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CMS comparison Xperience by Kentico vs WordPress

Xperience by Kentico vs WordPress

Xperience by Kentico is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. WordPress is an open-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.

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  • Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
  • WordPress Traditional · Open source · 13 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Xperience by Kentico on 29 Sept 2026, WordPress 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 WordPress feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP
WordPress Traditional
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 PHP CMS that renders sites through themes and extends through plugins. Teams self-host it or buy managed WordPress hosting.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Xperience by Kentico Version 31.9.0, released 24 Sept 2026 WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org Version 7.1.2, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor Kentico kentico.com WordPress.org community project (Automattic is the largest contributor) wordpress.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosting No vendor cloud Automattic's WordPress.com and many third-party hosts sell managed WordPress.
Built with .NET, ASP.NET CorePHP, JavaScript, React block editor
Database Microsoft SQL ServerMySQL, MariaDB
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 download and self-host. Hosting and premium plugins cost extra.
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 Post types, taxonomies and meta registered in PHP.
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. Plugin or add-on ACF or Custom Post Type UI plugins. Core has no content type builder. 12
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 editor with patterns and synced patterns.
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. Plugin or add-on WPML or Polylang plugins. Core translates the interface only. 13
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 WordPress generates registered image sizes on upload.
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 5
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Paid tier Headless channels need the Advanced tier. 6 Plugin or add-on WPGraphQL, a canonical plugin on WordPress.org. 6
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 Plugin or add-on WP Webhooks plugin. Core sends no outgoing webhooks. 16
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 Block themes and classic PHP themes.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 8 Limited Edits to a published post go live on update. PublishPress Revisions adds pending drafts. 11
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 Scheduled publishing only. Scheduled unpublishing needs a plugin.
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 Revisions with a visual scrubber since 7.0. 2
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. Built in Block Editor and Site Editor edit content inside the theme's styles.
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 PublishPress plugins. Core has only the Pending Review status. 711
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 Pulled from 7.0. Still experimental in the Gutenberg plugin. 3418
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 Plugin or add-on Plugins such as Members or User Role Editor. Core roles are fixed. 7
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
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 Plugin or add-on SAML or OIDC plugins, e.g. miniOrange SAML Single Sign On. 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 Plugin or add-on Simple History or WP Activity Log plugins. 14
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 Multisite network in core, with shared users. 8
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 blocks, admin pages and meta boxes.
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 WordPress.org plugin directory.
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Built in Form Builder. Plugin or add-on Form plugins such as WPForms or Contact Form 7. 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 Built in Open registration with the Subscriber role. 7
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 Official AI plugin plus a connected provider. Core ships the AI Client only. 29
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 Plugin or add-on MCP Adapter plugin from the WordPress AI team. 10

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

Where they differ

Xperience by Kentico and WordPress 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, WordPress has 13. 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). WordPress is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later).
Vendor cloud
Xperience by Kentico has a vendor-run cloud. WordPress has no vendor-run cloud.
Free option
Xperience by Kentico has no free option. WordPress has a free option.

Built in on Xperience by Kentico, a different answer on WordPress 8

  • Content model in the UI Xperience by Kentico: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Localization Xperience by Kentico: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Drafts Xperience by Kentico: Built in. WordPress: Limited.
  • Approval workflows Xperience by Kentico: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Custom roles Xperience by Kentico: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Single sign-on Xperience by Kentico: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Form builder Xperience by Kentico: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • AI writing assistant Xperience by Kentico: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

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

  • REST API Xperience by Kentico: Limited. WordPress: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier. WordPress: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • GraphQL API Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Webhooks Xperience by Kentico: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Content releases Xperience by Kentico: Limited. WordPress: Not available.
  • Audit log Xperience by Kentico: Limited. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Official MCP server Xperience by Kentico: Limited. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: WordPress vs Payload.

Xperience by Kentico against other platforms

WordPress against other platforms

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

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