CMS comparison Decap CMS vs Progress Sitefinity

Decap CMS vs Progress Sitefinity

Decap CMS is an open-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Progress Sitefinity 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 20.

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Decap CMS Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
Progress Sitefinity Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Decap CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Progress Sitefinity 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

Decap CMS vs Progress Sitefinity feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Decap CMS Headless	Progress Sitefinity Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is	Open-source Git-based CMS. A React admin app added to your site edits Markdown, YAML or JSON files and commits them to your repository.	Progress's .NET CMS and DXP for websites, run self-hosted or on the Sitefinity Cloud PaaS, with ASP.NET Core and Next.js renderers.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes.	Decap CMS 3, open source. Decap Turbo hosted backend is in public preview. Version 3.16.3, released 22 Sept 2026	Sitefinity CMS 15.4 DX edition, self-hosted or on Sitefinity Cloud Version 15.4.8639, released 29 Sept 2026
Vendor	Decap CMS project (formerly Netlify CMS), maintained in Europe decapcms.org	Progress Software progress.com
Licence	Open source MIT	Closed source Proprietary
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Decap Turbo, a hosted backend for login and Git access, is in public preview.	Self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with	JavaScript, React	.NET, ASP.NET Core and Next.js renderers
Database	Your Git repository on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea or Azure	Microsoft SQL Server
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	Free to start Free and open source. The Decap Turbo hosted backend, in public preview, has a Free plan and Pro at €19 per month.	No free option Pricing on request. DX and DX+Enterprise editions, self-hosted or on Sitefinity Cloud.
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 Collections and fields are defined in config.yml. 6	Built in Export for deployment writes module and field changes to files for source control. 3
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code.	Not available	Built in Module Builder.
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in List widget with variable types. 7	Built in Page editor widgets.
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language.	Built in Side-by-side editing per locale, stored per folder, file or field. 8	Built in Multilingual content per item.
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service.	Not available Media goes to the repo or an external media library.	Built in Resize through URL parameters and thumbnail profiles. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Not available Content is files in Git. Read them through the Git host API. 2	Built in OData REST web services. 5
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Not available	Built in GraphQL on the web services layer. 6
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Not available Use the Git host's webhooks on commit.	Built in Service hooks with a webhook action, available on all licences. 7
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no.	Not available Pairs with a static site generator. 2	Built in ASP.NET Core, Next.js or legacy MVC renderers. 1
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then.	Built in Editorial workflow keeps drafts on a branch until merged. 9	Built in
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Not available	Built in Scheduled publish and unpublish per item. 9
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Not available History lives in Git. The CMS has no revision view.	Built in Revision history.
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in Preview pane with custom templates and styles. 10	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 Preview pane beside the form. No click-to-edit on the live page. 10	Built in Page editor with widgets.
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Limited Fixed Drafts, In review and Ready stages. No per-stage permissions. 9	Built in One or two approval levels, or a custom workflow. 8
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Not available	Not available Publishing and scheduling work per item. 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 Pages lock while another user edits them. 10
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo, in public preview, has a custom roles add-on at €19 per month on Pro. Core uses Git access. 12 14	Built in 11
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Not available	Limited Module Builder types only, in the classic editing UI. Built-in content types have none. 12
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Limited Sign-in runs through the Git host or Turbo. SAML only where the Git host enforces it. 4 13	Built in OpenID Connect and external providers such as Azure AD. 13
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log.	Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo, in public preview, has an activity log on its Free plan. Core has Git history only. 12	Paid tier DX + Enterprise includes Audit Trail. Progress sells it as an add-on for DX. 14 2
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users.	Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo organizations share members across sites. Turbo is in public preview. Extra sites €10/month. 14 12	Built in Multisite with shared content and per-site permissions. 15
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Built in Custom widgets, preview templates and editor components. 11 10	Built in Custom fields, widgets and AdminApp extensions.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Not available No official extension directory.	Built in Sitefinity integrations directory. 16
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Not available	Built in Forms module with a drag-and-drop builder.
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Not available	Built in Front-end users with registration and login widgets.
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Not available	Plugin or add-on Sitefinity AI subscription for text generation and agents. 17
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Not available	Plugin or add-on Sitefinity MCP Server, 15.4.8633 or later, needs a Sitefinity AI subscription. 18

Decap CMS sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Decap CMS 3, open source. Decap Turbo hosted backend is in public preview..

Progress Sitefinity sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Sitefinity CMS 15.4 DX edition, self-hosted or on Sitefinity Cloud.

Considering more platforms? Compare Decap CMS and Progress Sitefinity with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Decap CMS and Progress Sitefinity get a different status on 20 of the 28 features and the same status on 8. Decap CMS has 6 built in on its baseline edition, Progress Sitefinity 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.

Licence: Decap CMS is open source (MIT). Progress Sitefinity is closed source (Proprietary).
Free option: Decap CMS has a free option. Progress Sitefinity has no free option.

Built in on Progress Sitefinity, a different answer on Decap CMS 16

Content model in the UI Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Image transformations Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
REST API Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
GraphQL API Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Webhooks Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Renders the website Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Scheduled publishing Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Version history Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Visual editing Decap CMS: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Approval workflows Decap CMS: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Custom roles Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Single sign-on Decap CMS: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Multiple sites Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Plugin marketplace Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Form builder Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Site member accounts Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

Field-level permissions Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Limited.
Audit log Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Paid tier.
AI writing assistant Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Plugin or add-on.
Official MCP server Decap CMS: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Plugin or add-on.

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