XM Cloud vs Crafter CMS

Compare XM Cloud and Crafter CMS for your content needs. Find out what actual users are saying about each product and which one is best suited for you!

XM Cloud
XM Cloud
Meet the CMS that takes your website further, faster. Grow traffic, boost engagement, and drive conversions with AI-assisted authoring, workflows, personalization, and A/B testing - all built in.
Crafter CMS
Crafter CMS
CrafterCMS is a fully open-source, community-supported, Java-based headless CMS, designed for enterprises, allowing for high-performance, security, and scalability in digital content management.

What Users Say

See what users who have used XM Cloud and Crafter CMS have to say about their overall experience with the product.

XM Cloud's Key Strengths

Read what users love about XM Cloud.

Crafter CMS's Key Strengths

Read what users love about Crafter CMS.

XM Cloud's Key Issues

Read what issues users have with XM Cloud.

Crafter CMS's Key Issues

Read what issues users have with Crafter CMS.

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What Marketers & Content Creators Say

Hear from the users who uses XM Cloud and Crafter CMS daily about their experience with the editors.

XM Cloud's Editorial Experience Highlights

What marketers love about XM Cloud's editor.

Crafter CMS's Editorial Experience Highlights

What marketers love about Crafter CMS's editor.

XM Cloud's Editorial Experience Issues

What marketers dislike about XM Cloud's editor.

Crafter CMS's Editorial Experience Issues

What marketers dislike about Crafter CMS's editor.

Mobile Editing

Find out how the platforms handle the mobile-first experience for the new generation of workforce on the move.

XM Cloud:
Limited Mobile Experience

Sitecore XM Cloud allows mobile-first editing with low-code tools, but some features may require desktop for full functionality.

"...easy-to-use visual tools for authoring, A/B testing, and personalization - powered by brand-aware AI copilots."
Source
"...mobile-first approach, allowing us to have a solid base for our build."
Source
"...difficult to create layouts for different breakpoints..."
Source
Crafter CMS:
Not Suitable for Mobile

Craft CMS does not support a dedicated mobile-first content creation experience; desktop usage is recommended.

"Craft does not mention a mobile-first experience, suggesting desktop use for optimal content creation."
Source
"Craft CMS Calendar plugin is responsive, but not focused on mobile-first authoring capabilities."
Source

Automatic Content Linking

Find out if the platform supports automatic linking of related content to help user discover more content without additional manual effort from the marketer. This automatically create topical clusters of content and is essential for SEO.

XM Cloud:
No Automatic Content Linking

XM Cloud does not support automatic linking of related blog posts; linking must be done manually.

"XM Cloud relies on traditional content linking methods without AI-driven automation."
Source
"Linking of related content in XM Cloud needs to be managed manually, not automatically."
Source
"Current capabilities do not include automatic related blog linking, requiring manual setup."
Source
Crafter CMS:
No Automatic Content Linking

Craft CMS does not support automatic linking of related blog content; manual relationships are required.

"Entries are flexible content containers... but do not support automatic linking of related content."
Source
"Feature request for better auto-saving behavior shows Craft's focus on manual linking options."
Source
"Craft CMS features highlight flexibility but lack mention of automatic related content linking."
Source

Automatic CTA Linking

Find out if the platform supports automatic display of Call-to-Actions using AI to help users take actions that are relevant to the content they are reading.

XM Cloud:
No Automatic CTA Linking

Sitecore XM Cloud does not support automatic CTA linking directly for AI-driven context matching.

"XM Cloud does not have any references to automatic CTA linking capabilities."
Source
"Dynamic placeholders allow unique key generation, but don't automatically link CTAs."
Source
"The official Sitecore documentation and resources do not mention automatic CTA linking."
Source
Crafter CMS:
Unknown

The status of Automatic CTA Linking in Craft CMS remains unclear; sources provide no definitive confirmation.

"The button CTA's link will be tied to the page ID and any changes in the page's URL will automatically update the button CTA's link."
Source
"Craft CMS focuses more on customization options but did not specify features like automatic linking for CTAs."
Source

Comments

Find out if the platform supports comments from your users to improve user engagement. This is often a great way to collect feedback and user emails.

XM Cloud:
No Comments Supported

Sitecore XM Cloud does not have built-in commenting features for users to leave comments on content.

"You can add comments to projects, stages, or tasks when collaborating with other users."
Source
"Sitecore XM Cloud focuses on site management, personalization, and performance, lacking user-facing commenting."
Source
"In the ‘migrations’ I usually think about I’m often looking at an existing Sitecore customer trying to move to XM Cloud, but the fact is that there are a lot of options out there and Optimizely is pushing hard to pull those customers over to their SaaS CMS."
Source
Crafter CMS:
Comments Supported

Built-in commenting with features like moderation, email notifications, and anonymous commenting support.

"Allow your users to comment on elements. Threaded comments - users can comment on other comments. Comment moderation by admins - prevent comments from appearing on your site until approved."
Source
"Comment on any element – whether it be an entry, product or event. Threaded comments. Email Notifications for element authors when someone posts a comment."
Source

Multi-tenancy

Find out if the platform supports managing multiple clients or projects within a single account. This is useful for agencies, multi-client or multi-project scenarios.

XM Cloud:
Limited Multi-tenancy

XM Cloud operates as a single-tenant instance; however, the underlying delivery environment supports multi-tenancy.

"XM Cloud runs the Experience Manager environment as a single-tenant instance. The delivery environment..."
Source
Crafter CMS:
Multi-tenancy Supported

Craft CMS supports multi-tenancy, allowing multiple sites from a single installation.

"Craft offers multi-tenant functionality that allows you to run multiple sites from a single Craft install."
Source
"A single Craft installation can power any number of websites."
Source

What Developers Say

Hear from developers who've integrated and built on XM Cloud and Crafter CMS about their experiences.

Ease of Integrating XM Cloud:
Hard
Integration with Sitecore XM Cloud is notably complex, often requiring additional time and investment, as well as partner assistance.
Ease of Integrating Crafter CMS:
Medium
Integration is feasible but can be complex due to the need for custom development.

XM Cloud's DX Highlights

What developers love about building with XM Cloud.

Crafter CMS's DX Highlights

What developers love about building with Crafter CMS.

XM Cloud's DX Issues

What developers dislike about building with XM Cloud.

Crafter CMS's DX Issues

What developers dislike about building with Crafter CMS.

Content Modelling

Find out how developers model and manage their content with the platform with key highlights and limitations.

XM Cloud:
Customisable Content Types

Sitecore XM Cloud fully supports content modeling with customizable data templates and flexible presentation components.

"Content modeling means creating the schema structure of an element that will be presented on your website. You do this using templates, also known as data templates."
Source
"Sitecore XM Cloud is an entirely new product, focusing on content modeling and APIs."
Source
Crafter CMS:
Customisable Content Types

Craft CMS supports content modeling with custom fields and types, offering flexibility and built-in options for various content structures.

"Craft provides a number of distinct building blocks, each appropriate for different kinds of content. We use the term elements to collectively describe the variety of content types Craft comes with."
Source
"Craft CMS gives you flexibility and control throughout the entire content modeling and editing process."
Source
"New CLI commands for taming your content model, a new Link field type, and more! We now have a total of 23 built-in custom field types."
Source
"Craft is unique in that it is both a simple and a complex CMS. You can create the structure, fields, and all the forms without ever touching any code."
Source

Custom React Components

Find out if the platform supports custom React components to go beyond the basic HTML components for content.

XM Cloud:
Custom React Components Supported

Sitecore XM Cloud supports custom React components through registration, allowing rich interactions ineditors.

"In XM Cloud, developers can bring their own code (BYOC) by referencing an external code base that includes components."
Source
"At the time of writing, XM Cloud Components are new and do not have a full feature set. Because of this, only standard React/Next.js components should be used."
Source
"You can build a component by providing Sitecore managed data to a third party API like Google Maps API."
Source
Crafter CMS:
No Custom React Components Supported

Craft CMS does not support embedding custom React components directly in the content editor.

"Craft's entire API is at your finger tips but does not mention the support for custom React components."
Source
"Matrix fields allow you to manage nested entries but not specifically React components."
Source
"Craft can act as a headless CMS and use GraphQL, but does not support React directly in the content editor."
Source

Full Text Search

Find out if the platform supports full text search across multiple fields to help users find content quickly.

XM Cloud:
Full Text Search Supported

Sitecore XM Cloud supports full-text search allowing users to search content across multiple fields.

"Searches for a full-text phrase within a value. For example, searching for 'apple pie' returns items for which the value is 'We made apple pie'."
Source
"Sitecore Search is a cutting-edge, AI-powered, headless content discovery platform, empowering users to craft tailored and predictive search encounters."
Source
Crafter CMS:
Full Text Search Supported

Craft CMS supports full text search across multiple fields, including advanced syntax for querying.

"Craft includes a system-wide search index used for finding elements via keywords."
Source
"Craft CMS includes a system-wide search service used for finding elements via keyword search."
Source
"Craft's full-text search based on the underlying database is powerful and the very best choice for the vast majority of users."
Source

Starter Kits

Discover starter kits and templates to help you get started with the platform.

XM Cloud:
Available

Sitecore XM Cloud has various starter kits including Next.js and Angular templates.

(Expand section to see a list of XM Cloud templates and starter kits.)

Crafter CMS:
Available

Craft CMS offers several starter kits including starter projects and boilerplates.

(Expand section to see a list of Crafter CMS templates and starter kits.)

Pricing & Plans

Compare the prices of XM Cloud and Crafter CMS.

XM Cloud's Pricing
XM Cloud
$0 / subscription
- Bundled with Pages and embedded personalization
- Includes Headless Services and Experience Edge in a single subscription
Crafter CMS's Pricing
Solo
$0 / forever
- One user account
- Ultra-flexible content modeling
- Multi-site + localization
- Advanced previewing
- Twig + GraphQL
Team
$279 / project
- Everything in Solo
- Up to five user accounts
- One user group
- Developer support
Pro
$399 / project
- Everything in Team
- Unlimited user accounts
- Unlimited user groups
- Branded control panel
- Branded communication
Enterprise
$0 / custom
- Everything in Pro
- First-party SAML SSO
- Custom license agreement
- Procurement support
- Dedicated premium support
Craft Cloud Team
$130 / month
- Includes Craft CMS Team edition
- Two environments
- 10GB asset storage (upgradable to 250GB)
- Unlimited build minutes
- Unlimited database storage
Craft Cloud Pro
$260 / month
- Includes Craft CMS Pro edition
- Three environments
- 20GB asset storage (upgradable to 250GB)
- Unlimited build minutes
- Unlimited database storage

Compare with other technologies

Looking for a better alternative to XM Cloud & Crafter CMS? Try Wisp.
Wisp is the best solution for blogging. Try it free today!