EmDash vs Progress Sitefinity
EmDash 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 13.
- EmDash Traditional · Open source · 14 of 28 built in
- Progress Sitefinity Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in
Sources checked: EmDash 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
| Platform | | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | 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. | EmDash 1.0, open source Version 1.0.1, released 28 Sept 2026 | Sitefinity CMS 15.4 DX edition, self-hosted or on Sitefinity Cloud Version 15.4.8639, released 29 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Cloudflare emdashcms.com | Progress Software progress.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 and Next.js renderers |
| Database | SQLite, Cloudflare D1, PostgreSQL, libSQL | Microsoft 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. 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. | Limited Seed files set up new sites. A live site's model changes through the admin, API or CLI. 20 | 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 Admin role only. 220 | Built in Module Builder. |
| 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 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 Each translation is a separate entry with its own status. 6 | 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 Uses Astro's image endpoint for sizes and formats. Crop and focal point in the editor. 78 | 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 9 | Built in OData REST web services. 5 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Not available | 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 Official webhook-notifier plugin. 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 The Astro site renders the pages. 2 | 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 10 | Built in |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Built in 10 | 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 On revision-enabled collections. 10 | Built in Revision history. |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in Signed preview links. 11 | Built in |
| 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 editor with widgets. |
| 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 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. | Not available | 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. | Not available Five fixed roles from Subscriber to Admin. 12 | Built in 11 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Not available 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. | Limited Microsoft Entra sign-in built in. Other IdPs through Cloudflare Access. No native SAML. 12 | 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. | Plugin or add-on Official audit-log plugin. 19 | 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. | Not available | 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 Plugins add admin pages and dashboard widgets. 13 | Built in Custom fields, widgets and AdminApp extensions. |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Plugin registry, launched with 1.0. 143 | Built in Sitefinity integrations directory. 16 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Plugin or add-on Official forms plugin. 17 | 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. | Limited Subscriber role reads member-only content. Members share the editors' user system. 12 | 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. | Not available | 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. | Built in Built in and on by default. 15 | Plugin or add-on Sitefinity MCP Server, 15.4.8633 or later, needs a Sitefinity AI subscription. 18 |
EmDash sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. EmDash 1.0, open source.
- emdash on the npm registry
- EmDash homepage
- EmDash 1.0: an open source CMS for Astro
- EmDash repository on GitHub
- EmDash docs: Blocks
- EmDash docs: Internationalization
- EmDash docs: Configuration reference
- EmDash docs: Media Library
- EmDash docs: REST API
- EmDash docs: Content lifecycle
- EmDash docs: Preview mode
- EmDash docs: Authentication
- EmDash docs: Plugins overview
- EmDash docs: Plugin registry
- EmDash docs: AI tools and MCP server
- EmDash docs: Database options
- @emdash-cms/plugin-forms on the npm registry
- @emdash-cms/plugin-webhook-notifier on the npm registry
- @emdash-cms/plugin-audit-log on the npm registry
- EmDash docs: Evolving a deployed site
Progress Sitefinity sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Sitefinity CMS 15.4 DX edition, self-hosted or on Sitefinity Cloud.
- Sitefinity CMS 15.4.8639 release notes
- Sitefinity packaging and deployment options
- Export and deploy database changes
- Resize images through the URL
- Set up a web service
- Use GraphQL protocol
- Service hooks
- Content lifecycle and workflow
- Manage scheduled tasks
- Unlock pages
- Permissions
- Progress knowledge base: How to set up field permissions in Sitefinity
- Authentication
- Sitefinity Audit Trail
- Multisite
- Sitefinity integrations directory
- Sitefinity AI
- Sitefinity MCP Server
- Sitefinity release history
- Sitefinity Cloud documentation
Considering more platforms? Compare EmDash and Progress Sitefinity with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
EmDash and Progress Sitefinity get a different status on 13 of the 28 features and the same status on 15. EmDash has 14 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
- EmDash is open source (MIT). Progress Sitefinity is closed source (Proprietary).
- Vendor cloud
- EmDash has no vendor-run cloud. Progress Sitefinity has a vendor-run cloud.
- Free option
- EmDash has a free option. Progress Sitefinity has no free option.
Built in on EmDash, a different answer on Progress Sitefinity 1
- Official MCP server EmDash: Built in. Progress Sitefinity: Plugin or add-on.
Built in on Progress Sitefinity, a different answer on EmDash 9
- Content model in code EmDash: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
- GraphQL API EmDash: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
- Webhooks EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
- Approval workflows EmDash: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
- Custom roles EmDash: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
- Single sign-on EmDash: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
- Multiple sites EmDash: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
- Form builder EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
- Site member accounts EmDash: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 3
- Field-level permissions EmDash: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Limited.
- Audit log EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Paid tier.
- AI writing assistant EmDash: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Plugin or add-on.
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Progress Sitefinity against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Progress Sitefinity
- Contentful vs Progress Sitefinity
- Contentstack vs Progress Sitefinity
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Progress Sitefinity
- Craft CMS vs Progress Sitefinity
- DatoCMS vs Progress Sitefinity
- Decap CMS vs Progress Sitefinity
- Directus vs Progress Sitefinity
- Drupal vs Progress Sitefinity
- FirstSpirit vs Progress Sitefinity
- Framer vs Progress Sitefinity
- Ghost vs Progress Sitefinity
- HubSpot CMS vs Progress Sitefinity
- Hygraph vs Progress Sitefinity
- Instatic vs Progress Sitefinity
- Joomla vs Progress Sitefinity
- Keystone vs Progress Sitefinity
- Kirby vs Progress Sitefinity
- Liferay DXP vs Progress Sitefinity
- Optimizely CMS vs Progress Sitefinity
- Progress Sitefinity vs Payload
- Prismic vs Progress Sitefinity
- Sanity vs Progress Sitefinity
- Sitecore vs Progress Sitefinity
- Progress Sitefinity vs Squarespace
- Progress Sitefinity vs Statamic
- Progress Sitefinity vs Storyblok
- Progress Sitefinity vs Strapi
- Progress Sitefinity vs TYPO3
- Progress Sitefinity vs Umbraco
- Progress Sitefinity vs Wagtail
- Progress Sitefinity vs Webflow
- Progress Sitefinity vs Wix
- Progress Sitefinity vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Progress Sitefinity
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