CMS comparison Liferay DXP vs WordPress

Liferay DXP vs WordPress

Liferay DXP 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 13.

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Liferay DXP Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 26 of 28 built in
WordPress Traditional · Open source · 13 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Liferay DXP 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

Liferay DXP vs WordPress feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Liferay DXP Enterprise DXP	WordPress Traditional
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.	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.	Liferay DXP 2026.Q3, Enterprise Subscription. The Free Tier replaced Liferay Portal CE from 2026.Q1. Version 2026.q3.5, released 25 Sept 2026	WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org Version 7.1.2, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor	Liferay, Inc. liferay.com	WordPress.org community project (Automattic is the largest contributor) wordpress.org
Licence	Closed source Proprietary, under the Liferay EULA. Free Tier activation key at no cost	Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Free Tier suits smaller-scale use and gets no security patches, SAML or AI Hub.	Self-hosting No vendor cloud Automattic's WordPress.com and many third-party hosts sell managed WordPress.
Built with	Java, OSGi, React	PHP, JavaScript, React block editor
Database	MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, IBM Db2	MySQL, MariaDB
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.	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 Definitions export to JSON and deploy from the repo as batch client extensions. 7	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 Objects and web content structures. 6	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 Fragments on content pages. 11	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	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 Adaptive Media generates set image resolutions. 8	Built in WordPress generates registered image sizes on upload.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in Headless REST APIs. 9	Built in 5
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in 9	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.	Built in Object actions call a webhook on add, update or delete. 10	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	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	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 Display and expiration dates.	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	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	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 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 Kaleo workflow, also included in the Free Tier. 3	Plugin or add-on PublishPress plugins. Core has only the Pending Review status. 7 11
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
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	Not available Pulled from 7.0. Still experimental in the Gutenberg plugin. 3 4 18
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Built in	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 apply per object, entry or asset. 14	Not available
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	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.	Built in Audit framework with search and export of events. 16	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.	Built in	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 Client extensions. 7	Built in Custom blocks, admin pages and meta boxes.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in Liferay Marketplace. 17	Built in WordPress.org plugin directory.
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Built in Liferay Forms.	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	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 AI Hub writing tools in the new CMS. Not in the Free Tier. 4 18	Plugin or add-on Official AI plugin plus a connected provider. Core ships the AI Client only. 2 9
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	Plugin or add-on MCP Adapter plugin from the WordPress AI team. 10

Liferay DXP sources

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

WordPress sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org.

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

Where they differ

Liferay DXP and WordPress get a different status on 13 of the 28 features and the same status on 15. Liferay DXP has 26 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: Liferay DXP is closed source (Proprietary, under the Liferay EULA. Free Tier activation key at no cost). WordPress is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later).
Vendor cloud: Liferay DXP has a vendor-run cloud. WordPress has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Liferay DXP, a different answer on WordPress 13

Content model in the UI Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
Localization Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
GraphQL API Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
Webhooks Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
Drafts Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Limited.
Approval workflows Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
Content releases Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Not available.
Custom roles Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
Single sign-on Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
Audit log Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
Form builder Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
AI writing assistant Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
Official MCP server Liferay DXP: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

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