CMS comparison CoreMedia Content Cloud vs FirstSpirit

CoreMedia Content Cloud vs FirstSpirit

CoreMedia Content Cloud is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. FirstSpirit is a closed-source enterprise DXP 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 7.

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CoreMedia Content Cloud Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 18 of 28 built in
FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in

Sources checked: CoreMedia Content Cloud on 29 Sept 2026, FirstSpirit 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

CoreMedia Content Cloud vs FirstSpirit feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	CoreMedia Content Cloud Enterprise DXP	FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is	Java-based enterprise CMS with a Studio editor, a template engine and a GraphQL headless server. Runs on-premises or as CoreMedia's cloud service.	Java-based enterprise CMS with in-preview editing and a CaaS layer for headless delivery. Runs as FirstSpirit Cloud or on-premises.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes.	CoreMedia Content Cloud v13, or CMCC 13 Version 2512.1.1, released 10 Aug 2026	FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises Version 2026.10 (5.2.261011), released 15 Sept 2026
Vendor	CoreMedia GmbH coremedia.com	Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Closed source Proprietary
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Event Hub webhooks are an add-on for the CoreMedia cloud service only.	Self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with	Java, Spring Boot, TypeScript for Studio	Java, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop app
Database	Relational database: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server	Built-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sources
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Pricing on request.	No free option Pricing 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 XML files in the project workspace define content types. 3	Built in Templates sync to files in Git through external synchronization and FSDevTools. 3 4
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code.	Not available Content type changes need a developer and a deployment. 3	Limited Developers build templates in SiteArchitect but write their forms as XML. 4 12
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in Page grid placements hold reusable content items. 4	Built in Pages consist of sections based on section templates.
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language.	Limited Each locale is a derived site linked to a master site, with a translation workflow. 5	Built in Language-dependent fields per project language.
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service.	Built in Named image variants and crops in the CAE and Headless Server. 6	Built in FirstSpirit automatically generates the image resolutions defined per project.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in REST endpoints mapped from persisted GraphQL queries. 7	Built in CaaS REST API. 5 6
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in Headless Server. 7	Built in CaaS GraphQL API generated from the FirstSpirit data model. 5 6
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Plugin or add-on Event Hub add-on service for cloud service subscribers. 8 9	Limited CaaS Change Streams push change events over WebSocket. 6
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no.	Built in Content Application Engine with FreeMarker templates. 1	Built in Generates pages from templates. CaaS covers headless delivery.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then.	Built in	Built in Changes stay unreleased until the release workflow runs. 8
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Built in Valid-from and valid-to dates plus a scheduled publication workflow. 11	Limited Admins set up timed schedule entries. Editors have no per-item publish date. 10
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	Built in
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in	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 In-preview editing in Studio, also for headless frontends. 10	Built in ContentCreator in-preview editing. Omnichannel Manager for headless frontends. 7
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Built in Workflow Server with configurable publication workflows. 11 13	Built in 8
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Limited Projects group content. A publication set carries linked items along. 12 13	Limited Release with dependencies publishes a page with its linked media and parents. 9
Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live.	Not available	Not available The Collaboration module adds comments on fields. No co-editing. 11
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Built in Rights rules per group, folder and content type. 14	Built in Groups with permissions per store and node.
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Not available Rights apply per folder and content type. 14	Limited Form rules hide or lock single fields per user group. 12
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Built in Studio login runs on Spring Security. A project swaps in a redirect-based SSO provider. 15 16	Built in SAML and OpenID Connect login modules. 13 14
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log.	Built in Records who changed what and when; supports reversions. Retention, export and edition limits are not public: confirm in the contract. 16	Built in Audit logging to the server log once enabled. 15
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users.	Built in	Built in Several projects per server. Multisite Management shares content between them. 16
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Built in Studio plugins.	Built in ContentCreator and SiteArchitect plug-ins.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in CoreMedia Marketplace. 17	Built in FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Plugin or add-on Formcentric for CoreMedia, a partner product from the Marketplace. 18	Plugin or add-on Formcentric for FirstSpirit, a partner product. 18
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Plugin or add-on Elastic Social module manages site users and comments. 19	Not available
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Plugin or add-on KIO Co-Pilot needs a licence with KIO enabled. 20	Plugin or add-on AI Suite module: Content, Analyze and Image assistants. 1 17
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Not available None for content. The only official MCP server covers Engagement Cloud analytics. 20	Built in CaaS Platform MCP server builds and runs CaaS GraphQL queries. 19

CoreMedia Content Cloud sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. CoreMedia Content Cloud v13, or CMCC 13.

FirstSpirit sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises.

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Where they differ

CoreMedia Content Cloud and FirstSpirit get a different status on 7 of the 28 features and the same status on 21. CoreMedia Content Cloud has 18 built in on its baseline edition, FirstSpirit has 19. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Built in on CoreMedia Content Cloud, a different answer on FirstSpirit 1

Scheduled publishing CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. FirstSpirit: Limited.

Built in on FirstSpirit, a different answer on CoreMedia Content Cloud 2

Localization CoreMedia Content Cloud: Limited. FirstSpirit: Built in.
Official MCP server CoreMedia Content Cloud: Not available. FirstSpirit: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

Content model in the UI CoreMedia Content Cloud: Not available. FirstSpirit: Limited.
Webhooks CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. FirstSpirit: Limited.
Field-level permissions CoreMedia Content Cloud: Not available. FirstSpirit: Limited.
Site member accounts CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. FirstSpirit: Not available.

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