CMS comparison FirstSpirit vs Liferay DXP

FirstSpirit vs Liferay DXP

FirstSpirit is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Liferay DXP 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 8.

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FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
Liferay DXP Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 26 of 28 built in

Sources checked: FirstSpirit on 29 Sept 2026, Liferay DXP 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

FirstSpirit vs Liferay DXP feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP	Liferay DXP Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is	Java-based enterprise CMS with in-preview editing and a CaaS layer for headless delivery. Runs as FirstSpirit Cloud or on-premises.	Java platform for websites, portals and commerce, with a new object-based CMS. Self-hosted or run by Liferay as PaaS or SaaS.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes.	FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises Version 2026.10 (5.2.261011), released 15 Sept 2026	Liferay DXP 2026.Q3, Enterprise Subscription. The Free Tier replaced Liferay Portal CE from 2026.Q1. Version 2026.q3.5, released 25 Sept 2026
Vendor	Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com	Liferay, Inc. liferay.com
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Closed source Proprietary, under the Liferay EULA. Free Tier activation key at no cost
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Free Tier suits smaller-scale use and gets no security patches, SAML or AI Hub.
Built with	Java, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop app	Java, OSGi, React
Database	Built-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sources	MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, IBM Db2
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Pricing on request.	Free to start Free Tier at no cost for smaller-scale use. Enterprise Subscription per server instance, price 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 Templates sync to files in Git through external synchronization and FSDevTools. 3 4	Built in Definitions export to JSON and deploy from the repo as batch client extensions. 7
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code.	Limited Developers build templates in SiteArchitect but write their forms as XML. 4 12	Built in Objects and web content structures. 6
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in Pages consist of sections based on section templates.	Built in Fragments on content pages. 11
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language.	Built in Language-dependent fields per project language.	Built in
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service.	Built in FirstSpirit automatically generates the image resolutions defined per project.	Built in Adaptive Media generates set image resolutions. 8
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in CaaS REST API. 5 6	Built in Headless REST APIs. 9
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in CaaS GraphQL API generated from the FirstSpirit data model. 5 6	Built in 9
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Limited CaaS Change Streams push change events over WebSocket. 6	Built in Object actions call a webhook on add, update or delete. 10
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no.	Built in Generates pages from templates. CaaS covers headless delivery.	Built in
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then.	Built in Changes stay unreleased until the release workflow runs. 8	Built in
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Limited Admins set up timed schedule entries. Editors have no per-item publish date. 10	Built in Display and expiration dates.
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	Built in
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in	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 ContentCreator in-preview editing. Omnichannel Manager for headless frontends. 7	Built in Inline editing in the content page editor. 11
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Built in 8	Built in Kaleo workflow, also included in the Free Tier. 3
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Limited Release with dependencies publishes a page with its linked media and parents. 9	Built in Publications group changes and publish them together. 12
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 The Collaboration module adds comments on fields. No co-editing. 11	Not available A page locks while one editor has it open. 13
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Built in Groups with permissions per store and node.	Built in
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Limited Form rules hide or lock single fields per user group. 12	Not available Permissions apply per object, entry or asset. 14
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Built in SAML and OpenID Connect login modules. 13 14	Built in SAML and OpenID Connect. The Free Tier lacks SAML. 3 15
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log.	Built in Audit logging to the server log once enabled. 15	Built in Audit framework with search and export of events. 16
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users.	Built in Several projects per server. Multisite Management shares content between them. 16	Built in
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Built in ContentCreator and SiteArchitect plug-ins.	Built in Client extensions. 7
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17	Built in Liferay Marketplace. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Plugin or add-on Formcentric for FirstSpirit, a partner product. 18	Built in Liferay Forms.
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Not available	Built in
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Plugin or add-on AI Suite module: Content, Analyze and Image assistants. 1 17	Built in AI Hub writing tools in the new CMS. Not in the Free Tier. 4 18
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Built in CaaS Platform MCP server builds and runs CaaS GraphQL queries. 19	Built in Built-in MCP server released in 2026.Q3, switched on by feature flag. 19

FirstSpirit sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises.

Liferay DXP sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Liferay DXP 2026.Q3, Enterprise Subscription. The Free Tier replaced Liferay Portal CE from 2026.Q1..

Considering more platforms? Compare FirstSpirit and Liferay DXP with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

FirstSpirit and Liferay DXP get a different status on 8 of the 28 features and the same status on 20. FirstSpirit has 19 built in on its baseline edition, Liferay DXP has 26. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Free option: FirstSpirit has no free option. Liferay DXP has a free option.

Built in on Liferay DXP, a different answer on FirstSpirit 7

Content model in the UI FirstSpirit: Limited. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Webhooks FirstSpirit: Limited. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Scheduled publishing FirstSpirit: Limited. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Content releases FirstSpirit: Limited. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Form builder FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Site member accounts FirstSpirit: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
AI writing assistant FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on. Liferay DXP: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 1

Field-level permissions FirstSpirit: Limited. Liferay DXP: Not available.

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