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 EmDash vs Xperience by Kentico

EmDash vs Xperience by Kentico

EmDash 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 14.

Book a call
  • EmDash Traditional · Open source · 14 of 28 built in
  • Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in

Sources checked: EmDash 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
EmDash vs Xperience by Kentico feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
EmDash Traditional
Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is Open-source CMS from Cloudflare that runs inside an Astro site, with the admin and pages in one app on Cloudflare Workers or Node.js.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. EmDash 1.0, open source Version 1.0.1, released 28 Sept 2026 Xperience by Kentico Version 31.9.0, released 24 Sept 2026
Vendor Cloudflare emdashcms.com Kentico kentico.com
Licence Open source MIT Closed source Proprietary
Hosting Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. You deploy to your own Cloudflare account or Node.js server. Self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with TypeScript, Astro.NET, ASP.NET Core
Database SQLite, Cloudflare D1, PostgreSQL, libSQLMicrosoft SQL Server
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free and open source. You pay only for hosting. 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. Limited Seed files set up new sites. A live site's model changes through the admin, API or CLI. 20 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 Admin role only. 220 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 Blocks field with versioned block types. 5 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 Each translation is a separate entry with its own status. 6 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 Uses Astro's image endpoint for sizes and formats. Crop and focal point in the editor. 78 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 9 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. Not available 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 Official webhook-notifier plugin. 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 The Astro site renders the pages. 2 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 10 Built in 8
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in 10 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 On revision-enabled collections. 10 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 Signed preview links. 11 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. Built in Signed-in editors get visual editing on the rendered page. 11 Built in Page Builder.
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Not available Contributors cannot publish. No configurable review stages. 1210 Built in Custom workflow steps with role permissions. 10
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available 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. Not available Five fixed roles from Subscriber to Admin. 12 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. Not available 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. Limited Microsoft Entra sign-in built in. Other IdPs through Cloudflare Access. No native SAML. 12 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. Plugin or add-on Official audit-log plugin. 19 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. Not available 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 Plugins add admin pages and dashboard widgets. 13 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 Plugin registry, launched with 1.0. 143 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 Official forms plugin. 17 Built in Form Builder.
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Limited Subscriber role reads member-only content. Members share the editors' user system. 12 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. Not available 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. Built in Built in and on by default. 15 Limited Management MCP server works on local development instances only. 205

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

Where they differ

EmDash and Xperience by Kentico get a different status on 14 of the 28 features and the same status on 14. EmDash has 14 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
EmDash is open source (MIT). Xperience by Kentico is closed source (Proprietary).
Vendor cloud
EmDash has no vendor-run cloud. Xperience by Kentico has a vendor-run cloud.
Free option
EmDash has a free option. Xperience by Kentico has no free option.

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

  • REST API EmDash: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.
  • Official MCP server EmDash: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.

Built in on Xperience by Kentico, a different answer on EmDash 7

  • Content model in code EmDash: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Approval workflows EmDash: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Custom roles EmDash: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Single sign-on EmDash: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Form builder EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Site member accounts EmDash: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant EmDash: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • GraphQL API EmDash: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier.
  • Webhooks EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Xperience by Kentico: Not available.
  • Content releases EmDash: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.
  • Audit log EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.
  • Multiple sites EmDash: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier.

More comparisons

EmDash against other platforms

Xperience by Kentico 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