CMS comparison FirstSpirit vs Optimizely CMS

FirstSpirit vs Optimizely CMS

FirstSpirit is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. 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 5.

Book a call

FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
Optimizely CMS Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in

Sources checked: FirstSpirit 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

FirstSpirit vs Optimizely CMS feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP	Optimizely CMS 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.	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.	FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises Version 2026.10 (5.2.261011), released 15 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	Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com	Optimizely optimizely.com
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Closed source Proprietary
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosted installs lose Opti ID features such as Opal and the DAM.
Built with	Java, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop app	.NET 10, ASP.NET Core
Database	Built-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sources	SQL Server, Azure SQL on DXP
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Pricing on request.	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 Templates sync to files in Git through external synchronization and FSDevTools. 3 4	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.	Limited Developers build templates in SiteArchitect but write their forms as XML. 4 12	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 Pages consist of sections based on section templates.	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 Language-dependent fields per project language.	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 FirstSpirit automatically generates the image resolutions defined per project.	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 CaaS REST API. 5 6	Built in Content Delivery API 13 and a management REST API. 1 2
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 Optimizely Graph, included in the CMS 13 licence. 2 8
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	Limited Graph webhooks fire on sync batches and expired content only. Per-item hooks need code. 7 2
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 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 Changes stay unreleased until the release workflow runs. 8	Built in 9
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 9
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 Visual Builder. 2
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Built in 8	Built in Approval sequences. 10
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 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 The Collaboration module adds comments on fields. No co-editing. 11	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 Groups with permissions per store and node.	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.	Limited Form rules hide or lock single fields per user group. 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.	Built in SAML and OpenID Connect login modules. 13 14	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.	Built in Audit logging to the server log once enabled. 15	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.	Built in Several projects per server. Multisite Management shares content between them. 16	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 ContentCreator and SiteArchitect plug-ins.	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 FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17	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 Formcentric for FirstSpirit, a partner product. 18	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.	Not available	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 Suite module: Content, Analyze and Image assistants. 1 17	Plugin or add-on Opal, billed through Opal credits. Needs Opti ID on DXP. 2 19
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 MCP server in the Optimizely.Cms.Opal.Tools package. 20

FirstSpirit sources

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

Optimizely CMS sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Optimizely CMS 13 PaaS, the current flagship. CMS SaaS is a separate hosted variant..

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

Where they differ

FirstSpirit and Optimizely CMS get a different status on 5 of the 28 features and the same status on 23. FirstSpirit has 19 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.

Built in on Optimizely CMS, a different answer on FirstSpirit 3

Content model in the UI FirstSpirit: Limited. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Scheduled publishing FirstSpirit: Limited. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Content releases FirstSpirit: Limited. Optimizely CMS: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 2

Field-level permissions FirstSpirit: Limited. Optimizely CMS: Not available.
Site member accounts FirstSpirit: Not available. Optimizely CMS: Limited.

More comparisons

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

FirstSpirit 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