager on 29 Sept 2026, Wagtail 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 Wagtail feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP
Wagtail 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.Open-source CMS built on Django. Content types are Python models, and you host it yourself on any Python stack.
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 Wagtail 8, open source Version 8.0, released 25 Aug 2026
Vendor Adobe business.adobe.com Wagtail core team (created by Torchbox) wagtail.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source BSD-3-Clause
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 The Wagtail project runs no managed hosting. Deploy it like any Django app.
Built with Java, Apache Sling, OSGi, HTLPython, Django
Database Apache Jackrabbit Oak repository, managed by AdobePostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. No free option Pricing on request. Free to start Free and open source. No licence fee.
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 Page and snippet types are Django models. 2
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 Developers define content types in Python only.
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in 29 Built in StreamField blocks. 2
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 Core i18n with simple_translation. The wagtail-localize package adds a translation workflow. 3
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 Renditions with resize, crop and format filters. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Content Fragment Delivery with OpenAPI. 6 Built in Read-only v2 API. Writable v3 API in preview since 8.0. 51
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 wagtail-grapple, maintained by Torchbox. 6
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 Django signals such as page_published. No webhook settings. 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 Built in
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 Built in Go-live and expiry dates. 7
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Built in Editors can compare and revert revisions. 11
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Separate preview tier. Built in 20
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 panel beside the edit form. No click-to-edit on the page. 20
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Built in Built in Moderation workflows with tasks assigned to groups. 8
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 Concurrent editing notifications warn editors. No live co-editing. 12
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 Groups with page, collection and model permissions. 9
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 Set in code with the permission argument on panels. 10
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 Plugin or add-on django-allauth supports SAML and OpenID Connect. 19
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 Built in Site-wide history report of logged actions. 11
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 Several sites in one installation with shared users. 9
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 Hooks, viewsets and custom panels.
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 Wagtail packages directory on wagtail.org. 17
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 Built in wagtail.contrib.forms form builder. 13
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 Login for private pages is built in. Public sign-up needs a package such as django-allauth. 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 Plugin or add-on Wagtail AI, an officially supported package. 15
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 Limited Experimental wagtail-mcp package, announced September 2026. 16

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

Where they differ

Adobe Experience Manager and Wagtail get a different status on 10 of the 28 features and the same status on 18. Adobe Experience Manager has 25 built in on its baseline edition, Wagtail has 18. 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). Wagtail is open source (BSD-3-Clause).
Self-hosting
Adobe Experience Manager cannot be self-hosted. Wagtail can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Adobe Experience Manager has a vendor-run cloud. Wagtail has no vendor-run cloud.
Free option
Adobe Experience Manager has no free option. Wagtail has a free option.

Built in on Adobe Experience Manager, a different answer on Wagtail 8

  • Content model in the UI Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
  • GraphQL API Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Webhooks Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Visual editing Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.
  • Content releases Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • AI writing assistant Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Official MCP server Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.

Built in on Wagtail, a different answer on Adobe Experience Manager 1

  • Field-level permissions Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 1

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

More comparisons

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

Adobe Experience Manager against other platforms

Wagtail against other platforms

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

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