Xperience by Kentico vs Kirby
Xperience by Kentico is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Kirby is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 15.
- Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
- Kirby Traditional · Closed source · 11 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Xperience by Kentico on 29 Sept 2026, Kirby 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 | Kentico's .NET digital experience platform for websites, email and headless channels, sold as Kentico-hosted SaaS or a private-cloud licence. | File-based PHP CMS with a configurable editing Panel. Content lives in text files on your own server, under a paid per-site licence. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | Xperience by Kentico Version 31.9.0, released 24 Sept 2026 | Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha. Version 5.6.0, released 16 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Kentico kentico.com | Content Folder GmbH & Co. KG getkirby.com |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary | Closed source Proprietary, source available |
| Hosting | Self-hosting Vendor cloud | Self-hosting No vendor cloud |
| Built with | .NET, ASP.NET Core | PHP, Vue for the Panel |
| Database | Microsoft SQL Server | Flat files, no database required |
| 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. | No free option Basic €99 per site if revenue is under €1M. Enterprise €349 per site. Both include 3 years of updates. |
| 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 Blueprints are YAML files in site/blueprints. 5 |
| 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 You edit blueprints as files. The Panel has no schema editor. 5 |
| 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 Blocks and Layout fields. 6 |
| 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. | Built in Multi-language content is built in. 7 |
| 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 | Built in Thumbs with resize, crop and format conversion. 8 |
| 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 | Built in Authenticated REST API. The official KQL plugin serves headless queries. 910 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Paid tier Headless channels need the Advanced tier. 6 | Not available |
| 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 PHP hooks only. No webhook settings. |
| 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. | Built in PHP templates and snippets. |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in 8 | Built in Page drafts. Kirby 5 stores unsaved changes apart from the live version. 4 |
| 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 Kirby 5 keeps the live version and one set of changes. No revision history. 4 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in Preview mode and shareable preview URLs. | Built in Preview view renders unsaved changes, with shareable links. 4 |
| 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 Preview view compares versions. No click-to-edit. 4 |
| 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 Fixed page statuses: draft, unlisted, listed. 11 |
| 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 Content locking stops two editors changing one page at once. 320 |
| 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 | Built in Roles are user blueprints with permissions. 12 |
| 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 | Not available Only by loading different blueprints per role in custom code. 13 |
| 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 No first-party SSO. Community OAuth plugins exist. |
| 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 One site per installation. |
| 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 Panel plugins add fields, sections, views and areas. 15 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Integrations directory on the Kentico Community portal. 17 | Built in Official plugin directory at plugins.getkirby.com. 16 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Built in Form Builder. | Plugin or add-on Paid DreamForm plugin by tobimori. 17 |
| 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 | Limited Frontend login is built in. Sign-up needs custom code. 14 |
| 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 No first-party AI. Kirby Copilot is a paid third-party plugin. 18 |
| 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 Third-party Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick. 19 |
Xperience by Kentico sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Xperience by Kentico.
- Xperience by Kentico changelog (Refresh 31.9.0, 24 September 2026)
- How to buy Xperience by Kentico
- Continuous Integration
- Content item assets and image variants
- Configure the Management MCP and management API
- Headless channel management
- Handle content events
- Edit and publish pages
- Content versioning
- Workflows
- Content items and cascade publishing
- Content locking configuration
- Role management
- Administration external authentication
- Event log
- Extend the administration interface
- Kentico Community integrations
- Registration and authentication for members
- AIRA pricing, usage and policies
- Management MCP server
Kirby sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha..
- Kirby pricing
- Kirby releases
- Kirby 5 release overview
- Kirby 5: Preview your changes
- Kirby docs: Blueprints
- Kirby docs: Blocks field
- Kirby docs: Languages
- Kirby docs: $file->thumb()
- Kirby docs: REST API
- Kirby Query Language (KQL) plugin
- Kirby docs: Publishing workflow
- Kirby docs: Permissions
- Kirby cookbook: Extending permissions
- Kirby docs: Frontend login
- Kirby docs: Plugin extensions
- Kirby plugin directory
- DreamForm plugin
- Kirby Copilot plugin
- Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick
- Kirby docs: Content options (locking)
Considering more platforms? Compare Xperience by Kentico and Kirby with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Xperience by Kentico and Kirby get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. Xperience by Kentico has 19 built in on its baseline edition, Kirby has 11. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.
- Vendor cloud
- Xperience by Kentico has a vendor-run cloud. Kirby has no vendor-run cloud.
Built in on Xperience by Kentico, a different answer on Kirby 9
- Content model in the UI Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Scheduled publishing Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Version history Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Visual editing Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Approval workflows Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Single sign-on Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
- Form builder Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Kirby: Plugin or add-on.
- Site member accounts Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Kirby: Limited.
- AI writing assistant Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Kirby: Not available.
Built in on Kirby, a different answer on Xperience by Kentico 1
- REST API Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Kirby: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 5
- GraphQL API Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
- Content releases Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Kirby: Not available.
- Audit log Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Kirby: Not available.
- Multiple sites Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier. Kirby: Not available.
- Official MCP server Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Kirby: Not available.
More comparisons
Xperience by Kentico against other platforms
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Kirby against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Kirby
- Contentful vs Kirby
- Contentstack vs Kirby
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Kirby
- Craft CMS vs Kirby
- DatoCMS vs Kirby
- Decap CMS vs Kirby
- Directus vs Kirby
- Drupal vs Kirby
- EmDash vs Kirby
- FirstSpirit vs Kirby
- Framer vs Kirby
- Ghost vs Kirby
- HubSpot CMS vs Kirby
- Hygraph vs Kirby
- Instatic vs Kirby
- Joomla vs Kirby
- Keystone vs Kirby
- Kirby vs Liferay DXP
- Kirby vs Optimizely CMS
- Kirby vs Payload
- Kirby vs Prismic
- Kirby vs Progress Sitefinity
- Kirby vs Sanity
- Kirby vs Sitecore
- Kirby vs Squarespace
- Kirby vs Statamic
- Kirby vs Storyblok
- Kirby vs Strapi
- Kirby vs TYPO3
- Kirby vs Umbraco
- Kirby vs Wagtail
- Kirby vs Webflow
- Kirby vs Wix
- Kirby vs WordPress
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