CMS comparison Liferay DXP vs Sitecore

Liferay DXP vs Sitecore

Liferay DXP is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. 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 7.

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Liferay DXP Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 26 of 28 built in
Sitecore Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Liferay DXP 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

Liferay DXP vs Sitecore feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Liferay DXP Enterprise DXP	Sitecore Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is	Java platform for websites, portals and commerce, with a new object-based CMS. Self-hosted or run by Liferay as PaaS or SaaS.	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.	Liferay DXP 2026.Q3, Enterprise Subscription. The Free Tier replaced Liferay Portal CE from 2026.Q1. Version 2026.q3.5, released 25 Sept 2026	SitecoreAI, formerly XM Cloud, Sitecore's current flagship SaaS platform SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor	Liferay, Inc. liferay.com	Sitecore sitecore.com
Licence	Closed source Proprietary, under the Liferay EULA. Free Tier activation key at no cost	Closed source Proprietary
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Free Tier suits smaller-scale use and gets no security patches, SAML or AI Hub.	No self-hosting Vendor cloud SitecoreAI is SaaS only. Self-hosting needs Sitecore XP 10.5, a separate product.
Built with	Java, OSGi, React	.NET, Next.js Content SDK
Database	MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, IBM Db2	Managed by Sitecore
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	Free to start Free Tier at no cost for smaller-scale use. Enterprise Subscription per server instance, price on request.	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 Definitions export to JSON and deploy from the repo as batch client extensions. 7	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.	Built in Objects and web content structures. 6	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 Fragments on content pages. 11	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	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 Adaptive Media generates set image resolutions. 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 Headless REST APIs. 9	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.	Built in 9	Built in Experience Edge delivery API. 5
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Built in Object actions call a webhook on add, update or delete. 10	Built in Authoring webhooks and Experience Edge publish webhooks. 6 5
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no.	Built in	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	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.	Built in Display and expiration dates.	Limited Publishing restrictions set availability dates. A publish must still run on the date. 8 9
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	Built in Numbered item versions.
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in	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 Inline editing in the content page editor. 11	Built in Page builder.
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Built in Kaleo workflow, also included in the Free Tier. 3	Built in Item workflows with states and commands. 6
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Built in Publications group changes and publish them together. 12	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 A page locks while one editor has it open. 13	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	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 Permissions apply per object, entry or asset. 14	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.	Built in SAML and OpenID Connect. The Free Tier lacks SAML. 3 15	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.	Built in Audit framework with search and export of events. 16	Limited Common Audit Log covers only the Cloud Portal and leaves out SitecoreAI content. Item actions show in CM logs. 14 15
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users.	Built in	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 Client extensions. 7	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 Liferay Marketplace. 17	Built in Sitecore Marketplace. 16
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Built in Liferay Forms.	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.	Built in	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.	Built in AI Hub writing tools in the new CMS. Not in the Free Tier. 4 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.	Built in Built-in MCP server released in 2026.Q3, switched on by feature flag. 19	Built in Sitecore Marketer MCP server. 20

Liferay DXP sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Liferay DXP 2026.Q3, Enterprise Subscription. The Free Tier replaced Liferay Portal CE from 2026.Q1..

Sitecore sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. SitecoreAI, formerly XM Cloud, Sitecore's current flagship SaaS platform.

Considering more platforms? Compare Liferay DXP and Sitecore with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Liferay DXP and Sitecore get a different status on 7 of the 28 features and the same status on 21. Liferay DXP has 26 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: Liferay DXP can be self-hosted. Sitecore cannot be self-hosted.
Free option: Liferay DXP has a free option. Sitecore has no free option.

Built in on Liferay DXP, a different answer on Sitecore 5

Renders the website Liferay DXP: Built in. Sitecore: Not available.
Scheduled publishing Liferay DXP: Built in. Sitecore: Limited.
Content releases Liferay DXP: Built in. Sitecore: Not available.
Audit log Liferay DXP: Built in. Sitecore: Limited.
Site member accounts Liferay DXP: Built in. Sitecore: Not available.

Built in on Sitecore, a different answer on Liferay DXP 1

Field-level permissions Liferay DXP: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 1

Real-time co-editing Liferay DXP: Not available. Sitecore: Limited.

More comparisons

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

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