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CMS comparison CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Wagtail

CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Wagtail

CoreMedia Content Cloud is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run 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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  • CoreMedia Content Cloud Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 18 of 28 built in
  • Wagtail Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in

Sources checked: CoreMedia Content Cloud 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
CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Wagtail feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
CoreMedia Content Cloud Enterprise DXP
Wagtail Traditional
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.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. CoreMedia Content Cloud v13, or CMCC 13 Version 2512.1.1, released 10 Aug 2026 Wagtail 8, open source Version 8.0, released 25 Aug 2026
Vendor CoreMedia GmbH coremedia.com Wagtail core team (created by Torchbox) wagtail.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source BSD-3-Clause
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Event Hub webhooks are an add-on for the CoreMedia cloud service only. Self-hosting No vendor cloud The Wagtail project runs no managed hosting. Deploy it like any Django app.
Built with Java, Spring Boot, TypeScript for StudioPython, Django
Database Relational database: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL ServerPostgreSQL, 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 XML files in the project workspace define content types. 3 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. Not available Content type changes need a developer and a deployment. 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 Page grid placements hold reusable content items. 4 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. Limited Each locale is a derived site linked to a master site, with a translation workflow. 5 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 Named image variants and crops in the CAE and Headless Server. 6 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 REST endpoints mapped from persisted GraphQL queries. 7 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 Headless Server. 7 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. Plugin or add-on Event Hub add-on service for cloud service subscribers. 89 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 Content Application Engine with FreeMarker templates. 1 Built in
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in Built in
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 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 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 In-preview editing in Studio, also for headless frontends. 10 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 Workflow Server with configurable publication workflows. 1113 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. Limited Projects group content. A publication set carries linked items along. 1213 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. Not available 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 Rights rules per group, folder and content type. 14 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. Not available Rights apply per folder and content type. 14 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 Studio login runs on Spring Security. A project swaps in a redirect-based SSO provider. 1516 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 Records who changed what and when; supports reversions. Retention, export and edition limits are not public: confirm in the contract. 16 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 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 Studio plugins. Built in Hooks, viewsets and custom panels.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in CoreMedia Marketplace. 17 Built in Wagtail packages directory on wagtail.org. 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 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. Plugin or add-on Elastic Social module manages site users and comments. 19 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. Plugin or add-on KIO Co-Pilot needs a licence with KIO enabled. 20 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. Not available None for content. The only official MCP server covers Engagement Cloud analytics. 20 Limited Experimental wagtail-mcp package, announced September 2026. 16

CoreMedia Content Cloud sources

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

  1. CoreMedia release notes: 2512.1.1
  2. CoreMedia Content Management System
  3. Content Server Manual: Structure of content type definitions
  4. Studio User Manual: Editing a page grid
  5. Studio User Manual: Translation to derived sites
  6. CAE Developer Manual: Image Transformation API
  7. Headless Server Developer Manual: Mapping REST access
  8. Introduction to the Event Hub Service
  9. Service description: Event Hub
  10. Introducing in-preview editing for CoreMedia Content Cloud
  11. Scheduled publication workflow
  12. How to use projects in Studio (CMCC 13)
  13. Publication steps and best practices
  14. Studio User Manual: Permissions and rights
  15. Studio Developer Manual 2512.1: Single Sign On Integration
  16. CoreMedia: security, access control and audit trails
  17. CoreMedia Marketplace
  18. Formcentric Form Manager on CoreMedia Marketplace
  19. Studio User Manual 2512.0: Elastic Social
  20. Introduction to KIO Co-Pilot

Wagtail sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Wagtail 8, open source.

  1. Wagtail 8.0 release notes
  2. How to use StreamField for mixed content
  3. Wagtail docs: Internationalization
  4. Wagtail docs: Images
  5. Wagtail API v2 usage guide
  6. wagtail-grapple on GitHub
  7. Wagtail guide: Scheduled publishing
  8. Wagtail guide: Configure workflows for moderation
  9. Wagtail docs: Permissions
  10. Wagtail docs: Panels reference
  11. Wagtail docs: Audit log
  12. Wagtail 6.2: content metrics and concurrent editing
  13. Wagtail docs: Form builder
  14. Wagtail docs: Private pages
  15. Wagtail AI
  16. Experiments with MCP in Wagtail
  17. Wagtail docs: Packages
  18. Wagtail docs: Signals
  19. django-allauth: SAML provider
  20. Wagtail 4.0 release notes: live preview panel

Considering more platforms? Compare CoreMedia Content Cloud and Wagtail with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

CoreMedia Content Cloud and Wagtail get a different status on 10 of the 28 features and the same status on 18. CoreMedia Content Cloud has 18 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
CoreMedia Content Cloud is closed source (Proprietary). Wagtail is open source (BSD-3-Clause).
Vendor cloud
CoreMedia Content Cloud has a vendor-run cloud. Wagtail has no vendor-run cloud.
Free option
CoreMedia Content Cloud has no free option. Wagtail has a free option.

Built in on CoreMedia Content Cloud, a different answer on Wagtail 3

  • GraphQL API CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
  • Visual editing CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.
  • Single sign-on CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.

Built in on Wagtail, a different answer on CoreMedia Content Cloud 3

  • Localization CoreMedia Content Cloud: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions CoreMedia Content Cloud: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
  • Form builder CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. Wagtail: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

  • Webhooks CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Content releases CoreMedia Content Cloud: Limited. Wagtail: Not available.
  • Site member accounts CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. Wagtail: Limited.
  • Official MCP server CoreMedia Content Cloud: Not available. Wagtail: Limited.

More comparisons

CoreMedia Content Cloud 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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