Hygraph vs Sitecore
Hygraph is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Sitecore is a closed-source enterprise DXP that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 13.
- Hygraph Headless · Closed source · 13 of 28 built in
- Sitecore Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Hygraph on 29 Sept 2026, Sitecore 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
| Platform | |  |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Sitecore's SaaS digital experience platform, formerly XM Cloud. Sitecore hosts the CMS. Sites render in a separate front-end app. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated | SitecoreAI, formerly XM Cloud, Sitecore's current flagship SaaS platform SaaS, continuously updated |
| Vendor | Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) hygraph.com | Sitecore sitecore.com |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary | Closed source Proprietary |
| Hosting | No self-hosting Vendor cloud Shared regions on every plan. Dedicated clusters on Enterprise. | No self-hosting Vendor cloud SitecoreAI is SaaS only. Self-hosting needs Sitecore XP 10.5, a separate product. |
| Built with | Hosted SaaS with a GraphQL Content API | .NET, Next.js Content SDK |
| Database | Managed by Hygraph | Managed by Sitecore |
| 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 Templates serialize to files in the repo with Sitecore Content Serialization. 2 |
| 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 Templates are items edited in the Content Editor. |
| 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 with reusable components. |
| 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 versions per 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 Experience Edge media CDN resizes images with query string parameters. 3 |
| 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 Items REST API since September 2026. Delivery through Experience Edge is GraphQL. 4 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Built in 3 | Built in Experience Edge delivery API. 5 |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Built in 5 on Hobby, 10 on Growth. 15 | Built in Authoring webhooks and Experience Edge publish webhooks. 65 |
| Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. | Not available | Not available Headless. Sites render in a separate app, with built-in Vercel and Netlify integrations. 7 |
| 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 Saved changes stay unpublished until pushed to Experience Edge. 11 |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Paid tier Scheduled publishing on Enterprise. 17 | Limited Publishing restrictions set availability dates. A publish must still run on the date. 89 |
| 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 Numbered item versions. |
| 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 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 Item workflows with states and commands. 6 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Paid tier Releases on Enterprise. 7 | Not available No release bundles. Publishing jobs cover items, subitems and related items. 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 | Limited Page builder saves concurrent edits per field. Others get a reload prompt. No live updates. 10 |
| 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 item access rights. 12 |
| 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 | Built in Field read and field write access rights. 12 |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Paid tier Enterprise. 1 | Built in SAML or OIDC through the Sitecore Cloud Portal. 13 |
| 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 Common Audit Log covers only the Cloud Portal and leaves out SitecoreAI content. Item actions show in CM logs. 1415 |
| 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 Site collections with shared content. |
| 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 Marketplace apps add custom fields, panels and dashboard widgets. 17 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Hygraph Marketplace. 12 | Built in Sitecore Marketplace. 16 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Not available | Built in Built-in Forms with webhook submission handling. 18 |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Not available | Not available Developers have to build visitor login in the front-end app. |
| 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 Content, variant and translation assistants. Brand kits need Stream Premium. 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. 111415 | Built in Sitecore Marketer MCP server. 20 |
Hygraph sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans.
- Hygraph pricing
- Hygraph docs: Management SDK overview
- Hygraph docs: API reference overview
- Hygraph docs: Asset transformations
- Hygraph docs: Webhooks
- Hygraph docs: Click to Edit setup
- Hygraph docs: Content releases
- Hygraph docs: Content permissions
- Hygraph blog: Introducing Collaborator View
- Hygraph blog: AI Assist is now generally available
- Hygraph docs: MCP server
- Hygraph Marketplace: Apps
- Hygraph docs: Content workflows
- Hygraph docs: Set up the MCP server
- Hygraph blog: MCP Connector for Claude (September 2026)
Sitecore sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. SitecoreAI, formerly XM Cloud, Sitecore's current flagship SaaS platform.
- SitecoreAI documentation for business users
- Sitecore Content Serialization in SitecoreAI
- Sitecore Experience Edge for XM (media resizing)
- SitecoreAI changelog: Components, Content Types and Content Items APIs
- Experience Edge
- SitecoreAI webhooks
- Front-end hosting applications
- Schedule publishing availability of a page
- KB1003446: Specifics of publishing in SitecoreAI
- Editing in the Page builder (concurrent editing)
- Publish content in SitecoreAI
- The access rights
- Sitecore Cloud Portal single sign-on
- Sitecore Common Audit Log
- Logging in Sitecore XM Cloud (Fishtank)
- SitecoreAI Marketplace
- Sitecore Marketplace starter (extension points)
- SitecoreAI Forms
- Sitecore Stream tiers
- Sitecore Marketer MCP server
Considering more platforms? Compare Hygraph and Sitecore with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Hygraph and Sitecore get a different status on 13 of the 28 features and the same status on 15. Hygraph has 13 built in on its baseline edition, Sitecore 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.
- Free option
- Hygraph has a free option. Sitecore has no free option.
Built in on Sitecore, a different answer on Hygraph 9
- Content model in code Hygraph: Limited. Sitecore: Built in.
- REST API Hygraph: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
- Version history Hygraph: Paid tier. Sitecore: Built in.
- Approval workflows Hygraph: Paid tier. Sitecore: Built in.
- Custom roles Hygraph: Paid tier. Sitecore: Built in.
- Field-level permissions Hygraph: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
- Single sign-on Hygraph: Paid tier. Sitecore: Built in.
- Multiple sites Hygraph: Paid tier. Sitecore: Built in.
- Form builder Hygraph: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 4
- Scheduled publishing Hygraph: Paid tier. Sitecore: Limited.
- Content releases Hygraph: Paid tier. Sitecore: Not available.
- Real-time co-editing Hygraph: Not available. Sitecore: Limited.
- Audit log Hygraph: Paid tier. Sitecore: Limited.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Hygraph vs Payload and Sitecore vs Payload.
Hygraph against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Hygraph
- Contentful vs Hygraph
- Contentstack vs Hygraph
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Hygraph
- Craft CMS vs Hygraph
- DatoCMS vs Hygraph
- Decap CMS vs Hygraph
- Directus vs Hygraph
- Drupal vs Hygraph
- EmDash vs Hygraph
- FirstSpirit vs Hygraph
- Framer vs Hygraph
- Ghost vs Hygraph
- HubSpot CMS vs Hygraph
- Hygraph vs Instatic
- Hygraph vs Joomla
- Hygraph vs Keystone
- Hygraph vs Kirby
- Hygraph vs Liferay DXP
- Hygraph vs Optimizely CMS
- Hygraph vs Payload
- Hygraph vs Prismic
- Hygraph vs Progress Sitefinity
- Hygraph vs Sanity
- Hygraph vs Squarespace
- Hygraph vs Statamic
- Hygraph vs Storyblok
- Hygraph vs Strapi
- Hygraph vs TYPO3
- Hygraph vs Umbraco
- Hygraph vs Wagtail
- Hygraph vs Webflow
- Hygraph vs Wix
- Hygraph vs WordPress
- Hygraph vs Xperience by Kentico
Sitecore against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Sitecore
- Contentful vs Sitecore
- Contentstack vs Sitecore
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Sitecore
- Craft CMS vs Sitecore
- DatoCMS vs Sitecore
- Decap CMS vs Sitecore
- Directus vs Sitecore
- Drupal vs Sitecore
- EmDash vs Sitecore
- FirstSpirit vs Sitecore
- Framer vs Sitecore
- Ghost vs Sitecore
- HubSpot CMS vs Sitecore
- Instatic vs Sitecore
- Joomla vs Sitecore
- Keystone vs Sitecore
- Kirby vs Sitecore
- Liferay DXP vs Sitecore
- Optimizely CMS vs Sitecore
- Sitecore vs Payload
- Prismic vs Sitecore
- Sitecore vs Progress Sitefinity
- Sanity vs Sitecore
- Sitecore vs Squarespace
- Sitecore vs Statamic
- Sitecore vs Storyblok
- Sitecore vs Strapi
- Sitecore vs TYPO3
- Sitecore vs Umbraco
- Sitecore vs Wagtail
- Sitecore vs Webflow
- Sitecore vs Wix
- Sitecore vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Sitecore
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.