The Best Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Alternative in 2026: Kentico vs Adobe
Xperience by Kentico brings everything you need into one streamlined platform to reduce complexity, speed up delivery, and eliminate the multi-product overhead associated with Adobe Experience Manager (AEM). With a unified approach to digital experience management, supported by AI capabilities, Kentico is the best AEM alternative for teams to manage content, commerce, and digital marketing across any channel from within one platform.
Ten Reasons Teams are Choosing Kentico Over Adobe Experience Manager.
With frequent updates, a quick setup, transparent pricing, and top-tier support, your team can focus on what matters most: growing your business. Here are ten reasons why Kentico stands out as a modern alternative to Adobe.
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Unified Platform & Built-In Marketing
Xperience by Kentico is a unified DXP that brings content, commerce, marketing, and AI together in one platform, no need for separate tools like AEM's Sites, Assets, Marketo, or CDP. With fewer silos and faster setup, it's easier for your team to deliver results. The proof is in the numbers, according to the G2 Grid® Report, Xperience by Kentico beats Adobe in Meets Requirements (93% vs. 88%).
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Flexible Architecture That Adapts to You
Running on modern ASP.NET Core and with a flexible architecture, Xperience by Kentico scales without the usual complexity. Developers appreciate having one product, one UI, and one development model. Compared to AEM's multi-product Java stack, it's faster to deliver, easier to manage, and simpler to grow with.
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Launch Faster, With Simplified Workflows
Xperience by Kentico makes it easier to launch with intuitive tools, built-in marketing and commerce, and AI that helps marketers move faster. A single admin interface and unified architecture simplify setup. Unlike AEM’s complex, time consuming deployments, Xperience by Kentico gets teams up and running without the wait.
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Lower Costs, Higher Value
Xperience by Kentico delivers a complete DXP with content, marketing, personalization, CDP, and commerce in one platform. AEM is one of the most expensive options on the market and often demands more time, budget, and resources. Kentico offers a lower total cost of ownership and earns higher customer scores in the G2 Grid ® Report for Ease of Doing Business (89%).
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Built for Marketers and Developers
Marketers can manage email, automation, journeys, and personalization on their own, without running into IT roadblocks or needing extra developer support. In AEM, even simple updates often rely on multiple products or technical help. That ease of use shows up in the feedback: 90% of users agree Xperience by Kentico excels at Ease of Use.
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No-Surprise Pricing
Plan with confidence thanks to Xperience by Kentico's predictable pricing. In comparison, AEM pricing varies widely depending on how many Adobe products are required, and its "unified pricing metric" only fits certain situations. Our 91% Likelihood to Recommend rating reflects why teams trust Kentico for dependable, predictable costs.
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Seamless Upgrades with No Downtime
Evergreen by design, Xperience by Kentico delivers seamless refreshes and weekly hotfixes with no major upgrades, end-of-life deadlines, or replatforming. AEM's multi-product setup can create friction during updates, and on-premise deployments face mandatory migrations: Adobe Experience Manager 6.5 reaches end of support on August 31, 2026, requiring organizations to switch to AEM as a cloud service. Kentico's approach keeps teams moving without disruption or surprise maintenance cycles.
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24/7 Dedicated Support from Kentico Experts
Support is always there for you with Xperience by Kentico. You get direct access to platform experts 24/7 at no extra cost and no need for additional, external support. This commitment to customer success helps Kentico consistently earn a higher Support rating than Adobe, with 91% compared to 84%, according to G2.
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Built-in Security & Compliance by Design
Security is handled with confidence in Xperience by Kentico. A single platform and codebase simplify governance, backed by evergreen updates, a 7-day bug fix SLA, and compliance with CCPA, DORA, GDPR, ISO/IEC 27001 SoA, and SOC 2. AEM's multi-product model requires managing security across many tools and services, while Kentico reduces risk and IT burden.
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Proven Success Across Industries
Organizations around the world choose Xperience by Kentico for enterprise-grade power without the weight of Adobe Experience Manager's complex stack. From retail and healthcare to finance and nonprofits, Xperience by Kentico helps teams launch faster, reduce risk, and see ROI sooner, with the flexibility to scale and adapt as they grow.
All your tools, one powerful platform.
Deliver personalized experiences at every touchpoint. Harness the power of AI, streamline complex customer journeys, and centralize content management. Do it all with a single, integrated, and scalable solution. With seamless updates, clear pricing, quick setup, and top-tier support, your team can focus on what matters: growing your business. Choose Xperience by Kentico’s flexible hybrid-headless CMS for faster results, less complexity, and better ROI.
Top Alternatives to Adobe Experience Manager in 2026
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Unified Platform & Built-In Marketing
Xperience by Kentico is a unified DXP that brings content, commerce, marketing, and AI together in one platform, no need for separate tools like AEM's Sites, Assets, Marketo, or CDP. With fewer silos and faster setup, it's easier for your team to deliver results. The proof is in the numbers, according to the G2 Grid® Report, Xperience by Kentico beats Adobe in Meets Requirements (93% vs. 88%).
-
Flexible Architecture That Adapts to You
Running on modern ASP.NET Core and with a flexible architecture, Xperience by Kentico scales without the usual complexity. Developers appreciate having one product, one UI, and one development model. Compared to AEM's multi-product Java stack, it's faster to deliver, easier to manage, and simpler to grow with.
-
Launch Faster, With Simplified Workflows
Xperience by Kentico makes it easier to launch with intuitive tools, built-in marketing and commerce, and AI that helps marketers move faster. A single admin interface and unified architecture simplify setup. Unlike AEM’s complex, time consuming deployments, Xperience by Kentico gets teams up and running without the wait.
-
Lower Costs, Higher Value
Xperience by Kentico delivers a complete DXP with content, marketing, personalization, CDP, and commerce in one platform. AEM is one of the most expensive options on the market and often demands more time, budget, and resources. Kentico offers a lower total cost of ownership and earns higher customer scores in the G2 Grid ® Report for Ease of Doing Business (89%).
-
Built for Marketers and Developers
Marketers can manage email, automation, journeys, and personalization on their own, without running into IT roadblocks or needing extra developer support. In AEM, even simple updates often rely on multiple products or technical help. That ease of use shows up in the feedback: 90% of users agree Xperience by Kentico excels at Ease of Use.
-
No-Surprise Pricing
Plan with confidence thanks to Xperience by Kentico's predictable pricing. In comparison, AEM pricing varies widely depending on how many Adobe products are required, and its "unified pricing metric" only fits certain situations. Our 91% Likelihood to Recommend rating reflects why teams trust Kentico for dependable, predictable costs.
-
Seamless Upgrades with No Downtime
Evergreen by design, Xperience by Kentico delivers seamless refreshes and weekly hotfixes with no major upgrades, end-of-life deadlines, or replatforming. AEM's multi-product setup can create friction during updates, and on-premise deployments face mandatory migrations: Adobe Experience Manager 6.5 reaches end of support on August 31, 2026, requiring organizations to switch to AEM as a cloud service. Kentico's approach keeps teams moving without disruption or surprise maintenance cycles.
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24/7 Dedicated Support from Kentico Experts
Support is always there for you with Xperience by Kentico. You get direct access to platform experts 24/7 at no extra cost and no need for additional, external support. This commitment to customer success helps Kentico consistently earn a higher Support rating than Adobe, with 91% compared to 84%, according to G2.
-
Built-in Security & Compliance by Design
Security is handled with confidence in Xperience by Kentico. A single platform and codebase simplify governance, backed by evergreen updates, a 7-day bug fix SLA, and compliance with CCPA, DORA, GDPR, ISO/IEC 27001 SoA, and SOC 2. AEM's multi-product model requires managing security across many tools and services, while Kentico reduces risk and IT burden.
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Proven Success Across Industries
Organizations around the world choose Xperience by Kentico for enterprise-grade power without the weight of Adobe Experience Manager's complex stack. From retail and healthcare to finance and nonprofits, Xperience by Kentico helps teams launch faster, reduce risk, and see ROI sooner, with the flexibility to scale and adapt as they grow.
Comparison Overview: Adobe Experience Manager and Xperience by Kentico.
| Buyer Concern | Adobe Experience Manager | Xperience by Kentico |
|---|---|---|
Time to launch | Typically, 6–18 months for AEM implementations | Possible to go live within weeks; structured onboarding included |
IT dependency | Developer resource required for most personalization and publishing tasks | Marketers publish content and launch campaigns without developer tickets |
Upgrade path | Major version upgrades multiple times yearly with testing windows; extended support costs | Continuous evergreen improvements, no disruptive upgrades needed |
Multisite management | Supported; typically requires additional configuration and licensing | Multisite and multichannel (web, email, and more) with content reuse and centralized management |
Total cost of ownership | Significant multi-product licensing costs (AEM + Target + Marketo + Real-Time CDP + Analytics) | Predictable, transparent licensing customizable based on needs |
Support access | Often routed through Adobe-certified partner tier. | Direct vendor support 24/7 |
Marketing autonomy | Campaign and personalization setup typically requires developer involvement | Full marketing self-service for content, segmentation, and optimization |
AI capability | Adobe GenStudio and Firefly require separate licensing and integration work | Built-in AI, AIRA, for content, translation, and optimization at scale; no separate implementation project |
Ease of use
Rated higher on usability by G2 users 5 years in a row.
Faster ROI
Kentico customers report ROI within months rather than years.
Customer satisfaction
Consistently high customer satisfaction scores on the G2 Grid Report.
Save time with the free Universal Migration Tool.
With our free Universal Migration Tool, you can automatically migrate large volumes of data, whether it's training documents, product details, media, annual reports or language versions. The migration toolkit is fully customizable to your needs and can save you weeks of manual work.
The easy-to-use, cost-effective choice for digital growth.
Discover how Kentico can empower your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Migration complexity depends on your AEM implementation scope. Teams using AEM with Target, Marketo, Real-Time CDP, and Analytics face substantial re-platforming because switching away requires rearchitecting your entire martech stack. Custom code, personalization rules, and integrations add further migration scope. Teams managing escalating AEM costs often use budget review cycles to evaluate alternatives. Kentico's Universal Migration Toolkit provides structured tooling and methodology to support migrations from a range of source platforms to Xperience by Kentico.