CMS comparison Hygraph vs Optimizely CMS

Hygraph vs Optimizely CMS

Hygraph is a closed-source headless CMS that runs 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 15.

Book a call

Hygraph Headless · Closed source · 13 of 28 built in
Optimizely CMS Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Hygraph 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

Hygraph vs Optimizely CMS feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Hygraph Headless	Optimizely CMS 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.	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.	Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated	Optimizely CMS 13 PaaS, the current flagship. CMS SaaS is a separate hosted variant. Version 13.1.3, released 9 Sept 2026
Vendor	Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) hygraph.com	Optimizely optimizely.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 Self-hosted installs lose Opti ID features such as Opal and the DAM.
Built with	Hosted SaaS with a GraphQL Content API	.NET 10, ASP.NET Core
Database	Managed by Hygraph	SQL Server, Azure SQL on DXP
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.
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 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.	Built in 1	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 Components in modular fields: 10 on Hobby, 20 on Growth. 1	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 Field-level locales: 2 on Hobby, 3 on Growth, up to 80 on Enterprise. 1	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 Resize, crop and format conversion by URL or GraphQL argument. 4	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.	Not available Content API is GraphQL only. 3	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 3	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.	Built in 5 on Hobby, 10 on Growth. 1 5	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.	Not available	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 DRAFT and PUBLISHED stages on every plan. 1	Built in 9
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Paid tier Scheduled publishing on Enterprise. 1 7	Built in 9
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
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in 1	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 Click to Edit via the Hygraph Preview SDK opens the field in Studio. 6	Built in Visual Builder. 2
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. 1 13	Built in Approval sequences. 10
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Paid tier Releases on Enterprise. 7	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 Collaborator View shows who else is in an entry. 9	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.	Paid tier Up to 30 custom roles on Enterprise. Hobby has 2 standard roles, Growth 4. 1	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.	Not available Permissions scope by model, locale, stage, environment and condition. 8	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.	Paid tier Enterprise. 1	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.	Paid tier Enterprise, 90-day retention. 1	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.	Paid tier Multitenancy on Enterprise. 1	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 App Framework for custom fields, sidebars and pages. 12	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 Hygraph Marketplace. 12	Built in Optimizely connectors directory and NuGet add-ons. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Not available	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.	Built in AI Assist on every plan, with a monthly AI token allowance. 1 10	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 Global endpoint at mcp.hygraph.com and per-project endpoints. Also a Claude connector. 11 14 15	Built in MCP server in the Optimizely.Cms.Opal.Tools package. 20

Hygraph sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans.

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 Hygraph and Optimizely CMS with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Hygraph and Optimizely CMS 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, 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.

Self-hosting: Hygraph cannot be self-hosted. Optimizely CMS can be self-hosted.
Free option: Hygraph has a free option. Optimizely CMS has no free option.

Built in on Hygraph, a different answer on Optimizely CMS 2

Webhooks Hygraph: Built in. Optimizely CMS: Limited.
AI writing assistant Hygraph: Built in. Optimizely CMS: Plugin or add-on.

Built in on Optimizely CMS, a different answer on Hygraph 11

Content model in code Hygraph: Limited. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
REST API Hygraph: Not available. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Renders the website Hygraph: Not available. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Scheduled publishing Hygraph: Paid tier. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Version history Hygraph: Paid tier. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Approval workflows Hygraph: Paid tier. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Content releases Hygraph: Paid tier. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Custom roles Hygraph: Paid tier. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Single sign-on Hygraph: Paid tier. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Audit log Hygraph: Paid tier. Optimizely CMS: Built in.
Multiple sites Hygraph: Paid tier. Optimizely CMS: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 2

Form builder Hygraph: Not available. Optimizely CMS: Plugin or add-on.
Site member accounts Hygraph: Not available. Optimizely CMS: Limited.

More comparisons

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

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