CMS comparison DatoCMS vs Liferay DXP

DatoCMS vs Liferay DXP

DatoCMS is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Liferay DXP 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 10.

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DatoCMS Headless · Closed source · 16 of 28 built in
Liferay DXP Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 26 of 28 built in

Sources checked: DatoCMS on 29 Sept 2026, Liferay DXP 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

DatoCMS vs Liferay DXP feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	DatoCMS Headless	Liferay DXP Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is	Hosted headless CMS run by DatoCMS. It delivers content over a GraphQL API, with a REST API for content management.	Java platform for websites, portals and commerce, with a new object-based CMS. Self-hosted or run by Liferay as PaaS or SaaS.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes.	DatoCMS SaaS, Free, Professional and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated	Liferay DXP 2026.Q3, Enterprise Subscription. The Free Tier replaced Liferay Portal CE from 2026.Q1. Version 2026.q3.5, released 25 Sept 2026
Vendor	DatoCMS datocms.com	Liferay, Inc. liferay.com
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Closed source Proprietary, under the Liferay EULA. Free Tier activation key at no cost
Hosting	No self-hosting Vendor cloud	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Free Tier suits smaller-scale use and gets no security patches, SAML or AI Hub.
Built with	Hosted SaaS with GraphQL delivery and REST management APIs, TypeScript client	Java, OSGi, React
Database	Managed by DatoCMS	MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, IBM Db2
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	Free to start Free plan. Professional €149 per month billed annually, or €199 monthly. Enterprise on request.	Free to start Free Tier at no cost for smaller-scale use. Enterprise Subscription per server instance, price 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.	Limited Migration scripts run by the DatoCMS CLI, auto-generated from environment diffs. 1 2	Built in Definitions export to JSON and deploy from the repo as batch client extensions. 7
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code.	Built in 1	Built in Objects and web content structures. 6
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in Block library used in modular content and Structured Text fields. 1	Built in Fragments on content pages. 11
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language.	Built in Field-level locales, 5 included and up to 10 with paid add-ons. 1	Built in
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service.	Built in Images API with imgix URL parameters. 3	Built in Adaptive Media generates set image resolutions. 8
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in REST Content Management API reads records. Delivery is GraphQL. 1 11	Built in Headless REST APIs. 9
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in 1	Built in 9
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Built in 1	Built in Object actions call a webhook on add, update or delete. 10
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no.	Not available	Built in
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then.	Built in 1	Built in
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Built in 1	Built in Display and expiration dates.
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Limited History kept 3 days on Free, 60 days on Professional. 1	Built in
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in 1 7	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 Click-to-edit overlays on the site in draft mode. 1 7	Built in Inline editing in the content page editor. 11
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Paid tier Editorial workflows with stage permissions on Enterprise. 1 6	Built in Kaleo workflow, also included in the Free Tier. 3
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Limited Publishing a record can also publish its linked records. No standalone releases. 1	Built in Publications group changes and publish them together. 12
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 Presence and live updates, but a record locks while one editor edits it. 4	Not available A page locks while one editor has it open. 13
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Built in Projects include Admin and Editor roles and can create additional roles. The Free plan is limited to 2 editor seats. 1 5	Built in
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Not available Rules apply per model, creator, locale and workflow stage. Locale rules need Enterprise. 5	Not available Permissions apply per object, entry or asset. 14
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Paid tier Enterprise, with SCIM provisioning. 1	Built in SAML and OpenID Connect. The Free Tier lacks SAML. 3 15
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log.	Paid tier Enterprise. 1	Built in Audit framework with search and export of events. 16
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users.	Built in Separate projects per site. 3 on Free, extra projects €39 a month on Professional. 1	Built in
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Built in Plugin SDK for field editors, sidebars and custom pages. 1	Built in Client extensions. 7
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in DatoCMS Marketplace. 1 9	Built in Liferay Marketplace. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Not available	Built in Liferay Forms.
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Not available	Built in
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Plugin or add-on Official AI Translations plugin with your own OpenAI, Gemini, Claude or DeepL key. 8 9	Built in AI Hub writing tools in the new CMS. Not in the Free Tier. 4 18
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Built in Remote MCP server at mcp.datocms.com. 10	Built in Built-in MCP server released in 2026.Q3, switched on by feature flag. 19

DatoCMS sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. DatoCMS SaaS, Free, Professional and Enterprise plans.

Liferay DXP sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Liferay DXP 2026.Q3, Enterprise Subscription. The Free Tier replaced Liferay Portal CE from 2026.Q1..

Considering more platforms? Compare DatoCMS and Liferay DXP with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

DatoCMS and Liferay DXP get a different status on 10 of the 28 features and the same status on 18. DatoCMS has 16 built in on its baseline edition, Liferay DXP has 26. 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: DatoCMS cannot be self-hosted. Liferay DXP can be self-hosted.

Built in on Liferay DXP, a different answer on DatoCMS 10

Content model in code DatoCMS: Limited. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Renders the website DatoCMS: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Version history DatoCMS: Limited. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Approval workflows DatoCMS: Paid tier. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Content releases DatoCMS: Limited. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Single sign-on DatoCMS: Paid tier. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Audit log DatoCMS: Paid tier. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Form builder DatoCMS: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Site member accounts DatoCMS: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
AI writing assistant DatoCMS: Plugin or add-on. Liferay DXP: Built in.

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