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 Optimizely CMS

Drupal vs Optimizely CMS

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

Book a call
  • Drupal Traditional · Open source · 16 of 28 built in
  • Optimizely CMS Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Drupal on 29 Sept 2026, Optimizely CMS 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 Optimizely CMS feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Drupal Traditional
Optimizely CMS 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.Optimizely's .NET CMS for rendered and headless sites, hosted on Optimizely's DXP cloud or self-hosted, with Optimizely Graph for delivery.
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 Optimizely CMS 13 PaaS, the current flagship. CMS SaaS is a separate hosted variant. Version 13.1.3, released 9 Sept 2026
Vendor Drupal community, supported by the Drupal Association drupal.org Optimizely optimizely.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 Self-hosted installs lose Opti ID features such as Opal and the DAM.
Built with PHP, Symfony, Twig.NET 10, ASP.NET Core
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLiteSQL Server, Azure SQL on DXP
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 Content types as C# classes. 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 Content types and properties in Settings. 4
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 Blocks in content areas and Visual Builder elements.
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 branches per content item. 5
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 DXP CDN resizes, crops and converts images by URL parameters. 6
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 Content Delivery API 13 and a management REST API. 12
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 Optimizely Graph, included in the CMS 13 licence. 28
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 Graph webhooks fire on sync batches and expired content only. Per-item hooks need code. 72
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 MVC and Razor rendering, or headless. 2
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 9
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 9
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 Visual Builder. 2
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 Approval sequences. 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 Built in Projects publish or schedule grouped items together. 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 Comments and notifications only. 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 Access rights for roles and virtual roles. 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 Access rights apply per content item. Not documented per property. 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 Opti ID with an external identity provider, or OpenID Connect in code. 2
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 Change Log in Settings. 14
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 sites and hosts in one installation. 15
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 Shell modules, gadgets and custom editor widgets. 16
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in drupal.org module directory. Built in Optimizely connectors directory and NuGet add-ons. 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 Optimizely Forms package. No extra licence. 18
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Built in Limited Visitor login uses ASP.NET Core authentication set up in code. 2
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 Opal, billed through Opal credits. Needs Opti ID on DXP. 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 Built in MCP server in the Optimizely.Cms.Opal.Tools package. 20

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

Where they differ

Drupal and Optimizely CMS get a different status on 10 of the 28 features and the same status on 18. Drupal has 16 built in on its baseline edition, Optimizely CMS 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
Drupal is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later). Optimizely CMS is closed source (Proprietary).
Vendor cloud
Drupal has no vendor-run cloud. Optimizely CMS has a vendor-run cloud.
Free option
Drupal has a free option. Optimizely CMS has no free option.

Built in on Drupal, a different answer on Optimizely CMS 1

  • Site member accounts Drupal: Built in. Optimizely CMS: Limited.

Built in on Optimizely CMS, a different answer on Drupal 7

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

Built in on neither, with different answers 2

  • Webhooks Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Optimizely CMS: Limited.
  • Field-level permissions Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Optimizely CMS: Not available.

More comparisons

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

Drupal against other platforms

Optimizely CMS 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