Craft CMS vs Sitecore

For a business commissioning a focused custom website, we usually recommend Craft CMS over Sitecore. The case is simpler publishing and a smaller implementation to operate, not a claim that Sitecore lacks capability. Sitecore deserves consideration when its enterprise content platform and connected tools are actively needed, supported, and worth the continuing investment.

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Choose Craft CMS when:

Your team needs a focused publishing system for a custom website.
A platform transition is an opportunity to simplify the application.
You want a partner to own a smaller, clearly scoped implementation.

Choose Sitecore when:

Your enterprise actively uses Sitecore’s connected platform capabilities.
A qualified team supports the exact Sitecore product you operate.
The business can justify the licensing, implementation, and ongoing platform work.

Where each one wins

Priority points

Craft CMS

Sitecore

Craft CMS leads for this brief.

100 points allocated by business priority. Ties split the points.

We score websites built and supported by an agency, with editors working inside an approved design system. These are our recommendations for that brief, not product quality ratings.

How we score

Publishing and brand controlWinner: Craft CMS20-point priorityCraft is our preference for routine business publishing when Sitecore’s broader operating model adds more complexity than value.

A marketer should be able to assemble an approved page, update shared content, and send a preview without opening a development ticket. Craft's entries and shareable previews support that workflow. Modern Sitecore content tools should be evaluated separately from an inherited XP implementation. We favor Craft for a focused website; a poor legacy editor experience is a reason to test the replacement, not proof that every Sitecore product works the same way.

Content architectureTie15-point priorityBoth support substantial structured content; the deciding issue is which enterprise capabilities the business will actually use.

A large content inventory does not by itself require Sitecore. Craft's entry system can organize related services, locations, programs, and people. Sitecore's platform can serve more extensive enterprise content operations. We score architecture even because the real requirements should decide: distribution channels, localization, integrations, and governance. A healthcare network should model its difficult content and approval cases before equating platform breadth with a better website.

Is this the same comparison for every Sitecore product?

No. Name the product, edition, hosting model, and integrations. An older self-hosted implementation has different responsibilities from a managed SaaS product.

Custom implementationWinner: Craft CMS15-point priorityCraft usually means a smaller implementation when the business needs a website rather than a wider enterprise platform.

Moving an existing Sitecore MVC implementation to its modern cloud architecture can require frontend conversion and integration work. Sitecore's migration guidance makes those differences explicit. That is an opportunity to compare a new Craft implementation on its own merits. We favor Craft when templates, content, and application behavior can stay together. Keep Sitecore when required platform integrations make rebuilding around a smaller CMS the more complicated option.

Security and supportTie15-point priorityEnterprise platform support and website application support are different responsibilities, and both need to be covered explicitly.

Sitecore's managed cloud service does not automatically maintain every custom frontend and business integration. The cloud architecture and existing application determine that scope. Craft can pair managed hosting with Mostly Serious maintenance and support. We score this even because a business should compare actual commitments: access management, recovery, upgrades, monitoring, and incident ownership. A large vendor contract is useful only if the services it covers match the risks the organization needs addressed.

Lifetime valueWinner: Craft CMS10-point priorityCraft is our preference when the business can retire unused platform complexity while preserving the website capabilities it needs.

The meaningful budget includes licensing, migration, specialist development, frontend maintenance, integrations, and the cost of publishing over three years. Sitecore even offers a migration readiness engagement, reflecting the work involved in platform change. Craft earns our preference for a focused website whose requirements do not justify that larger program. We would not claim a universal savings percentage or recommend migration before accounting for the features and integrations the business would have to replace.

Ecosystem confidenceTie10-point prioritySitecore’s platform transition is a material staffing question, but limited practitioner accounts do not prove universal decline.

A July 2026 discussion by a Sitecore-certified developer illustrates the skills gap between older Sitecore work and modern frontend implementations. It is one practitioner's situation, not an industry survey. We score confidence even pending a review of the actual implementation and support team. For either CMS, ask who owns upgrades, which extensions remain supported, and whether the partner can deliver the next phase without a disruptive staffing change.

AI enablementWinner: Sitecore15-point prioritySitecore’s current AI platform offers broader native marketing operations and official agent interfaces than Craft’s plugin ecosystem.

Sitecore's Marketer MCP server connects agents to content and marketing tasks, while its Agent API supports actions within the platform. The documented MCP setup currently requires an administrator role, which belongs in the access review. Craft has useful third-party MCP tooling and editorial plugins, but Sitecore wins on breadth and official integration. These capabilities apply to the relevant SitecoreAI products; they should not be attributed automatically to an older Sitecore XP installation.

Planning a migration

Map content items, templates, media, layouts, languages, redirects, access rules, and personalization. Decide which connected products remain and how their integrations change. Recreating pages is only part of the work when the current experience depends on platform data and rules.

Preserve useful URLs where possible. For changed paths, build and test a redirect map, transfer metadata, and monitor indexing and traffic after launch. Google's site-move guidance explains the process; search traffic can still fluctuate. Talk with us about planning a Craft project before committing.

Does moving to Craft preserve Sitecore personalization?

Not automatically. Inventory the rules, data, and connected products, then decide which capabilities to retain, replace, or retire.

Know what your Craft website needs next.

A Craft CMS Health Check reviews your site’s performance, accessibility, technical SEO, code, and maintenance risks. You get findings and a prioritized plan before committing to fixes.