SitecoreAI vs. Sitecore XP vs. Born-Headless CMS

Technology

Sitecore CMS DXP Composable

Christian Burne

Dec 05, 2022

UPDATED:
Jan 05, 2026

SitecoreAI (formerly known as XM Cloud) is Sitecore's modern SaaS CMS. Sitecore hosts it, and you only pay for a subscription to the product. Sitecore upgrades the software automatically without you even knowing it is happening. It has great potential for customers, but it may not be right for every customer.

In this post, we’ll compare SitecoreAI to Sitecore XM/XP (Platform DXP) and then to a born-headless CMS such as Contentful or Strapi so that customers can get an idea of how these platforms differ architecturally.

SitecoreAI vs. Platform DXP

Sitecore XM and XP are traditional DXPs. Your user experience (i.e., your web page templates, HTML, CSS, etc.) is built inside the platform with all your custom code alongside the Sitecore CMS software. It looks like this:

SitecoreAI, on the other hand, is a headless CMS that only provides managed content (the body). You'll notice there are no digital marketing tools or custom site logic, and your UX templates get moved to a "head."

Here is a matrix comparing key differentiators between the two:

	SitecoreAI	Sitecore XM / XP
Where does my logic go?	You need to come up with a new spot for your custom logic. UX logic should be embedded in the Head. Back-end type logic will now reside in a new Enterprise Service application.	Logic is part of the platform, rolled into the same monolith accessed by the layouts you create as part of the CMS.
How do I deploy?	SitecoreAI gets deployed via Sitecore CLI. However, since you've removed all your custom logic from the CMS, you won't have much to deploy in SitecoreAI besides your content template structures.	You build pipelines in a CI/CD tool (such as Azure DevOps) to compile your code, run your unit tests, and deploy your artifacts to the destination.
Who owns the infrastructure?	Sitecore, if you have an issue, you will call them.	Unless you use Sitecore Managed Cloud or buy it from someone else, your team likely manages and maintains the infrastructure.
Do I need to do upgrades?	No, upgrades will be rolled out by Sitecore.	Yes, you will upgrade the Sitecore software periodically.
What do I pay Sitecore for?	You pay Sitecore for each subscription you buy. SitecoreAI is one, CDP is another, Search is another, Personalize is another, etc. Experience Edge comes with SitecoreAI, so you don't have to pay for that either (even though it is purchased separately).	Consumption license: based on the number of users per year, typically a 3-year term. Server-based: based on the number of servers you have Sitecore installed on, plus an annual maintenance fee.
What handles my digital marketing capabilities?	You have to purchase this separately from SitecoreAI and integrate it into your solution. Sitecore CDP / Personalize will be part of that, but most likely a marketing automation tool, analytics tool, conversion rate optimization (CRO) tool, and even more.	Many of these tools are already embedded into Sitecore XP; however, a persistent knock on the XP toolset is that they are not as good as those available from other vendors (best-of-breed). This has resulted in a perpetual problem for companies trying to realize the value from these digital marketing tools. It's also the key reason why Sitecore has purchased SaaS components and is moving the entire ecosystem towards "composable."
How will I get maximum Core Web Vitals?	Architecture is natively edge-friendly, improving Core Web Vitals and pagespeed scores, maximizing SEO.	The architecture is more challenging to achieve high Core Web Vitals and Pagespeed scores, making maximizing SEO more challenging.

SitecoreAI vs. Born-Headless CMSs

Born-headless CMSs were built from the ground up to be headless from inception. They use modern technology and are cloud-native. Examples include: Contentful, Strapi, Kontent.ai, and Contentstack. They can be used with or without a rendering host. They’re just a straight JavaScript client-side application fetching content directly from the headless CMS. Any JavaScript framework can be used — or none at all.

SitecoreAI has come from the other direction. It is a CMS that was incepted over 20 years ago, with rich capabilities that have been added to and refined over time.

SitecoreAI is a headless CMS. However, some key differentiators impact how the platform performs for customers compared to other headless CMSs and for those who are accustomed to XP or another traditional platform.

In general, SitecoreAI requires a rendering host (such as Netlify or Vercel), a different component that must be procured, increasing the hops between the end user and your content. It is necessary because the JSS component is needed for communication to SitecoreAI. This component also requires that you use one of the five JavaScript frameworks that are available to work with (Next.js, React and React Native, Vue, Angular). The upside is that inline editing works when the head is embedded or connected to SitecoreAI.

However, there is also an alternative way of doing things, such as using .NET Core-based SDK and the newer Content SDK for SitecoreAI.

Some key differentiators between SitecoreAI and born-headless CMS:

	SitecoreAI	Born-Headless CMS
Technology	An enterprise-grade SaaS platform that combines Sitecore’s decades of content management experience with new cutting-edge technologies in its composable and cloud-native architecture. It also includes the JavaScript Services SDK and REST and GraphQL APIs.	Vendors offer SaaS or self-hosted options, as well as REST and GraphQL content APIs.
Editor UX	The Pages editor is a fully SaaS front-end application that offers WYSIWYG visual editing, structured content authoring, and reusable components.	Many headless platforms offer visual page editors with WYSIWYG functionality.
Inline Editing	The Pages editor offers layout control, which allows users to edit existing layouts and change page structure to suit their needs, instead of only dropping components onto predefined templates.	Some headless vendors offer live preview or limited inline via apps; however, many are form-based editors.
Content Management Sophistication	SitecoreAI is highly sophisticated and draws on the extensive capabilities previously found in XP to provide robust content models, content reuse, language capabilities, versioning, branching, enterprise workflows, multilingual, and multisite capabilities.	Many vendors offer robust enterprise-grade tooling; however, others require additional plugins or developer workarounds to provide the same level of functionality as SitecoreAI
Developer Independence	Since the frontend (head) and the backend are tied together more tightly with JavaScript in SitecoreAI, the developer working on the frontend will need to have some understanding of the backend.	The API is the only dependency between the frontend and backend, so the developer working on the frontend is not required to know much about the backend.
Front-End Choice	One of Next.js, React, React Native, Vue, Angular, or .NET Core.	Unlimited.
Personalization	Has some personalization, but the native functionality will not be comparable to Sitecore XP. Most customers will have to integrate Sitecore Personalize for more advanced personalization.	This will require a separate package.

Wrapping Up

Choosing between Sitecore XP, SitecoreAI, and many of the headless CMS options available will depend on your team’s maturity, the complexity of your website and technology stack, and what you’re optimizing for over the next 12–24 months. Additionally, as with any marketing technology, the budget will cover the software, people, and processes, including implementation and integrations.

Regardless of your choice, it helps to have a partner to support you. Oshyn is a certified Sitecore partner with years of experience in the DXP/CMS industry. As such, we can guide you through your decision —whether that means staying on XP or moving to SitecoreAI —and help you choose any accompanying products for your composable stack.

Download our ebook to learn How To Choose a CMS or DXP.