Kirby vs Sitecore
Kirby is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. Sitecore is a closed-source enterprise DXP that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 17.
- Kirby Traditional · Closed source · 11 of 28 built in
- Sitecore Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Kirby on 29 Sept 2026, Sitecore 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 | File-based PHP CMS with a configurable editing Panel. Content lives in text files on your own server, under a paid per-site licence. | Sitecore's SaaS digital experience platform, formerly XM Cloud. Sitecore hosts the CMS. Sites render in a separate front-end app. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha. Version 5.6.0, released 16 Sept 2026 | SitecoreAI, formerly XM Cloud, Sitecore's current flagship SaaS platform SaaS, continuously updated |
| Vendor | Content Folder GmbH & Co. KG getkirby.com | Sitecore sitecore.com |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary, source available | Closed source Proprietary |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud | No self-hosting Vendor cloud SitecoreAI is SaaS only. Self-hosting needs Sitecore XP 10.5, a separate product. |
| Built with | PHP, Vue for the Panel | .NET, Next.js Content SDK |
| Database | Flat files, no database required | Managed by Sitecore |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | No free option Basic €99 per site if revenue is under €1M. Enterprise €349 per site. Both include 3 years of updates. | No free option Pricing 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 Blueprints are YAML files in site/blueprints. 5 | Built in Templates serialize to files in the repo with Sitecore Content Serialization. 2 |
| Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. | Not available You edit blueprints as files. The Panel has no schema editor. 5 | Built in Templates are items edited in the Content Editor. |
| Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. | Built in Blocks and Layout fields. 6 | Built in Page builder with reusable components. |
| Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. | Built in Multi-language content is built in. 7 | Built in Language versions per item. |
| Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. | Built in Thumbs with resize, crop and format conversion. 8 | Built in Experience Edge media CDN resizes images with query string parameters. 3 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in Authenticated REST API. The official KQL plugin serves headless queries. 910 | Built in Content Items REST API since September 2026. Delivery through Experience Edge is GraphQL. 4 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Not available | Built in Experience Edge delivery API. 5 |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Not available PHP hooks only. No webhook settings. | Built in Authoring webhooks and Experience Edge publish webhooks. 65 |
| Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. | Built in PHP templates and snippets. | Not available Headless. Sites render in a separate app, with built-in Vercel and Netlify integrations. 7 |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in Page drafts. Kirby 5 stores unsaved changes apart from the live version. 4 | Built in Saved changes stay unpublished until pushed to Experience Edge. 11 |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Not available | Limited Publishing restrictions set availability dates. A publish must still run on the date. 89 |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Not available Kirby 5 keeps the live version and one set of changes. No revision history. 4 | Built in Numbered item versions. |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in Preview view renders unsaved changes, with shareable links. 4 | Built in |
| Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. | Not available Preview view compares versions. No click-to-edit. 4 | Built in Page builder. |
| Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. | Not available Fixed page statuses: draft, unlisted, listed. 11 | Built in Item workflows with states and commands. 6 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Not available | Not available No release bundles. Publishing jobs cover items, subitems and related items. 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 Content locking stops two editors changing one page at once. 320 | Limited Page builder saves concurrent edits per field. Others get a reload prompt. No live updates. 10 |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Built in Roles are user blueprints with permissions. 12 | Built in Roles with item access rights. 12 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Not available Only by loading different blueprints per role in custom code. 13 | Built in Field read and field write access rights. 12 |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Not available No first-party SSO. Community OAuth plugins exist. | Built in SAML or OIDC through the Sitecore Cloud Portal. 13 |
| Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. | Not available | Limited Common Audit Log covers only the Cloud Portal and leaves out SitecoreAI content. Item actions show in CM logs. 1415 |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Not available One site per installation. | Built in Site collections with shared content. |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in Panel plugins add fields, sections, views and areas. 15 | Built in Marketplace apps add custom fields, panels and dashboard widgets. 17 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Official plugin directory at plugins.getkirby.com. 16 | Built in Sitecore Marketplace. 16 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Plugin or add-on Paid DreamForm plugin by tobimori. 17 | Built in Built-in Forms with webhook submission handling. 18 |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Limited Frontend login is built in. Sign-up needs custom code. 14 | Not available Developers have to build visitor login in the front-end app. |
| AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. | Not available No first-party AI. Kirby Copilot is a paid third-party plugin. 18 | Built in Content, variant and translation assistants. Brand kits need Stream Premium. 19 |
| Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. | Not available Third-party Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick. 19 | Built in Sitecore Marketer MCP server. 20 |
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)
Sitecore sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. SitecoreAI, formerly XM Cloud, Sitecore's current flagship SaaS platform.
- SitecoreAI documentation for business users
- Sitecore Content Serialization in SitecoreAI
- Sitecore Experience Edge for XM (media resizing)
- SitecoreAI changelog: Components, Content Types and Content Items APIs
- Experience Edge
- SitecoreAI webhooks
- Front-end hosting applications
- Schedule publishing availability of a page
- KB1003446: Specifics of publishing in SitecoreAI
- Editing in the Page builder (concurrent editing)
- Publish content in SitecoreAI
- The access rights
- Sitecore Cloud Portal single sign-on
- Sitecore Common Audit Log
- Logging in Sitecore XM Cloud (Fishtank)
- SitecoreAI Marketplace
- Sitecore Marketplace starter (extension points)
- SitecoreAI Forms
- Sitecore Stream tiers
- Sitecore Marketer MCP server
Considering more platforms? Compare Kirby and Sitecore with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Kirby and Sitecore get a different status on 17 of the 28 features and the same status on 11. Kirby has 11 built in on its baseline edition, Sitecore has 22. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.
- Self-hosting
- Kirby can be self-hosted. Sitecore cannot be self-hosted.
- Vendor cloud
- Kirby has no vendor-run cloud. Sitecore has a vendor-run cloud.
Built in on Kirby, a different answer on Sitecore 1
- Renders the website Kirby: Built in. Sitecore: Not available.
Built in on Sitecore, a different answer on Kirby 12
- Content model in the UI Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
- GraphQL API Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
- Webhooks Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
- Version history Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
- Visual editing Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
- Approval workflows Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
- Field-level permissions Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
- Single sign-on Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
- Multiple sites Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
- Form builder Kirby: Plugin or add-on. Sitecore: Built in.
- AI writing assistant Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
- Official MCP server Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 4
- Scheduled publishing Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Limited.
- Real-time co-editing Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Limited.
- Audit log Kirby: Not available. Sitecore: Limited.
- Site member accounts Kirby: Limited. Sitecore: Not available.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Sitecore vs Payload.
Kirby against other platforms
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Sitecore against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Sitecore
- Contentful vs Sitecore
- Contentstack vs Sitecore
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Sitecore
- Craft CMS vs Sitecore
- DatoCMS vs Sitecore
- Decap CMS vs Sitecore
- Directus vs Sitecore
- Drupal vs Sitecore
- EmDash vs Sitecore
- FirstSpirit vs Sitecore
- Framer vs Sitecore
- Ghost vs Sitecore
- HubSpot CMS vs Sitecore
- Hygraph vs Sitecore
- Instatic vs Sitecore
- Joomla vs Sitecore
- Keystone vs Sitecore
- Liferay DXP vs Sitecore
- Optimizely CMS vs Sitecore
- Sitecore vs Payload
- Prismic vs Sitecore
- Sitecore vs Progress Sitefinity
- Sanity vs Sitecore
- Sitecore vs Squarespace
- Sitecore vs Statamic
- Sitecore vs Storyblok
- Sitecore vs Strapi
- Sitecore vs TYPO3
- Sitecore vs Umbraco
- Sitecore vs Wagtail
- Sitecore vs Webflow
- Sitecore vs Wix
- Sitecore vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Sitecore
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