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CMS comparison Craft CMS vs Sitecore

Craft CMS vs Sitecore

Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Sitecore is a closed-source enterprise DXP that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 15.

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  • Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • Sitecore Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Craft CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Sitecore 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
Craft CMS vs Sitecore feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Craft CMS Traditional
Sitecore Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is Self-hosted PHP CMS with custom fields and Twig templates. Pixel & Tonic sells licences per project and runs Craft Cloud hosting.Sitecore's SaaS digital experience platform, formerly XM Cloud. Sitecore hosts the CMS. Sites render in a separate front-end app.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Craft CMS 5 in Solo, Team and Pro editions. Craft 6 is in alpha. Version 5.11.3, released 18 Sept 2026 SitecoreAI, formerly XM Cloud, Sitecore's current flagship SaaS platform SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com Sitecore sitecore.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Craft License, source available Closed source Proprietary
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Craft Cloud starts at $120 per month per project and includes a Team licence. No self-hosting Vendor cloud SitecoreAI is SaaS only. Self-hosting needs Sitecore XP 10.5, a separate product.
Built with PHP, Yii 2, Twig.NET, Next.js Content SDK
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLManaged by Sitecore
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Solo free for one user. Team $279, Pro $399 per project, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise 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 Project config YAML records sections, entry types and fields for Git. 7 Built in Templates serialize to files in the repo with Sitecore Content Serialization. 2
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in 6 Built in Templates are items edited in the Content Editor.
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Matrix fields with nested entry types. 8 Built in Page builder with reusable components.
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in Per-site and per-language field translation on every edition. 61 Built in Language versions per item.
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in 10 Built in Experience Edge media CDN resizes images with query string parameters. 3
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Element API plugin. 12 Built in Content Items REST API since September 2026. Delivery through Experience Edge is GraphQL. 4
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 111 Built in Experience Edge delivery API. 5
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Webhooks plugin. 13 Built in Authoring webhooks and Experience Edge publish webhooks. 65
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Built in Twig templates. Not available Headless. Sites render in a separate app, with built-in Vercel and Netlify integrations. 7
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 14 Built in Saved changes stay unpublished until pushed to Experience Edge. 11
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Post date and expiry date on entries. 15 Limited Publishing restrictions set availability dates. A publish must still run on the date. 89
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Editors can view and restore revisions. 14 Built in Numbered item versions.
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 1 Built in
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 14 Built in Page builder.
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Plugin or add-on Workflow plugin by Verbb, $49. 16 Built in Item workflows with states and commands. 6
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Not available No release bundles. Publishing jobs cover items, subitems and related items. 11
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 Limited Page builder saves concurrent edits per field. Others get a reload prompt. No live updates. 10
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Paid tier Pro. Team allows one user group. Solo has one user. 51 Built in Roles with item access rights. 12
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Paid tier Per-field Current User Condition. Rules by user group need Pro. 65 Built in Field read and field write access rights. 12
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier First-party SAML SSO on Enterprise. 13 Built in SAML or OIDC through the Sitecore Cloud Portal. 13
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Not available No core log. Craft 5 audit plugins exist but are niche. 20 Limited Common Audit Log covers only the Cloud Portal and leaves out SitecoreAI content. Item actions show in CM logs. 1415
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Built in Included on every edition. 19 Built in Site collections with shared content.
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in 18 Built in Marketplace apps add custom fields, panels and dashboard widgets. 17
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 Built in Sitecore Marketplace. 16
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Plugin or add-on Formie by Verbb, $99. Pricing page lists forms as plugin-only. 171 Built in Built-in Forms with webhook submission handling. 18
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Paid tier Public registration needs Pro. 5 Not available Developers have to build visitor login in the front-end app.
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available No first-party AI feature. Built in Content, variant and translation assistants. Brand kits need Stream Premium. 19
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Third-party Craft CMS MCP plugin by Stimmt Digital. 19 Built in Sitecore Marketer MCP server. 20

Considering more platforms? Compare Craft CMS and Sitecore with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Craft CMS and Sitecore get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. Craft CMS has 14 built in on its baseline edition, Sitecore has 22. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Self-hosting
Craft CMS can be self-hosted. Sitecore cannot be self-hosted.
Free option
Craft CMS has a free option. Sitecore has no free option.

Built in on Craft CMS, a different answer on Sitecore 2

  • Renders the website Craft CMS: Built in. Sitecore: Not available.
  • Scheduled publishing Craft CMS: Built in. Sitecore: Limited.

Built in on Sitecore, a different answer on Craft CMS 10

  • REST API Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Webhooks Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Visual editing Craft CMS: Limited. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Approval workflows Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Custom roles Craft CMS: Paid tier. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions Craft CMS: Paid tier. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Single sign-on Craft CMS: Paid tier. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Form builder Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Sitecore: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Craft CMS: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Craft CMS: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

  • Real-time co-editing Craft CMS: Not available. Sitecore: Limited.
  • Audit log Craft CMS: Not available. Sitecore: Limited.
  • Site member accounts Craft CMS: Paid tier. Sitecore: Not available.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Craft CMS vs Payload and Sitecore vs Payload.

Craft CMS against other platforms

Sitecore against other platforms

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

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