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 Progress Sitefinity

Drupal vs Progress Sitefinity

Drupal is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. 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 11.

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

Sources checked: Drupal 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
Drupal vs Progress Sitefinity feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Drupal Traditional
Progress Sitefinity 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.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. Drupal 11 core. Drupal CMS 2 bundles core with selected contrib modules. Version 11.4.8, released 26 Sept 2026 Sitefinity CMS 15.4 DX edition, self-hosted or on Sitefinity Cloud Version 15.4.8639, released 29 Sept 2026
Vendor Drupal community, supported by the Drupal Association drupal.org Progress Software progress.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 and Next.js renderers
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. 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 Content types and fields export to YAML config files. 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. Built in Field UI in core. Built in Module Builder.
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 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 Field-level content translation in core. 7 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. Built in Image styles scale, crop and convert images. 8 Built in Resize through URL parameters and thumbnail profiles. 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 Built in OData REST web services. 5
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 GraphQL on the web services layer. 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 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. Built in Twig themes. 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 Drafts of published content need the core Content Moderation module. 5 Built in
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 Scheduled publish and unpublish per item. 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 Revision history.
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 Page editor with widgets.
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 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. Built in Workspaces module, stable in core since 10.3. 6 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. Built in Built in 11
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 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. Plugin or add-on OpenID Connect or SAML Authentication contrib modules. 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. Limited Database Logging records content events by user. It caps and prunes entries. 20 Paid tier DX + Enterprise includes Audit Trail. Progress sells it as an add-on for DX. 142
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 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 field widgets, forms and admin routes. Built in Custom fields, widgets and AdminApp extensions.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in drupal.org module directory. Built in Sitefinity integrations directory. 16
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 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. Built in 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. Plugin or add-on AI module from the Drupal AI Initiative, bundled with Drupal CMS. 1619 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 Community contrib only, e.g. the MCP Server module by Lullabot and Omedia. 17 Plugin or add-on Sitefinity MCP Server, 15.4.8633 or later, needs a Sitefinity AI subscription. 18

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

Where they differ

Drupal and Progress Sitefinity get a different status on 11 of the 28 features and the same status on 17. Drupal has 16 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
Drupal is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later). Progress Sitefinity is closed source (Proprietary).
Vendor cloud
Drupal has no vendor-run cloud. Progress Sitefinity has a vendor-run cloud.
Free option
Drupal has a free option. Progress Sitefinity has no free option.

Built in on Drupal, a different answer on Progress Sitefinity 1

  • Content releases Drupal: Built in. Progress Sitefinity: Not available.

Built in on Progress Sitefinity, a different answer on Drupal 7

  • GraphQL API Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Webhooks Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Visual editing Drupal: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Single sign-on Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Form builder Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

  • Field-level permissions Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Limited.
  • Audit log Drupal: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Paid tier.
  • Official MCP server Drupal: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

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

Drupal against other platforms

Progress Sitefinity 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