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CMS comparison Xperience by Kentico vs Keystone

Xperience by Kentico vs Keystone

Xperience by Kentico is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Keystone is an open-source headless CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 22.

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  • Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
  • Keystone Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Xperience by Kentico on 29 Sept 2026, Keystone 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
Xperience by Kentico vs Keystone feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP
Keystone Headless
Overview
What it is Kentico's .NET digital experience platform for websites, email and headless channels, sold as Kentico-hosted SaaS or a private-cloud licence.Open-source Node.js headless CMS from Thinkmill that generates a GraphQL API and an admin UI from a TypeScript schema.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Xperience by Kentico Version 31.9.0, released 24 Sept 2026 Keystone 6, open source, from the @keystone-6/core package Version 8.1.0, released 31 Aug 2026
Vendor Kentico kentico.com Thinkmill keystonejs.com
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source MIT
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. Thinkmill offers enterprise support.
Built with .NET, ASP.NET CoreTypeScript, Node.js, GraphQL, Prisma, Next.js for the admin UI
Database Microsoft SQL ServerPostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. No free option Pricing on request. Licensed per channel in Standard and Advanced tiers, plus AIRA credit packages. Free to start Free and open source. Enterprise support from Thinkmill 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 Continuous Integration serializes content types to files in the repository. 3 Built in Lists and fields are TypeScript config. 4
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in Field editor in the Content types application. Not available
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Page Builder widgets and sections, plus reusable content items. Built in Component blocks inside the document field. 8
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in Language variants per page and content item. Not available No locale support documented. Model translations yourself. 12
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in Image variants with configured crops and sizes. 4 Not available Image field stores originals. The Cloudinary field hands resizing to Cloudinary. 711
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Limited The Management REST API is for local development only. Headless delivery is GraphQL. 56 Not available GraphQL only. Custom REST routes through extendExpressApp. 4
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Paid tier Headless channels need the Advanced tier. 6 Built in
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Not available No outgoing webhooks. Content events need custom handler code. 7 Not available No webhook settings. Call URLs from hooks in code. 10
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Built in ASP.NET Core website channels. Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 8 Not available
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Schedule publish and unpublish. 8 Not available
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in View and restore previously published versions. 9 Not available
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Preview mode and shareable preview URLs. Not available
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Built in Page Builder. Not available
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Built in Custom workflow steps with role permissions. 10 Not available
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Limited Cascade publishing sends linked items with the parent. No standalone release bundles. 11 Not available
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 Content locking lets one user edit an item at a time. 12 Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Built in Roles with application, workspace and page permissions. 13 Limited Roles are access-control functions written in code. No role editor in the admin. 5
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Permissions stop at application, workspace and page level. 13 Built in Field-level access control. 5
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Built in OpenID Connect for the administration, for example Microsoft Entra ID. 14 Not available The auth package covers password login. SSO means custom session code. 6
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Limited Event log records system events. Version history shows who changed versioned items. 159 Not available
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Paid tier Several main website channels need the Advanced tier. Standard adds only microchannels. 2 Not available
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in Custom React UI pages and form components. 16 Built in Custom admin pages, navigation and field views. 9
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Integrations directory on the Kentico Community portal. 17 Not available
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Built in Form Builder. Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Built in Members with registration, login and member roles. 18 Built in createAuth works on any list, including site users. 6
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Built in AIRA text generation and translation on both tiers. Licences include 200,000 credits a year. 219 Not available
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Limited Management MCP server works on local development instances only. 205 Not available

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

Where they differ

Xperience by Kentico and Keystone get a different status on 22 of the 28 features and the same status on 6. Xperience by Kentico has 19 built in on its baseline edition, Keystone has 6. 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
Xperience by Kentico is closed source (Proprietary). Keystone is open source (MIT).
Vendor cloud
Xperience by Kentico has a vendor-run cloud. Keystone has no vendor-run cloud.
Free option
Xperience by Kentico has no free option. Keystone has a free option.

Built in on Xperience by Kentico, a different answer on Keystone 15

  • Content model in the UI Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • Localization Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • Image transformations Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • Renders the website Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • Drafts Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • Scheduled publishing Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • Version history Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • Preview Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • Visual editing Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • Approval workflows Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • Custom roles Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Limited.
  • Single sign-on Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • Plugin marketplace Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • Form builder Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.
  • AI writing assistant Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Keystone: Not available.

Built in on Keystone, a different answer on Xperience by Kentico 2

  • GraphQL API Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier. Keystone: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions Xperience by Kentico: Not available. Keystone: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • REST API Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Keystone: Not available.
  • Content releases Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Keystone: Not available.
  • Audit log Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Keystone: Not available.
  • Multiple sites Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier. Keystone: Not available.
  • Official MCP server Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Keystone: Not available.

More comparisons

Xperience by Kentico against other platforms

Keystone against other platforms

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