Now booking enterprise content platform builds for 2026. Contact us

Join us
Contact us

What we build

Who it's for

How we engage

Case studies

Industries

Partnerships

About

Writing

Tools

For startups Join us
Contact us
CMS comparison Drupal vs FirstSpirit

Drupal vs FirstSpirit

Drupal is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. 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 12.

Book a call
  • Drupal Traditional · Open source · 16 of 28 built in
  • FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Drupal 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
Drupal vs FirstSpirit feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Drupal Traditional
FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is Open-source PHP CMS with fieldable content types, core JSON:API and multilingual modules. Teams self-host it or use Drupal hosting platforms.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. Drupal 11 core. Drupal CMS 2 bundles core with selected contrib modules. Version 11.4.8, released 26 Sept 2026 FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises Version 2026.10 (5.2.261011), released 15 Sept 2026
Vendor Drupal community, supported by the Drupal Association drupal.org Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com
Licence Open source GPL-2.0-or-later Closed source Proprietary
Hosting Self-hosting No vendor cloud Acquia, Pantheon and other companies sell managed Drupal hosting. Self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with PHP, Symfony, TwigJava, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop app
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLiteBuilt-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sources
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free and open source. Hosting, support and contrib services cost extra. 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 Content types and fields export to YAML config files. Built in Templates sync to files in Git through external synchronization and FSDevTools. 34
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in Field UI in core. Limited Developers build templates in SiteArchitect but write their forms as XML. 412
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Layout Builder in core. Paragraphs and Drupal Canvas are contrib. 910 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. Built in Field-level content translation in core. 7 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 Image styles scale, crop and convert images. 8 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 JSON:API and REST modules in core. 3 Built in CaaS REST API. 56
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Plugin or add-on GraphQL contrib module. Developers build the schema. 4 Built in CaaS GraphQL API generated from the FirstSpirit data model. 56
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Plugin or add-on Webhooks contrib module. Core has no outgoing webhooks. 18 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 Twig themes. 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 Drafts of published content need the core Content Moderation module. 5 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. Plugin or add-on Scheduler contrib module. 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 Revert in core. Side-by-side compare needs the Diff contrib module. Built in
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Preview button on the edit form. 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 Layout Builder edits blocks on a rendered preview. Drupal Canvas is contrib. 910 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 Workflows and Content Moderation modules in core. 5 Built in 8
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Built in Workspaces module, stable in core since 10.3. 6 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 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. Plugin or add-on Field Permissions contrib module. 12 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. Plugin or add-on OpenID Connect or SAML Authentication contrib modules. 13 Built in SAML and OpenID Connect login modules. 1314
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Limited Database Logging records content events by user. It caps and prunes entries. 20 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. Plugin or add-on Domain contrib module. Core multisite shares only the codebase. 14 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 Custom field widgets, forms and admin routes. Built in ContentCreator and SiteArchitect plug-ins.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in drupal.org module directory. Built in FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Plugin or add-on Webform contrib module. Core Contact is deprecated in 11.4. 152 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. Built in Not available
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Plugin or add-on AI module from the Drupal AI Initiative, bundled with Drupal CMS. 1619 Plugin or add-on AI Suite module: Content, Analyze and Image assistants. 117
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Community contrib only, e.g. the MCP Server module by Lullabot and Omedia. 17 Built in CaaS Platform MCP server builds and runs CaaS GraphQL queries. 19

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

Where they differ

Drupal and FirstSpirit get a different status on 12 of the 28 features and the same status on 16. Drupal has 16 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.

Licence
Drupal is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later). FirstSpirit is closed source (Proprietary).
Vendor cloud
Drupal has no vendor-run cloud. FirstSpirit has a vendor-run cloud.
Free option
Drupal has a free option. FirstSpirit has no free option.

Built in on Drupal, a different answer on FirstSpirit 3

  • Content model in the UI Drupal: Built in. FirstSpirit: Limited.
  • Content releases Drupal: Built in. FirstSpirit: Limited.
  • Site member accounts Drupal: Built in. FirstSpirit: Not available.

Built in on FirstSpirit, a different answer on Drupal 6

  • GraphQL API Drupal: Plugin or add-on. FirstSpirit: Built in.
  • Visual editing Drupal: Limited. FirstSpirit: Built in.
  • Single sign-on Drupal: Plugin or add-on. FirstSpirit: Built in.
  • Audit log Drupal: Limited. FirstSpirit: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Drupal: Plugin or add-on. FirstSpirit: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Drupal: Not available. FirstSpirit: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

  • Webhooks Drupal: Plugin or add-on. FirstSpirit: Limited.
  • Scheduled publishing Drupal: Plugin or add-on. FirstSpirit: Limited.
  • Field-level permissions Drupal: Plugin or add-on. FirstSpirit: Limited.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Drupal vs Payload.

Drupal against other platforms

FirstSpirit against other platforms

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

We're booking content platform
engagements for 2026.

Twenty-five minutes to walk through the work and decide if we're the right team for it. Scoping and a fixed price come after.

Book a 25-min call Or email us instead