Kentico vs Umbraco: when each fits a .NET digital estate
Choose Xperience by Kentico when you want a vendor-run digital experience platform with marketing tools built in and SaaS or private cloud hosting is the model your organization prefers. Choose Umbraco when your team already has .NET skills, you want to run the site in your own cloud account or data center, and you want an MIT-licensed core that is free to use. The decision usually turns on three questions: which marketing features you actually use, where the platform must run, and who will maintain the code after launch. A renewal date, a data residency requirement or the approaching end of Xperience 13 support often forces this question, so answer all three before you compare quotes.
Xperience by Kentico fits best when marketing is central to the site and the in-house team is small. Personalization, email and campaign capabilities sit inside one product the vendor supports, so there are fewer components to integrate and fewer vendors to coordinate. Umbraco reaches similar ground through add-ons. Umbraco Engage covers personalization, analytics, A/B testing and targeted campaigns, and Umbraco Forms covers forms. Both need a valid license once the site runs on a public domain, and both are sold per domain. List every marketing feature in use today, then ask both vendors how your domain count and traffic affect licensing. If your security policy requires the platform to run in your own subscription, confirm the private cloud terms with Kentico in writing before you assume the SaaS option qualifies.
Umbraco fits when your organization can maintain .NET code itself or through a partner it trusts. The core is MIT-licensed, and the current requirements documentation calls for .NET 10.0 or higher with a SQLite or SQL Server database. Pick the release line before you start: Umbraco 17 is an LTS release published on November 27, 2025, with end of life on November 27, 2028, while Umbraco 13 reaches end of life on December 14, 2026. Hosting is also your choice. You can run Umbraco in your own cloud account or data center, or use Umbraco Cloud, a managed Azure service with automatic backups, a global CDN and Development, Staging and Live environments. Confirm internally who will apply each LTS upgrade, test it and carry the on-call duty, because that work recurs for the life of the site.
Which platform fits which scenario
This table matches common team profiles to the platform that usually fits them better, with the reason for each. Read each row against your own hosting rules, marketing needs and developer skills, because several answers depend on which Umbraco add-on licenses you need and who will maintain the site. Use it to shortlist options, then confirm the details against the current vendor terms.
| Scenario | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS-first team that wants the vendor to run hosting and upgrades | Xperience by Kentico (SaaS) | Kentico runs the SaaS service, so your team does not operate the platform. Umbraco can also be hosted for you on Umbraco Cloud, but that means a managed Azure service you still configure and deploy against. |
| Team that must keep data in its own region or on its own servers | Umbraco, self-hosted | Umbraco CMS is MIT licensed and runs on infrastructure you choose. Confirm where your Kentico SaaS or private cloud data would reside before assuming it meets your residency requirement. |
| Marketing-heavy team needing personalization, A/B tests and campaigns | Xperience by Kentico, or Umbraco with Engage | Kentico includes marketing features in its product tiers. Umbraco Engage is a separate add-on requiring its own license for production domains, so budget and confirm its scope before choosing Umbraco for this profile. |
| Team using forms and collecting visitor submissions on a public site | Umbraco with Forms license, or Kentico bundled forms | Umbraco Forms runs unrestricted locally but needs a valid license on a public domain, sold per domain. Kentico's forms come within its licensed product, which can simplify procurement for some teams. |
| Headless-only build feeding a separate front end | Umbraco, using the Content Delivery API | Umbraco's Content Delivery API is opt-in and returns JSON for headless use. Confirm that preview, protected content and your front end framework meet your needs, since Kentico's headless delivery features differ from Umbraco's. |
| Organization with strong .NET engineers and no appetite for vendor-tied tiers | Umbraco, self-hosted | Your developers can own the codebase, upgrades between LTS releases and hosting decisions. Umbraco 17 is an LTS release with end of life on November 27, 2028, so plan upgrade effort against that date. |
| Team without .NET developers that wants bundled features with vendor support | Xperience by Kentico | Kentico's bundled tooling and vendor support may suit teams that lack in-house .NET skills. Umbraco still needs developers for templates, document types and hosting, so ask a partner to quote that work if you choose it. |
Where the data lives and who controls the platform
Kentico and Umbraco differ mainly in who operates the platform and who decides when it changes. The cards below cover where content and member data sit, how access is controlled, what backups exist, how compliance evidence is prepared and how upgrade timing is set.
Data location and hosting model
Xperience by Kentico is offered as SaaS or private cloud, so the vendor or its hosting partner operates the environment. Self-hosted Umbraco keeps the database and media files in the infrastructure you choose, while Umbraco Cloud hosts the site on Microsoft Azure. Before you decide, ask Kentico in writing which regions, subprocessors and data stores hold your content and form submissions, and confirm where Umbraco Cloud stores your project data.
Database support and requirements
Umbraco runs on a SQLite or SQL Server database, and current releases require .NET 10.0 or higher. That gives your team a known runtime and database choice to standardize on. Confirm with your DBA and platform team that the chosen database and hosting target meet your security baseline, and compare that against the database and hosting options in your current Kentico contract.
Member authentication and API access
Umbraco's Content Delivery API is opt-in and must be enabled in configuration. It returns unpublished content only for preview with an API key, and serves protected content only when member authentication is enabled. Map each audience (editors, public visitors, logged-in members, front-end applications) to a specific access rule, and test that unpublished and protected content cannot be read anonymously.
Backups and recovery responsibility
Umbraco Cloud includes automatic backups, so restore responsibility sits with the platform service under that plan. A self-hosted Umbraco site makes backup design your job: database dumps, media folders and configuration must be captured together and restore-tested. Ask Kentico for its backup frequency, retention period and restore procedure in the SaaS or private cloud terms, and confirm the recovery time you need before you sign.
Compliance evidence and attestations
DeployOpen prepares systems, controls and evidence for compliance assessments, but it does not issue audit reports, attestations or certifications. Independent auditors and certification bodies do that work. For Kentico, request the current audit reports and attestations from the vendor. For Umbraco, your team and your auditor will assess the hosting, access and logging controls you configure, so plan that evidence before the assessment window opens.
Upgrade timing and LTS control
Umbraco publishes long-term support releases with fixed end-of-life dates, so you choose when to move between versions within those dates. Umbraco 17 is an LTS release published on November 27, 2025, and Umbraco 13 reaches end of life on December 14, 2026. Kentico sets upgrade timing for SaaS customers, and Xperience 13 support ends on January 1, 2027. Build an upgrade calendar that tracks these dates for whichever platform you run.
How Umbraco licensing and LTS cycles affect the decision
The licensing question comes down to which parts of the stack you pay for. The Umbraco-CMS repository is MIT licensed, so the core CMS carries no license fee to download, run or modify. The paid pieces are the add-ons. Umbraco Forms runs unrestricted on a local machine but needs a valid license once it serves a public domain. Licenses are sold per domain, cover subdomains, include two development or testing domains, and allow one license per installation. Umbraco Engage follows the same logic: a valid license covers one production domain and up to two development or testing domains. Before you compare Kentico's tiers with Umbraco, list every public hostname, including campaign and regional subdomains, and ask Umbraco for the license count that matches it.
Support dates should drive the timeline. Umbraco 17 is a long-term support release published on November 27, 2025, with end of life on November 27, 2028, end of Extended Long-Term Support on November 27, 2030 and end of service on Umbraco Cloud on November 27, 2031. Umbraco 13, the previous LTS release, reaches end of life on December 14, 2026, with XLTS ending December 14, 2028. The Umbraco end-of-service policy describes Extended Long-Term Support as a phase of up to 24 months, during which hosting continues on Umbraco Cloud. After XLTS ends, a project can keep running on dedicated resources for 12 months. If you self-host, confirm with Umbraco which of these phases applies to the version you choose and who in your organization owns the upgrade decision.
Current Umbraco documentation requires .NET 10.0 or higher, so the platform choice also sets your runtime. Check this against your application servers, container base images and the .NET support status your security team accepts, and confirm that your custom packages, third-party Umbraco extensions and Forms or Engage versions support the same runtime. Plan the upgrade path to Umbraco 17 or a later LTS as part of the migration, not after it, because a site rebuilt on an older release will reach end of life sooner. Ask your Umbraco partner or developers to name the target version, the date each planned upgrade will be tested, and the license count you need for each environment.
What each option costs to own, by component
Kentico's cost is driven by its commercial agreement, which bundles the platform, the hosting model and most of the marketing and personalization capabilities under one contract. Kentico offers Xperience by Kentico as SaaS or private cloud, and the older Xperience 13 is governed by a separate support lifecycle. Pricing is tiered, so the figure depends on the edition, the number of sites or instances, the hosting model and the level of support you buy. Ask Kentico for these items in writing before comparing.
- Edition and tier: Confirm which edition and tier cover the features you use today, and which ones you would need after migration.
- Hosting model: Compare the SaaS fee with the private cloud fee, including who operates the environments and who handles patching.
- Renewal terms: Ask how the price changes at renewal, how usage is measured and what triggers a higher tier.
- Upgrade path: Ask what an upgrade from Xperience 13 costs in license terms, separate from your own project work.
- Support scope: Confirm which support and security fixes are included, and for how long.
Before you sign, ask Kentico to put the tier, hosting model, renewal conditions and upgrade inclusions in one written quote so you can line them up against the Umbraco components below.
Umbraco CMS is MIT licensed, so the core product has no license fee. Your recurring costs come from the components you choose around it: Umbraco Forms and Umbraco Engage licenses where you use them on public domains, hosting or Umbraco Cloud, and the developers who maintain the site. Forms and Engage are sold per domain, so the count of production and subdomain names drives the cost. Confirm current terms with Umbraco before budgeting, because these terms can change.
- Umbraco CMS core: Free under the MIT license, with no per-site or per-user fee for the CMS itself.
- Forms and Engage: Forms runs unrestricted locally but needs a license on a public domain, sold per domain. Engage needs a license for one production domain plus development domains.
- Hosting or Umbraco Cloud: Choose between your own infrastructure and Umbraco Cloud, which is managed on Microsoft Azure and includes backups, a CDN and staging environments.
- Developers and partners: Plan for the .NET engineers who build, maintain and secure the site, whether in-house or through a partner.
- Migration and LTS upgrades: Budget for the one-time rebuild and for each LTS upgrade, such as the move from Umbraco 13 to Umbraco 17.
Ask Umbraco for current Forms and Engage pricing by domain count, and ask your hosting provider or Umbraco Cloud for a quote that lists storage, bandwidth and environments separately.
Hosting is where the two models differ most. Kentico's SaaS and private cloud options bundle operations into the vendor contract. With Umbraco you choose between Umbraco Cloud, which is managed on Microsoft Azure with automatic backups, a global CDN, HTTPS and Development, Staging and Live environments, and self-hosting on your own or a third-party infrastructure. Self-hosting shifts operating work to your team but may reduce the recurring hosting bill, depending on your scale and existing estate.
- Environments: Count development, staging, production and disaster recovery environments, since each one has a cost.
- Backups and recovery: Under Umbraco Cloud, backups are included. Self-hosted, you own backup scheduling, storage and restore testing.
- Content delivery: A global CDN is included with Umbraco Cloud. Self-hosted, you must budget for a CDN or caching layer if you need one.
- Database: Umbraco runs on SQLite or SQL Server, so confirm which database licensing and support your organization already has.
- Runtime support: Current Umbraco CMS documentation requires .NET 10.0 or higher, so plan for runtime upgrades.
Ask for each hosting option to show compute, storage, database, backup, CDN and support as separate line items so you can compare them with the Kentico SaaS or private cloud quote.
Upgrade cost is recurring in both models, but the timing and the work differ. Umbraco publishes LTS releases with dates for end of life, Extended Long-Term Support and end of service on Umbraco Cloud. Umbraco 17 is an LTS release published on November 27, 2025, with end of life on November 27, 2028. Umbraco 13, the previous LTS release, reaches end of life on December 14, 2026. Kentico's upgrade cost depends on your edition and its roadmap, which you should confirm in writing.
- Umbraco LTS dates: Umbraco 17 reaches end of life on November 27, 2028, and Extended Long-Term Support ends on November 27, 2030.
- Umbraco 13 deadline: Umbraco 13 reaches end of life on December 14, 2026, which sets a near-term upgrade need for existing sites.
- Cloud service end: Umbraco Cloud service for Umbraco 17 ends on November 27, 2031, according to Umbraco's end-of-service policy.
- Kentico upgrades: Ask whether upgrades between Kentico versions are included in your tier, or whether they are separate projects.
- Project work: Each upgrade needs regression testing, add-on compatibility checks and developer time, regardless of platform.
Build an upgrade calendar for the next five years in both models, since the cost of a missed LTS window is usually higher than the cost of planned upgrades.
A useful comparison needs the same scope on both sides. Start with a written list of the features, domains, environments, users and integrations your site uses today, then request matching quotes. Ask for one-time and recurring costs to be separated, and ask each vendor or partner to state what is excluded. DeployOpen does not publish prices, and any estimate comes from a written scope for your environment.
- One-time costs: Migration, content modeling, front-end build, integrations, testing and training.
- Recurring costs: Licenses, hosting, CDN, backups, support, security patching and LTS upgrades.
- Domain counts: List production, staging and development domains, since Forms and Engage licensing depends on them.
- Staffing model: State whether developers are in-house, contracted or provided through a partner, and what each role does.
- Exit terms: Ask how content, media and configuration can be exported if you change platform again.
Before you compare totals, confirm that each quote covers the same LTS version, hosting model and marketing scope, so the difference reflects the platform rather than unlike assumptions.
What a move from Kentico to Umbraco involves
The sequence turns Kentico page types, widgets, forms and marketing rules into Umbraco document types and content on infrastructure you control, with URLs kept and a supported Umbraco LTS version as the landing point. Effort depends on how complex the site is, and the dedicated migration guide covers the detail.
Inventory page types, widgets and integrations
List every Kentico page type, widget, custom module, form, personalization rule and external integration, and record which ones are used on live pages. Your developers do this with the Kentico admin, the database schema and the codebase, and a site owner confirms which items are still needed. The output is a register of content features with owners, so nothing is lost by accident when the rebuild starts.
Map page types to Umbraco document types
Translate each Kentico page type into an Umbraco document type with defined properties, element types for reusable blocks, and templates or views for rendering. Decide early whether delivery stays server-rendered or uses the Umbraco Content Delivery API for headless output, since the API is opt-in and must be enabled in configuration. The output is a signed-off content model that editors and developers both review.
Plan content and media transfer
Decide how existing pages, structured content, media files and taxonomy move into Umbraco, usually through scripted extraction from the Kentico database and an import into Umbraco, with a staging run before production. Confirm with your team which content is in scope, which is archived and what media metadata must survive. The output is a repeatable import job and a reconciliation report comparing item counts and sample pages between source and target.
Rebuild forms and marketing features
Rebuild contact forms and surveys in Umbraco Forms, and decide whether personalization, A/B testing and campaign targeting need Umbraco Engage. Both add-ons require a valid license on a public domain, and the license terms cover one production domain plus development or testing domains, so confirm the domain count with the vendor before you build. Kentico marketing automation and analytics data generally need separate tooling, which should be chosen and tested. The output is a list of rebuilt forms, a tested data flow to your CRM or analytics platform and a documented licensing decision.
Keep URLs and redirects intact
Map every indexed Kentico URL to its Umbraco equivalent, including paths generated by page hierarchy, and create 301 redirects for anything that changes. Compare the crawl data from your search tools and the server logs with the redirect map to find gaps. The output is a tested redirect file and a list of exceptions that the SEO owner has approved.
Choose the Umbraco LTS version to land on
Select the Umbraco release the site will run on before development finishes, favoring an LTS release. Umbraco 17 is an LTS release published on November 27, 2025, with end of life on November 27, 2028, and Umbraco 13 reaches end of life on December 14, 2026, so check the current support dates on the Umbraco end-of-service policy before you commit. Confirm the .NET runtime requirement in the Umbraco requirements docs, since current documentation requires .NET 10.0 or higher. The output is a written version decision with the upgrade path to the next LTS.
Test functionality, content and security
Run functional tests on templates, forms, search and the rebuilt marketing flows, then compare content and performance against the Kentico site on the same pages. Include security testing of the new site and its integrations, and confirm that preview and protected content behave as designed. The output is a signed test report with open defects triaged, and a rollback plan approved by the business owner.
Cut over and run in parallel where possible
Switch DNS or the load balancer to the Umbraco site during a planned window, keeping the Kentico instance available for read-only reference and rollback until the new site is stable. Where the business allows, run both sites in parallel with content freezes or a delta import for changes made after the first copy. The output is a live Umbraco site, a monitored cutover log and a retirement date for the Kentico environment approved in writing.
Questions buyers ask before choosing Umbraco over Kentico
How much effort does a move from Kentico to Umbraco take?
Effort depends mostly on how much custom Kentico code, page types, widgets and marketing logic you have, not on the CMS itself. Content models usually map to Umbraco document types, but widgets, forms, personalization rules and campaign logic have to be rebuilt in Umbraco or in a replacement add-on. Teams with a small number of page types and few custom widgets have the least to rebuild, while sites that depend on Kentico's marketing automation or many custom form flows carry the most work. Ask any provider to inventory these items in writing before agreeing a scope and timeline.
Can our own team migrate from Kentico to Umbraco without outside help?
A team with working .NET and Umbraco experience can do the migration itself, but the decision should rest on skills and capacity rather than on the CMS alone. The work involves data model mapping, content and media transfer, URL redirects, template rebuilds and testing, which are all tasks that need someone who has done them before. Teams without Umbraco experience usually benefit from an implementation partner for the first project. DeployOpen plans, implements and documents this kind of migration under a fixed-scope agreement, with scope and deliverables agreed in writing before work starts.
What skills do our developers need to run Umbraco after the move?
Your developers need working knowledge of C#, ASP.NET Core and the Umbraco document type and template model, because Umbraco is a .NET application and changes to content models or rendering happen in code. Current Umbraco CMS documentation requires .NET 10.0 or higher, so your team must also be comfortable with .NET upgrades and build pipelines. Operations skills matter too: you will manage the database (SQLite or SQL Server), backups, hosting and security patching yourselves unless you choose Umbraco Cloud. Confirm this skill map against your current staff before committing.
How long does a Kentico to Umbraco migration take?
No fixed duration can be given for this migration, because it depends on the number of templates, content volume, custom integrations and the testing your organization requires. Ask any provider for a timeline based on a written inventory of your Kentico site, and ask how that estimate accounts for content freeze, parallel run and URL validation. Also check your own deadline: Kentico Xperience 13 support ends on January 1, 2027, so plan the schedule backward from that date and from any internal change-freeze periods.
Do we need Umbraco Forms or Umbraco Engage to replace Kentico's marketing features?
Not always. Umbraco CMS itself is MIT licensed and free, but Umbraco Forms and Umbraco Engage are separate add-ons with their own licenses. Umbraco Forms runs unrestricted locally but requires a valid license on a public domain, sold per domain, with one license per installation. Umbraco Engage, which covers personalization, analytics, A/B testing and targeted campaigns, also requires a valid license for a production domain. If you only need simple forms, you may use other open-source form tools, and if you need campaign automation, compare dedicated marketing tools. Confirm license counts for each domain in your estate before budgeting.
Which Umbraco LTS version should we choose for the migration?
Choose the most recent long-term support release that gives you the longest support window for your planned lifetime, and confirm it against the official policy before you start. Umbraco 17 is an LTS release published on November 27, 2025, with end of life on November 27, 2028, end of Extended Long-Term Support on November 27, 2030 and end of service on Umbraco Cloud on November 27, 2031. Umbraco 13 reaches end of life on December 14, 2026, so landing on it means a further upgrade soon after the move. Ask your team to map each LTS date against your own upgrade cadence.
What happens to hosting on Umbraco Cloud when an LTS release reaches end of service?
Umbraco states that hosting continues on Umbraco Cloud for the duration of Extended Long-Term Support, a phase of up to 24 months. After XLTS ends, projects can run on dedicated resources for 12 months, so the service end date is not the same as the point where your site goes offline. For Umbraco 17, the Cloud service end date is November 27, 2031. If you self-host instead, you control the schedule, but you also carry the upgrade and patching work after the LTS window closes. Confirm the current end-of-service terms with Umbraco before you choose a hosting model.
What to confirm with Kentico and Umbraco before signing
Start with the calendar and the scope of your current Kentico agreement. Confirm the renewal or term end date, the notice period, and whether the price is tied to a tier, a site count, or a number of contacts or users. Then list which Kentico modules your site actually uses, such as the page builder, forms, personalization, email marketing, or the marketing automation features, and which of them your marketers touch every week. Each module you rely on is a rebuild item on the Umbraco side, so an accurate inventory is the basis for any quote. Ask Kentico in writing what happens to your data and licenses at the end of the term, and what export options exist.
Next, settle the add-on questions before anyone compares prices. Umbraco Forms and Umbraco Engage are licensed per domain, and the vendor documentation describes how production, subdomain and development or testing domains are counted. Write down every production domain, subdomain, staging host and test environment that would run forms or Engage, and confirm the license terms directly with Umbraco for that list. Also confirm which .NET version your current stack targets and whether your team has the skills to build and support an Umbraco 17 site on the current .NET requirement, since the platform choice affects who you need to hire or retain.
Finally, confirm the constraints that decide the hosting model and timeline. Check your data residency obligations, including where personal data, backups and logs may sit and which regions your auditors accept. Decide whether you will self-host or use Umbraco Cloud, and confirm the Azure region options if Cloud is in scope. Ask whether the Kentico Xperience 13 end of support date applies to your site, since that deadline may dictate when you must cut over. If your contract ends before the cutover, plan a bridge agreement with Kentico rather than assuming a short extension will be granted. Confirm each of these points with the vendors and with your own legal and security teams before signing.
