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CMS comparison FirstSpirit vs Umbraco

FirstSpirit vs Umbraco

FirstSpirit is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Umbraco is an open-source traditional CMS 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 10.

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  • FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
  • Umbraco Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in

Sources checked: FirstSpirit on 29 Sept 2026, Umbraco 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 Umbraco feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP
Umbraco Traditional
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.Open-source .NET CMS that renders sites with Razor or serves content headless. Self-hosted or run on Umbraco Cloud.
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 Umbraco CMS 17 LTS, open source. Umbraco 18.2.0 is the latest short-term release. Version 17.7.0, released 17 Sept 2026
Vendor Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com Umbraco A/S umbraco.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source MIT
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosting Vendor cloud Forms and Deploy are paid add-ons when self-hosted. Umbraco Cloud includes both.
Built with Java, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop appC#, ASP.NET Core on .NET 10, TypeScript backoffice
Database Built-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sourcesSQL Server, SQLite
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. No free option Pricing on request. Free to start Free to self-host. Umbraco Cloud Starter €45, Standard €280, Professional €730 per month. Enterprise 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. 34 Plugin or add-on Umbraco Deploy saves document types as .uda files in Git. Paid on-premises, included on Umbraco Cloud. 45
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. 412 Built in Document types are built in the backoffice.
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 Block List and Block Grid editors. 6
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 Culture variants per property.
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 ImageSharp crops and resizes images from query string parameters. 9
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in CaaS REST API. 56 Built in Content Delivery API. 7
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. 56 Not available No official GraphQL. Community package Nikcio.UHeadless adds one. 20
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 8
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 Razor templates.
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 10
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Built in Rollback compares and restores earlier versions. 11
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 Not available
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Built in 8 Plugin or add-on Umbraco Workflow add-on. Its free version is capped at five approval groups. Full use is paid. 1221
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 Plugin or add-on Release Sets in a licensed Umbraco Workflow. 13
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
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 User groups with granular permissions.
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 Limited Per-property read and write limits per user group, enforced in the UI only. 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. 1314 Built in OpenID Connect providers such as Entra ID, configured in code. 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 Limited Audit trail per item plus a log viewer. No installation-wide audit screen in core. 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 Several root nodes, each with its own domains.
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 Backoffice extensions.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17 Built in Umbraco Marketplace.
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 Umbraco Forms, paid licence. Included on Umbraco Cloud. 217
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Built in Members, separate from backoffice users.
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. 117 Plugin or add-on Free Umbraco.AI packages add prompts and an editor copilot. 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 Umbraco CMS Developer MCP server. 19

FirstSpirit sources

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

  1. Release notes FirstSpirit 2026.10
  2. [RELEASE] FirstSpirit 2026.10
  3. FSDevTools on GitHub
  4. External Synchronization: development
  5. CaaS Connect module documentation
  6. CaaS Platform REST interface documentation
  7. Omnichannel Manager 3.0
  8. ContentCreator: the standard Release workflow
  9. FirstSpirit docs: Specific release
  10. FirstSpirit docs: Schedule tasks
  11. FirstSpirit Collaboration user guide
  12. FirstSpirit docs: IN_GROUP rule
  13. Setting up SSO via the FirstSpirit SAML login module
  14. Authentication with OpenID Connect
  15. Audit logging in FirstSpirit
  16. Multisite Management user documentation
  17. FirstSpirit Marketplace: AI Suite
  18. Formcentric for FirstSpirit
  19. CaaS Platform MCP server documentation
  20. Rezolve Ai acquisition of Crownpeak

Umbraco sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Umbraco CMS 17 LTS, open source. Umbraco 18.2.0 is the latest short-term release..

  1. Umbraco releases
  2. Umbraco pricing
  3. Umbraco 18 release
  4. Umbraco Deploy licensing
  5. Umbraco Cloud: UDA files
  6. Umbraco docs: Block Grid
  7. Umbraco docs: Content Delivery API
  8. Umbraco docs: Webhooks
  9. Umbraco docs: Image Cropper
  10. Umbraco docs: Scheduled Publishing
  11. Umbraco docs: Rollback to a previous version
  12. Umbraco Workflow
  13. Umbraco Workflow docs: Release Sets
  14. Umbraco docs: Property Level UI Permissions
  15. Umbraco docs: External Login Providers
  16. Umbraco docs: Log Viewer
  17. Umbraco Forms licensing
  18. Umbraco.AI on GitHub
  19. Umbraco MCP on GitHub
  20. Nikcio.UHeadless on Umbraco Marketplace
  21. Umbraco Workflow docs: Licensing

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

Where they differ

FirstSpirit and Umbraco get a different status on 10 of the 28 features and the same status on 18. FirstSpirit has 19 built in on its baseline edition, Umbraco has 18. 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
FirstSpirit is closed source (Proprietary). Umbraco is open source (MIT).
Free option
FirstSpirit has no free option. Umbraco has a free option.

Built in on FirstSpirit, a different answer on Umbraco 5

  • Content model in code FirstSpirit: Built in. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
  • GraphQL API FirstSpirit: Built in. Umbraco: Not available.
  • Visual editing FirstSpirit: Built in. Umbraco: Not available.
  • Approval workflows FirstSpirit: Built in. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
  • Audit log FirstSpirit: Built in. Umbraco: Limited.

Built in on Umbraco, a different answer on FirstSpirit 4

  • Content model in the UI FirstSpirit: Limited. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Webhooks FirstSpirit: Limited. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing FirstSpirit: Limited. Umbraco: Built in.
  • Site member accounts FirstSpirit: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 1

  • Content releases FirstSpirit: Limited. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

FirstSpirit against other platforms

Umbraco against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

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