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CMS comparison Drupal vs Xperience by Kentico

Drupal vs Xperience by Kentico

Drupal is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. Xperience by Kentico 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.

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  • Drupal Traditional · Open source · 16 of 28 built in
  • Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Drupal on 29 Sept 2026, Xperience by Kentico 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 Xperience by Kentico feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Drupal Traditional
Xperience by Kentico 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.Kentico's .NET digital experience platform for websites, email and headless channels, sold as Kentico-hosted SaaS or a private-cloud licence.
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 Xperience by Kentico Version 31.9.0, released 24 Sept 2026
Vendor Drupal community, supported by the Drupal Association drupal.org Kentico kentico.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, Twig.NET, ASP.NET Core
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLiteMicrosoft SQL Server
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. Licensed per channel in Standard and Advanced tiers, plus AIRA credit packages.
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 Continuous Integration serializes content types to files in the repository. 3
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. Built in Field editor in the Content types application.
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 Page Builder widgets and sections, plus reusable content items.
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 variants per page and content item.
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 Image variants with configured crops and sizes. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in JSON:API and REST modules in core. 3 Limited The Management REST API is for local development only. Headless delivery is GraphQL. 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 Paid tier Headless channels need the Advanced tier. 6
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 Not available No outgoing webhooks. Content events need custom handler code. 7
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 ASP.NET Core website channels.
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 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 Built in Schedule publish and unpublish. 8
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 View and restore previously published versions. 9
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 Preview mode and shareable preview URLs.
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 Page Builder.
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 Custom workflow steps with role permissions. 10
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 Cascade publishing sends linked items with the parent. No standalone release bundles. 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 Not available Content locking lets one user edit an item at a time. 12
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Built in Built in Roles with application, workspace and page permissions. 13
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 Not available Permissions stop at application, workspace and page level. 13
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 OpenID Connect for the administration, for example Microsoft Entra ID. 14
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 Limited Event log records system events. Version history shows who changed versioned items. 159
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 Paid tier Several main website channels need the Advanced tier. Standard adds only microchannels. 2
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 Custom React UI pages and form components. 16
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in drupal.org module directory. Built in Integrations directory on the Kentico Community portal. 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 Built in Form Builder.
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Built in Built in Members with registration, login and member roles. 18
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 Built in AIRA text generation and translation on both tiers. Licences include 200,000 credits a year. 219
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 Limited Management MCP server works on local development instances only. 205

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

Where they differ

Drupal and Xperience by Kentico 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, Xperience by Kentico 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). Xperience by Kentico is closed source (Proprietary).
Vendor cloud
Drupal has no vendor-run cloud. Xperience by Kentico has a vendor-run cloud.
Free option
Drupal has a free option. Xperience by Kentico has no free option.

Built in on Drupal, a different answer on Xperience by Kentico 2

  • REST API Drupal: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.
  • Content releases Drupal: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.

Built in on Xperience by Kentico, a different answer on Drupal 5

  • Scheduled publishing Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Visual editing Drupal: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Single sign-on Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Form builder Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • GraphQL API Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier.
  • Webhooks Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Xperience by Kentico: Not available.
  • Field-level permissions Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Xperience by Kentico: Not available.
  • Multiple sites Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier.
  • Official MCP server Drupal: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.

More comparisons

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

Drupal against other platforms

Xperience by Kentico against other platforms

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

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