Sitecore vs Wagtail
Sitecore is a closed-source enterprise DXP that runs on the vendor's cloud. Wagtail 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 12.
- Sitecore Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in
- Wagtail Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Sitecore on 29 Sept 2026, Wagtail 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 | Sitecore's SaaS digital experience platform, formerly XM Cloud. Sitecore hosts the CMS. Sites render in a separate front-end app. | Open-source CMS built on Django. Content types are Python models, and you host it yourself on any Python stack. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | SitecoreAI, formerly XM Cloud, Sitecore's current flagship SaaS platform SaaS, continuously updated | Wagtail 8, open source Version 8.0, released 25 Aug 2026 |
| Vendor | Sitecore sitecore.com | Wagtail core team (created by Torchbox) wagtail.org |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary | Open source BSD-3-Clause |
| Hosting | No self-hosting Vendor cloud SitecoreAI is SaaS only. Self-hosting needs Sitecore XP 10.5, a separate product. | Self-hosting No vendor cloud The Wagtail project runs no managed hosting. Deploy it like any Django app. |
| Built with | .NET, Next.js Content SDK | Python, Django |
| Database | Managed by Sitecore | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | No free option Pricing on request. | Free to start Free and open source. No licence fee. |
| 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 Templates serialize to files in the repo with Sitecore Content Serialization. 2 | Built in Page and snippet types are Django models. 2 |
| Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. | Built in Templates are items edited in the Content Editor. | Not available Developers define content types in Python only. |
| Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. | Built in Page builder with reusable components. | Built in StreamField blocks. 2 |
| Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. | Built in Language versions per item. | Built in Core i18n with simple_translation. The wagtail-localize package adds a translation workflow. 3 |
| Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. | Built in Experience Edge media CDN resizes images with query string parameters. 3 | Built in Renditions with resize, crop and format filters. 4 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in Content Items REST API since September 2026. Delivery through Experience Edge is GraphQL. 4 | Built in Read-only v2 API. Writable v3 API in preview since 8.0. 51 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Built in Experience Edge delivery API. 5 | Plugin or add-on wagtail-grapple, maintained by Torchbox. 6 |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Built in Authoring webhooks and Experience Edge publish webhooks. 65 | Not available Django signals such as page_published. No webhook settings. 18 |
| Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. | Not available Headless. Sites render in a separate app, with built-in Vercel and Netlify integrations. 7 | Built in |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in Saved changes stay unpublished until pushed to Experience Edge. 11 | Built in |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Limited Publishing restrictions set availability dates. A publish must still run on the date. 89 | Built in Go-live and expiry dates. 7 |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Built in Numbered item versions. | Built in Editors can compare and revert revisions. 11 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in | Built in 20 |
| 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. | Limited Preview panel beside the edit form. No click-to-edit on the page. 20 |
| Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. | Built in Item workflows with states and commands. 6 | Built in Moderation workflows with tasks assigned to groups. 8 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Not available No release bundles. Publishing jobs cover items, subitems and related items. 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. | Limited Page builder saves concurrent edits per field. Others get a reload prompt. No live updates. 10 | Not available Concurrent editing notifications warn editors. No live co-editing. 12 |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Built in Roles with item access rights. 12 | Built in Groups with page, collection and model permissions. 9 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Built in Field read and field write access rights. 12 | Built in Set in code with the permission argument on panels. 10 |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Built in SAML or OIDC through the Sitecore Cloud Portal. 13 | Plugin or add-on django-allauth supports SAML and OpenID Connect. 19 |
| Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. | Limited Common Audit Log covers only the Cloud Portal and leaves out SitecoreAI content. Item actions show in CM logs. 1415 | Built in Site-wide history report of logged actions. 11 |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Built in Site collections with shared content. | Built in Several sites in one installation with shared users. 9 |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in Marketplace apps add custom fields, panels and dashboard widgets. 17 | Built in Hooks, viewsets and custom panels. |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Sitecore Marketplace. 16 | Built in Wagtail packages directory on wagtail.org. 17 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Built in Built-in Forms with webhook submission handling. 18 | Built in wagtail.contrib.forms form builder. 13 |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Not available Developers have to build visitor login in the front-end app. | Limited Login for private pages is built in. Public sign-up needs a package such as django-allauth. 14 |
| AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. | Built in Content, variant and translation assistants. Brand kits need Stream Premium. 19 | Plugin or add-on Wagtail AI, an officially supported package. 15 |
| Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. | Built in Sitecore Marketer MCP server. 20 | Limited Experimental wagtail-mcp package, announced September 2026. 16 |
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
Wagtail sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Wagtail 8, open source.
- Wagtail 8.0 release notes
- How to use StreamField for mixed content
- Wagtail docs: Internationalization
- Wagtail docs: Images
- Wagtail API v2 usage guide
- wagtail-grapple on GitHub
- Wagtail guide: Scheduled publishing
- Wagtail guide: Configure workflows for moderation
- Wagtail docs: Permissions
- Wagtail docs: Panels reference
- Wagtail docs: Audit log
- Wagtail 6.2: content metrics and concurrent editing
- Wagtail docs: Form builder
- Wagtail docs: Private pages
- Wagtail AI
- Experiments with MCP in Wagtail
- Wagtail docs: Packages
- Wagtail docs: Signals
- django-allauth: SAML provider
- Wagtail 4.0 release notes: live preview panel
Considering more platforms? Compare Sitecore and Wagtail with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Sitecore and Wagtail get a different status on 12 of the 28 features and the same status on 16. Sitecore has 22 built in on its baseline edition, Wagtail 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
- Sitecore is closed source (Proprietary). Wagtail is open source (BSD-3-Clause).
- Self-hosting
- Sitecore cannot be self-hosted. Wagtail can be self-hosted.
- Vendor cloud
- Sitecore has a vendor-run cloud. Wagtail has no vendor-run cloud.
- Free option
- Sitecore has no free option. Wagtail has a free option.
Built in on Sitecore, a different answer on Wagtail 7
- Content model in the UI Sitecore: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
- GraphQL API Sitecore: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
- Webhooks Sitecore: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
- Visual editing Sitecore: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.
- Single sign-on Sitecore: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
- AI writing assistant Sitecore: Built in. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
- Official MCP server Sitecore: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.
Built in on Wagtail, a different answer on Sitecore 3
- Renders the website Sitecore: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
- Scheduled publishing Sitecore: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
- Audit log Sitecore: Limited. Wagtail: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 2
- Real-time co-editing Sitecore: Limited. Wagtail: Not available.
- Site member accounts Sitecore: Not available. Wagtail: Limited.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Sitecore vs Payload.
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Wagtail against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Wagtail
- Contentful vs Wagtail
- Contentstack vs Wagtail
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Wagtail
- Craft CMS vs Wagtail
- DatoCMS vs Wagtail
- Decap CMS vs Wagtail
- Directus vs Wagtail
- Drupal vs Wagtail
- EmDash vs Wagtail
- FirstSpirit vs Wagtail
- Framer vs Wagtail
- Ghost vs Wagtail
- HubSpot CMS vs Wagtail
- Hygraph vs Wagtail
- Instatic vs Wagtail
- Joomla vs Wagtail
- Keystone vs Wagtail
- Kirby vs Wagtail
- Liferay DXP vs Wagtail
- Optimizely CMS vs Wagtail
- Wagtail vs Payload
- Prismic vs Wagtail
- Progress Sitefinity vs Wagtail
- Sanity vs Wagtail
- Squarespace vs Wagtail
- Statamic vs Wagtail
- Storyblok vs Wagtail
- Strapi vs Wagtail
- TYPO3 vs Wagtail
- Umbraco vs Wagtail
- Wagtail vs Webflow
- Wagtail vs Wix
- Wagtail vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Wagtail
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