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CMS comparison Hygraph vs Xperience by Kentico

Hygraph vs Xperience by Kentico

Hygraph is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. 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 15.

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  • Hygraph Headless · Closed source · 13 of 28 built in
  • Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Hygraph 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
Hygraph vs Xperience by Kentico feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Hygraph Headless
Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is Hosted headless CMS run by Hygraph, formerly GraphCMS. Serves content over a GraphQL API and can pull in data from remote REST and GraphQL sources.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. Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated Xperience by Kentico Version 31.9.0, released 24 Sept 2026
Vendor Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) hygraph.com Kentico kentico.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Closed source Proprietary
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud Shared regions on every plan. Dedicated clusters on Enterprise. Self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with Hosted SaaS with a GraphQL Content API.NET, ASP.NET Core
Database Managed by HygraphMicrosoft SQL Server
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Hobby free. Growth from $199 per month. Enterprise on request. 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 Management SDK applies schema changes from code. No declarative schema files. 2 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 1 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 Components in modular fields: 10 on Hobby, 20 on Growth. 1 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 Field-level locales: 2 on Hobby, 3 on Growth, up to 80 on Enterprise. 1 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 Resize, crop and format conversion by URL or GraphQL argument. 4 Built in Image variants with configured crops and sizes. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Not available Content API is GraphQL only. 3 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. Built in 3 Paid tier Headless channels need the Advanced tier. 6
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in 5 on Hobby, 10 on Growth. 15 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. Not available 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 DRAFT and PUBLISHED stages on every plan. 1 Built in 8
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Paid tier Scheduled publishing on Enterprise. 17 Built in Schedule publish and unpublish. 8
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Paid tier 14 days on Growth, up to 365 on Enterprise. None on Hobby. 1 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 1 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 Click to Edit via the Hygraph Preview SDK opens the field in Studio. 6 Built in Page Builder.
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Paid tier Custom Workflows, up to 10, on Enterprise. 113 Built in Custom workflow steps with role permissions. 10
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Paid tier Releases on Enterprise. 7 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 Collaborator View shows who else is in an entry. 9 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. Paid tier Up to 30 custom roles on Enterprise. Hobby has 2 standard roles, Growth 4. 1 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 Permissions scope by model, locale, stage, environment and condition. 8 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. Paid tier Enterprise. 1 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. Paid tier Enterprise, 90-day retention. 1 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. Paid tier Multitenancy on Enterprise. 1 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 App Framework for custom fields, sidebars and pages. 12 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 Hygraph Marketplace. 12 Built in Integrations directory on the Kentico Community portal. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Built in Form Builder.
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available 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. Built in AI Assist on every plan, with a monthly AI token allowance. 110 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 Global endpoint at mcp.hygraph.com and per-project endpoints. Also a Claude connector. 111415 Limited Management MCP server works on local development instances only. 205

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

Where they differ

Hygraph and Xperience by Kentico get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. Hygraph has 13 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.

Self-hosting
Hygraph cannot be self-hosted. Xperience by Kentico can be self-hosted.
Free option
Hygraph has a free option. Xperience by Kentico has no free option.

Built in on Hygraph, a different answer on Xperience by Kentico 3

  • GraphQL API Hygraph: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier.
  • Webhooks Hygraph: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Not available.
  • Official MCP server Hygraph: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.

Built in on Xperience by Kentico, a different answer on Hygraph 9

  • Content model in code Hygraph: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Renders the website Hygraph: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Hygraph: Paid tier. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Version history Hygraph: Paid tier. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Approval workflows Hygraph: Paid tier. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Custom roles Hygraph: Paid tier. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Single sign-on Hygraph: Paid tier. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Form builder Hygraph: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Hygraph: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

  • REST API Hygraph: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.
  • Content releases Hygraph: Paid tier. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.
  • Audit log Hygraph: Paid tier. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.

More comparisons

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

Hygraph against other platforms

Xperience by Kentico against other platforms

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

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