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CMS comparison Joomla vs Xperience by Kentico

Joomla vs Xperience by Kentico

Joomla is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. 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 17.

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  • Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in
  • Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Joomla 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
Joomla vs Xperience by Kentico feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Joomla Traditional
Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is Open-source PHP CMS built around articles, custom fields, core multilingual support and group-based access control. Self-hosted.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. Joomla 6.1, open source. Joomla 5.4 is still maintained. Version 6.1.3, released 18 Aug 2026 Xperience by Kentico Version 31.9.0, released 24 Sept 2026
Vendor Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla project) joomla.org Kentico kentico.com
Licence Open source GPL-2.0-or-later Closed source Proprietary
Hosting Self-hosting No vendor cloud The project's launch.joomla.org offers free hosted sites through a hosting partner. Self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with PHP.NET, ASP.NET Core
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLMicrosoft SQL Server
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free and open source. Hosting and commercial extensions cost extra. 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. Not available Fields live in the database. A new content type means writing a component. 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. Limited Custom fields on articles, contacts, users and categories. No new content types. 5 Built in Field editor in the Content types application.
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Limited Modules placed in template positions. No page-level block editor in core. 4 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 Per-item language with multilingual associations. 7 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. Limited Manual crop and resize in Media. No generated sizes or URL transforms. 9 Built in Image variants with configured crops and sizes. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Web Services API with token authentication. 10 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. Not available Paid tier Headless channels need the Advanced tier. 6
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Not available None in core. Only small third-party extensions. 19 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. Built in Template system, with Cassiopeia as the default. 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. Limited Unpublished items only. Saving a published article updates it live. 8 Built in 8
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Start and finish publishing dates. 8 Built in Schedule publish and unpublish. 8
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Compare and restore. Includes custom field values since 6.0. 34 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. Limited Backend Preview shows the last saved version of an article. 8 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. Limited Front-end editing opens the article or module form on the site. 4 Built in Page Builder.
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Built in Workflows component, off by default. Visual workflow editor since 6.1. 112 Built in Custom workflow steps with role permissions. 10
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available 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 Joomla checks out and locks an item while someone edits it. 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. Built in User groups, access levels and ACL. 4 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. Built in Per-field Edit Custom Field Value permission. 6 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. Plugin or add-on SAML or OIDC extensions from the JED. Core authenticates against LDAP only. 1314 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. Built in User Actions Log. 12 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. Not available One site per install. Third-party multisite extensions only. 15 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 Components, modules, plugins and custom field types. 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 Joomla Extensions Directory, the JED. 14 Built in Integrations directory on the Kentico Community portal. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Limited Contact forms accept custom fields. Core emails submissions and does not store them. 20 Built in Form Builder.
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Built in Front-end registration and login. 4 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. Not available No first-party AI. Third-party extensions such as 4AI. 18 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. Not available Third-party only, e.g. Onepoint's MCP Server for Joomla. 16 Limited Management MCP server works on local development instances only. 205

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

Where they differ

Joomla and Xperience by Kentico get a different status on 17 of the 28 features and the same status on 11. Joomla has 12 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.

Licence
Joomla is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later). Xperience by Kentico is closed source (Proprietary).
Vendor cloud
Joomla has no vendor-run cloud. Xperience by Kentico has a vendor-run cloud.
Free option
Joomla has a free option. Xperience by Kentico has no free option.

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

  • REST API Joomla: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.
  • Field-level permissions Joomla: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Not available.
  • Audit log Joomla: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.

Built in on Xperience by Kentico, a different answer on Joomla 10

  • Content model in code Joomla: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Content model in the UI Joomla: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Reusable blocks Joomla: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Image transformations Joomla: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Drafts Joomla: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Preview Joomla: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Visual editing Joomla: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Single sign-on Joomla: Plugin or add-on. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Form builder Joomla: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Joomla: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

  • GraphQL API Joomla: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Joomla: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.
  • Multiple sites Joomla: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier.
  • Official MCP server Joomla: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.

More comparisons

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Xperience by Kentico against other platforms

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

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