CMS comparison Adobe Experience Manager vs Webflow

Adobe Experience Manager vs Webflow

Adobe Experience Manager is a closed-source enterprise DXP that runs on the vendor's cloud. Webflow is a closed-source site builder that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 14.

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Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 25 of 28 built in
Webflow Site builder · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Adobe Experience Manager on 29 Sept 2026, Webflow 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 Webflow feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP	Webflow Site builder
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 visual site builder with a built-in CMS, hosting and a Data API. Designers build pages on a canvas. Run by Webflow, Inc.
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	Webflow Site plans, Starter to Enterprise SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor	Adobe business.adobe.com	Webflow, Inc. webflow.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 Publishing to a custom domain requires a paid Site plan.
Built with	Java, Apache Sling, OSGi, HTL	Hosted SaaS, Webflow Cloud for app hosting
Database	Apache Jackrabbit Oak repository, managed by Adobe	Managed by Webflow
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Pricing on request.	Free to start Free Starter site. Basic $15, Premium $25 per site per month billed yearly. Team $2,500 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	Not available The Data API can create collections and fields. No schema files. 3
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
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in 2 9	Built in Components with properties. Limited seats build pages from designer-approved blocks. 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	Plugin or add-on Webflow Localize add-on from $9 per month. The Team plan includes it. 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 Generates responsive image sizes automatically. 10
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in Content Fragment Delivery with OpenAPI. 6	Built in Data API. 60 requests per minute on Starter, 120 on Premium. 1 11
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	Built in Data API webhooks for CMS items, forms and site publishes. 4
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	Paid tier Scheduled CMS item publishing on the Premium Site plan. 1
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	Limited Whole-site backups. Free Starter sites restore only the two most recent. 5
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in Separate preview tier.	Built in
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
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Built in	Paid tier Design approvals with designated reviewers on Enterprise. 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	Limited A site publish ships all staged changes together. No named release bundles. 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	Built in Available on every Workspace and Site plan. 6
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 Enterprise. 1
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 Enterprise access controls stop at pages and Collections. 1
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. 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	Paid tier Site activity log on Team, audit logs API on Enterprise. 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 A Workspace holds many sites with shared seats. Each site needs its own Site plan. 1
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 Apps can add Designer Extensions to the editor. 12
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 Webflow Apps marketplace. 9
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 50 submissions on Starter, unlimited on paid Site plans. 1
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 Webflow retired User Accounts on 29 January 2026. 8
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 Copy generation needs a paid Site or Workspace plan and uses 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 Available on all Site plans, including free Starter. 7

Adobe Experience Manager sources

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

Webflow sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Webflow Site plans, Starter to Enterprise.

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

Where they differ

Adobe Experience Manager and Webflow get a different status on 14 of the 28 features and the same status on 14. Adobe Experience Manager has 25 built in on its baseline edition, Webflow 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. Webflow has a free option.

Built in on Adobe Experience Manager, a different answer on Webflow 11

Content model in code Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Webflow: Not available.
Localization Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Webflow: Plugin or add-on.
GraphQL API Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Webflow: Not available.
Scheduled publishing Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Webflow: Paid tier.
Version history Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Webflow: Limited.
Approval workflows Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Webflow: Paid tier.
Content releases Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Webflow: Limited.
Custom roles Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Webflow: Paid tier.
Single sign-on Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Webflow: Paid tier.
Audit log Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Webflow: Paid tier.
AI writing assistant Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Webflow: Paid tier.

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

Real-time co-editing Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Webflow: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 2

Field-level permissions Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Webflow: Not available.
Site member accounts Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Webflow: Not available.

More comparisons

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