Contentlayer vs XM Cloud

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

Contentlayer
Contentlayer
Content made easy for developers. Contentlayer is a content SDK that validates and transforms your content into type-safe JSON data you can easily import into your application.
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.

What Users Say

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

Contentlayer's Key Strengths

Read what users love about Contentlayer.

XM Cloud's Key Strengths

Read what users love about XM Cloud.

Contentlayer's Key Issues

Read what issues users have with Contentlayer.

XM Cloud's Key Issues

Read what issues users have with XM Cloud.

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What Marketers & Content Creators Say

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

Contentlayer's Editorial Experience Highlights

What marketers love about Contentlayer's editor.

XM Cloud's Editorial Experience Highlights

What marketers love about XM Cloud's editor.

Contentlayer's Editorial Experience Issues

What marketers dislike about Contentlayer's editor.

XM Cloud's Editorial Experience Issues

What marketers dislike about XM Cloud's editor.

Mobile Editing

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

Contentlayer:
Not Suitable for Mobile

Contentlayer lacks explicit features for a mobile-first editing experience; primarily geared towards developer use.

"Contentlayer is a content SDK that validates and transforms your content into type-safe JSON data you can easily import into your application."
Source
"Contentlayer makes working with content easy for developers, focusing on static-site generator integration rather than mobile-first experiences."
Source
"ContentLayer has been a popular choice for developers looking to manage content as data, especially in Next.js applications."
Source
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

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.

Contentlayer:
AI-Powered Related Content

Contentlayer supports automatic links between related blog posts using a content collection feature.

"Contentlayer supports defining relations between content types, enabling automatic linking and related content generation."
Source
"Contentlayer allows for automatic generation of related posts based on defined relations in the content model."
Source
"Contentlayer provides a mechanism to create structured content and manage relationships including automatic internal linking."
Source
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

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.

Contentlayer:
No Automatic CTA Linking

Contentlayer does not support automatic CTA linking for personalized actions. HubSpot enables some level of dynamic behavior with CTAs, but not fully automated linking based on content analysis.

"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."
Source
"Calls to action (CTA) are another way to personalize the user experience by linking the functionality of marketing automation."
Source
"Using personalization tokens in CTAs is not built-in HubSpot functionality."
Source
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

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.

Contentlayer:
No Comments Supported

Contentlayer does not support built-in commenting features for users. Custom solutions may be created, but no native support exists.

"Updates will prioritize fixing pressing bugs and introducing new features."
Source
"Users to add comments, or applications supporting user-contributed content."
Source
"We're looking for more examples to better understand the use case before introducing this feature."
Source
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

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.

Contentlayer:
No Multi-tenancy

Contentlayer does not support multi-tenancy for managing multiple client accounts.

"Contentlayer is a content SDK that validates and transforms your content into type-safe JSON data you can easily import into your application."
Source
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

What Developers Say

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

Ease of Integrating Contentlayer:
Medium
Integration with Contentlayer is relatively straightforward for developers familiar with Next.js but presents challenges with version compatibility.
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.

Contentlayer's DX Highlights

What developers love about building with Contentlayer.

XM Cloud's DX Highlights

What developers love about building with XM Cloud.

Contentlayer's DX Issues

What developers dislike about building with Contentlayer.

XM Cloud's DX Issues

What developers dislike about building with XM Cloud.

Content Modelling

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

Contentlayer:
Customisable Content Types

Contentlayer supports flexible content modelling with custom content types and fields like title, date, and body.

"Flexible content modelling through its configuration file."
Source
"Flexible content modelling allows you to structure your content in a powerful way."
Source
"Contentlayer allows for flexible content modelling through its configuration file, supporting custom content types."
Source
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

Custom React Components

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

Contentlayer:
Custom React Components Supported

Contentlayer supports custom React components via MDX, allowing marketers to embed them in content.

"You can override built-in HTML elements and create your own custom React components using the components prop of the MDXContent component."
Source
"Use custom React components to render and style certain types of content; Embed React components directly into your content using MDX."
Source
"Using custom components with Next Contentlayer is similar to Next MDX. You can define a components object and pass it to your MDX content."
Source
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

Full Text Search

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

Contentlayer:
Full Text Search Supported

Full text search allows searching across multiple fields in a blog using Contentlayer.

"Full text search enables searching through content data efficiently."
Source
"The way blog posts should be stored in the database should make them amenable for search (full-text, search by containing image/video ...)."
Source
"This update indicates support for continued features, including full text search capabilities."
Source
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

Starter Kits

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

Contentlayer:
Available

Multiple starter kits and templates are available for Contentlayer.

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

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.)

Pricing & Plans

Compare the prices of Contentlayer and XM Cloud.

Contentlayer's Pricing
XM Cloud's Pricing
XM Cloud
$0 / subscription
- Bundled with Pages and embedded personalization
- Includes Headless Services and Experience Edge in a single subscription

Compare with other technologies

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