Xperience by Kentico vs Umbraco
Xperience by Kentico is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Umbraco is an open-source traditional CMS 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 12.
- Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
- Umbraco Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Xperience by Kentico on 29 Sept 2026, Umbraco 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. | Open-source .NET CMS that renders sites with Razor or serves content headless. Self-hosted or run on Umbraco Cloud. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | Xperience by Kentico Version 31.9.0, released 24 Sept 2026 | Umbraco CMS 17 LTS, open source. Umbraco 18.2.0 is the latest short-term release. Version 17.7.0, released 17 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Kentico kentico.com | Umbraco A/S umbraco.com |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary | Open source MIT |
| Hosting | Self-hosting Vendor cloud | Self-hosting Vendor cloud Forms and Deploy are paid add-ons when self-hosted. Umbraco Cloud includes both. |
| Built with | .NET, ASP.NET Core | C#, ASP.NET Core on .NET 10, TypeScript backoffice |
| Database | Microsoft SQL Server | SQL Server, 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 to self-host. Umbraco Cloud Starter €45, Standard €280, Professional €730 per month. Enterprise 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 | Plugin or add-on Umbraco Deploy saves document types as .uda files in Git. Paid on-premises, included on Umbraco Cloud. 45 |
| 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. | Built in Document types are built in the backoffice. |
| 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 Block List and Block Grid editors. 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 Culture variants per property. |
| 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 ImageSharp crops and resizes images from query string parameters. 9 |
| 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 Content Delivery API. 7 |
| 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 No official GraphQL. Community package Nikcio.UHeadless adds one. 20 |
| 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 | Built in 8 |
| 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 Razor templates. |
| 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 |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Built in Schedule publish and unpublish. 8 | Built in 10 |
| 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 | Built in Rollback compares and restores earlier versions. 11 |
| 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 |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on Umbraco Workflow add-on. Its free version is capped at five approval groups. Full use is paid. 1221 |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on Release Sets in a licensed Umbraco Workflow. 13 |
| 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 | Built in User groups with granular permissions. |
| 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 | Limited Per-property read and write limits per user group, enforced in the UI only. 14 |
| 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 | Built in OpenID Connect providers such as Entra ID, configured in code. 15 |
| 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 | Limited Audit trail per item plus a log viewer. No installation-wide audit screen in core. 16 |
| 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 | Built in Several root nodes, each with its own domains. |
| 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 Backoffice extensions. |
| 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 Umbraco Marketplace. |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Built in Form Builder. | Plugin or add-on Umbraco Forms, paid licence. Included on Umbraco Cloud. 217 |
| 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 Members, separate from backoffice users. |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on Free Umbraco.AI packages add prompts and an editor copilot. 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 | Built in Umbraco CMS Developer MCP server. 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
Umbraco sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Umbraco CMS 17 LTS, open source. Umbraco 18.2.0 is the latest short-term release..
- Umbraco releases
- Umbraco pricing
- Umbraco 18 release
- Umbraco Deploy licensing
- Umbraco Cloud: UDA files
- Umbraco docs: Block Grid
- Umbraco docs: Content Delivery API
- Umbraco docs: Webhooks
- Umbraco docs: Image Cropper
- Umbraco docs: Scheduled Publishing
- Umbraco docs: Rollback to a previous version
- Umbraco Workflow
- Umbraco Workflow docs: Release Sets
- Umbraco docs: Property Level UI Permissions
- Umbraco docs: External Login Providers
- Umbraco docs: Log Viewer
- Umbraco Forms licensing
- Umbraco.AI on GitHub
- Umbraco MCP on GitHub
- Nikcio.UHeadless on Umbraco Marketplace
- Umbraco Workflow docs: Licensing
Considering more platforms? Compare Xperience by Kentico and Umbraco with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Xperience by Kentico and Umbraco get a different status on 12 of the 28 features and the same status on 16. Xperience by Kentico has 19 built in on its baseline edition, Umbraco has 18. 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). Umbraco is open source (MIT).
- Free option
- Xperience by Kentico has no free option. Umbraco has a free option.
Built in on Xperience by Kentico, a different answer on Umbraco 5
- Content model in code Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
- Visual editing Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Umbraco: Not available.
- Approval workflows Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
- Form builder Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
- AI writing assistant Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
Built in on Umbraco, a different answer on Xperience by Kentico 4
- REST API Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Umbraco: Built in.
- Webhooks Xperience by Kentico: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Multiple sites Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier. Umbraco: Built in.
- Official MCP server Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Umbraco: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 3
- GraphQL API Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier. Umbraco: Not available.
- Content releases Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
- Field-level permissions Xperience by Kentico: Not available. Umbraco: Limited.
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Umbraco against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Umbraco
- Contentful vs Umbraco
- Contentstack vs Umbraco
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Umbraco
- Craft CMS vs Umbraco
- DatoCMS vs Umbraco
- Decap CMS vs Umbraco
- Directus vs Umbraco
- Drupal vs Umbraco
- EmDash vs Umbraco
- FirstSpirit vs Umbraco
- Framer vs Umbraco
- Ghost vs Umbraco
- HubSpot CMS vs Umbraco
- Hygraph vs Umbraco
- Instatic vs Umbraco
- Joomla vs Umbraco
- Keystone vs Umbraco
- Kirby vs Umbraco
- Liferay DXP vs Umbraco
- Optimizely CMS vs Umbraco
- Umbraco vs Payload
- Prismic vs Umbraco
- Progress Sitefinity vs Umbraco
- Sanity vs Umbraco
- Sitecore vs Umbraco
- Squarespace vs Umbraco
- Statamic vs Umbraco
- Storyblok vs Umbraco
- Strapi vs Umbraco
- TYPO3 vs Umbraco
- Umbraco vs Wagtail
- Umbraco vs Webflow
- Umbraco vs Wix
- Umbraco vs WordPress
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