Adobe AEM vs dotCMS
Are you looking for an open source alternative to Adobe AEM?
dotCMS is one of the best open-source alternatives for companies considering Adobe AEM. Due to its hybrid architecture and extensive APIs, dotCMS gives both marketers and developers the flexibility to build amazing user experience at scale.
Why a Hybrid CMS is Better
Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) is a robust tool that helps manage digital experiences. However, its monolithic nature makes it very expensive and unwieldy. It offers smart automation tools, solid development tools, and cloud hosting to deliver content across multiple digital channels but includes them all in a single suite platform.
While this sounds appealing, Adobe AEM has two fundamental problems that highlight a major issue with the software suite: it has a high cost and is difficult to use. AEM’s proprietary architecture and integrated digital tools come at a price and may result in you paying for features you don't need. Adobe’s AEM also has a steep learning curve and is difficult to integrate with third-party software.
While a proprietary suite CMS sounds like a great idea on paper, you should think twice before committing to one, as their costs and lack of flexibility have the potential to make website building and digital experience development a pain.
dotCMS is one of the best open-source alternatives to Adobe Experience Manager. Due to its hybrid architecture and extensive APIs, dotCMS gives both marketers and developers the flexibility to build amazing user experiences at scale in a more flexible, intuitive and cost-effective package.
Easier to Learn
If there is something users dislike about Adobe AEM, it can be too much to handle for novice or non-technical users. On the other hand, due to its hybrid nature, LowCode and NoCode tooling features, dotCMS is ideal for dynamic startups, mid-sized businesses, and large organizations across different industries. dotCMS empowers non-technical users and content editors to build digital experiences for employees and customers alike without the help of IT teams.
Easier to Customize
According to reviewers from G2 and Capterra, once you grasp Adobe AEM — which is difficult in itself, customizing it to fit your particular workflow can prove a task on its own. dotCMS allows for thorough customization and enables technical and non-technical users to build features and extend its functionalities.
Lower Costs, Better ROI
Adobe is a leader in the digital publishing space and prices its AEM product accordingly. As a massive suite of tools, starting costs are high and can quickly escalate into seven figures. With AEM you not only pay more for the product (including features you may not need), you pay more to deploy and maintain it. dotCMS offers one of the most cost-effective hybrid CMS options on the market, including a totally free open-source Community Edition.
G2 Ratings
Side-by-side comparison of dotCMS vs. Adobe AEM based on preference data from user reviews.
- Reviewers felt that dotCMS meets the needs of their business better than Adobe Experience Manager.
- When comparing quality of ongoing product support, reviewers felt that dotCMS is the preferred option.
- For feature updates and roadmaps, our reviewers preferred the direction of dotCMS over Adobe Experience Manager.
| dotCMS (62 Reviews) | Adobe AEM (135 Reviews) | |
|---|---|---|
| Meets Requirements |
8.2
Responses: 50
|
7.9
Responses: 112
|
| Ease of Use |
7.8
Responses: 50
|
7.1
Responses: 113
|
| Ease of Setup |
6.8
Responses: 35
|
6.4
Responses: 33
|
| Ease of Admin |
7.9
Responses: 35
|
6.4
Responses: 35
|
| Quality of Support |
8.4
Responses: 49
|
7.0
Responses: 96
|
| Ease of Doing Business With |
8.7
Responses: 35
|
7.1
Responses: 32
|
| Product Direction |
7.9
Responses: 45
|
6.3
Responses: 108
|
| Enterprise Scalability |
8.6
Responses: 35
|
8.1
Responses: 65
|
Highly Rated and Recommended
We're rated Excellent 4.2/5 stars on G2 - with 60+ verified reviews
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Why TELUS Chose dotCMS
TELUS, the Canadian telecommunications giant, chose dotCMS to host its intranet and employee portal. Their previous intranet, a legacy system, couldn’t keep up with the ever-growing needs of TELUS and its subsidiaries, which called for a new intranet solution that could support a growing enterprise.
Thanks to dotCMS, TELUS strengthened its business's employee experience and gave employees of different stores and subsidiaries across Canada quick access to customer data, marketing and training materials in multiple formats and languages.