Kentico 13 End of Life: Where Marketing Teams Should Go Next
Kentico Xperience 13 stops receiving fixes on December 31, 2026. Here is how to choose between staying in the Kentico family and moving somewhere new.
The short answer
Kentico Xperience 13 reaches end of life on December 31, 2026, with no paid extended support. The lowest-risk path for most teams is Xperience by Kentico, which has an official migration tool and keeps your .NET skills. If you are ready to rebuild, HubSpot Content Hub and Storyblok rate highest for marketing teams, and Umbraco is the low-cost .NET alternative.
Key takeaways
- After December 31, 2026, Kentico Xperience 13 receives no more fixes, including security fixes, and there is no paid extension.
- Most migrations take three to six months, so a team starting now will likely need a short security bridge plan for early 2027.
- Xperience by Kentico is the path of least resistance: an open-source migration tool, the same .NET skills and the same all-in-one marketing approach.
- If you are going to rebuild anyway, compare it honestly against platforms that rate higher for marketer self-service and speed, such as HubSpot Content Hub and Storyblok.
- Kentico 13 had built-in A/B testing. Xperience by Kentico does not, so plan for a replacement if your team relies on testing.
Our picks at a glance
Xperience by KenticoOfficial migration tooling, same .NET skills.
HubSpot Content HubCMS and marketing tools in one move.
StoryblokVisual editing on a managed platform.
UmbracoFree software, friendly community.
Optimizely SaaS CMSExperimentation and AI, fully managed.
Why this decision matters
For thousands of mid-market organizations, Kentico Xperience 13 has been a dependable workhorse: a capable page builder, built-in marketing tools, solid workflow and a strong partner network. It is also at the end of the road. Since January 2026 it has received security fixes only, and on December 31, 2026 those stop too.
That deadline is close. Kentico shipped seventeen security hotfixes for version 13 during 2026, roughly one every two weeks, and the product's security history includes flaws listed in the US government's catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities. Running an unpatched site after the deadline is a risk your security team will not accept for long.
The good news is that a forced move is also a chance to fix what has been frustrating your team. This guide compares the natural upgrade, Xperience by Kentico, with the strongest alternatives for a marketing-led organization.
What to look for
- 1
Migration effort and risk
How much of your content, templates and integrations can move with tooling, and how much has to be rebuilt. Staying in the same family usually means less risk; switching usually means more rebuild.
- 2
Marketing features you rely on today
Kentico 13 bundled forms, email, automation, personalization and A/B testing. List which ones your team actually uses, then check that each has a home on the new platform.
- 3
Team skills
Most Kentico sites are built and supported by .NET developers or a .NET agency. Moving to a JavaScript-based or fully managed platform changes who you need.
- 4
Running cost after launch
Kentico 13 was usually self-hosted, with patching, servers and upgrades to manage. Managed platforms remove most of that effort.
- 5
Time to the deadline
With about three months left, the realistic question is not only where to go but how to stay safe until you get there.
The ratings at a glance
Ranked by Fit score for this topic. Dots run from one (Limited) to five (Excellent); each review below spells the ratings out.
| Platform | Fit | Self-service | Speed | Budget | Upkeep | Growth tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1HubSpot Content Hub | 6.9/10 | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Strong |
| 2Storyblok | 6.7/10 | Strong | Strong | Good | Fair | Limited |
3 Contentstack | 6.6/10 | Good | Good | Fair | Good | Good |
| 4Umbraco | 6.1/10 | Fair | Good | Strong | Fair | Limited |
| 5Optimizely SaaS CMS | 6.0/10 | Good | Fair | Limited | Good | Good |
| 6Xperience by Kentico | 5.9/10 | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair |
7 Sitefinity | 5.3/10 | Fair | Fair | Limited | Fair | Good |
- 1HubSpot Content Hub6.9/10
- Marketer self-service
- Good
- Speed to launch
- Good
- Budget predictability
- Good
- Low IT upkeep
- Fair
- Campaign & growth tools
- Strong
- 2Storyblok6.7/10
- Marketer self-service
- Strong
- Speed to launch
- Strong
- Budget predictability
- Good
- Low IT upkeep
- Fair
- Campaign & growth tools
- Limited
- 3Contentstack6.6/10
- Marketer self-service
- Good
- Speed to launch
- Good
- Budget predictability
- Fair
- Low IT upkeep
- Good
- Campaign & growth tools
- Good
- 4Umbraco6.1/10
- Marketer self-service
- Fair
- Speed to launch
- Good
- Budget predictability
- Strong
- Low IT upkeep
- Fair
- Campaign & growth tools
- Limited
- 5Optimizely SaaS CMS6.0/10
- Marketer self-service
- Good
- Speed to launch
- Fair
- Budget predictability
- Limited
- Low IT upkeep
- Good
- Campaign & growth tools
- Good
- 6Xperience by Kentico5.9/10
- Marketer self-service
- Good
- Speed to launch
- Fair
- Budget predictability
- Fair
- Low IT upkeep
- Fair
- Campaign & growth tools
- Fair
- 7Sitefinity5.3/10
- Marketer self-service
- Fair
- Speed to launch
- Fair
- Budget predictability
- Limited
- Low IT upkeep
- Fair
- Campaign & growth tools
- Good
The shortlist, reviewed
HubSpot Content Hub
The highest-rated destination for marketing teams in this group. If your Kentico site exists mainly to generate leads, HubSpot replaces the CMS and the marketing tools in one move, with launches in weeks rather than months.
- Best for
- B2B marketing teams whose Kentico site is primarily a lead generation engine.
- Watch out for
- Weak for complex structured content, logged-in portals or commerce. Templates use HubSpot's own language, so this is a long-term commitment.
- What it costs
- Published. Professional from $450 per month (three seats), Enterprise from $1,500 per month.
Storyblok
If your team wants to leave the server-and-patch world behind, Storyblok gives marketers a visual editor that will feel familiar after Kentico's page builder, on a managed platform with very little to operate.
- Best for
- Organizations ready to rebuild their front end on a modern stack with an agency partner.
- Watch out for
- Your developers will need JavaScript framework skills rather than .NET. Kentico's built-in automation, email and personalization will need other tools.
- What it costs
- Published below enterprise. Growth at $99 per month, Growth Plus at $349 per month.
Contentstack
A strong enterprise headless option with governance, workflows, localization and a capable AI assistant, plus native personalization and automated testing to replace what Kentico provided.
- Best for
- Larger Kentico customers with several sites and languages who want to modernize the whole content operation.
- Watch out for
- Quote-only, metered pricing and a typical two to four month project for mid-market scopes. No native forms.
- What it costs
- Quote-only. Free Explorer tier for evaluation.
Umbraco
The low-cost way to stay on .NET. Umbraco is free open-source software with a large, friendly community and flat-priced managed cloud hosting. Your Kentico developers will be productive quickly.
- Best for
- Cost-conscious .NET organizations that mostly need a solid content-managed website.
- Watch out for
- The page editor is less visual than Kentico's, and marketing automation, forms and personalization are paid add-ons. No SOC 2 report.
- What it costs
- Free software. Umbraco Cloud from €45 per month, Standard €280, Professional €730.
Optimizely SaaS CMS
A step up to an enterprise suite with Microsoft heritage, the strongest experimentation in the market and capable AI agents, on fully managed software with little to operate.
- Best for
- Growing organizations ready to invest in personalization and testing at enterprise level.
- Watch out for
- Significantly more expensive than Kentico, with opaque pricing and add-ons. Projects typically take three to six months.
- What it costs
- Quote-only. Priced on traffic and feature tier.
Xperience by Kentico
The natural upgrade. Kentico provides an open-source migration tool and a migration assistant plugin, your developers keep their .NET skills, and the all-in-one approach to content, customer profiles, personalization, forms and email carries over. A new release has shipped every month of 2026.
- Best for
- Kentico 13 customers who are broadly happy with Kentico and want the lowest-risk move.
- Watch out for
- It is not a simple version upgrade; partners report three to six months for typical migrations. Built-in A/B testing is gone, its AI agents are still in preview, and there was a run of high-severity security advisories in 2026.
- What it costs
- Quote-only. Licensed by channels, tier and cloud level as a fixed subscription, with no consumption spikes.
Sitefinity
Another .NET platform with an integrated marketing stack: a built-in customer data platform, personalization, SEO tools and a mature drag-and-drop page builder, plus SOC 2, ISO 27001 and a HIPAA agreement.
- Best for
- Regulated .NET organizations that want built-in marketing tools and a choice of hosting.
- Watch out for
- High, opaque total cost, an average implementation of around six months and recurring critical security vulnerabilities. Self-hosting brings much of the same patching burden you are leaving behind.
- What it costs
- Quote-only. Licensed per server or domain, with editor seats in blocks of five.
Stay in the family or start fresh?
Every Kentico 13 customer faces the same fork. Neither path is wrong; they suit different situations.
Stay: move to Xperience by Kentico
Choose this if your team likes how Kentico works, your partner knows it well and the deadline is the main pressure. You keep the .NET skill set and the all-in-one model, and Kentico's tooling carries much of the content across.
Switch: rebuild on a new platform
Choose this if your team has outgrown Kentico, wants to stop managing servers, or needs very different capabilities. Since a Kentico 13 to Xperience by Kentico move involves substantial rebuilding anyway, the extra effort of switching is smaller than many teams expect.
If you will not make December 31
Many teams starting now will not be live on the new platform by the deadline. That is common, but it needs a plan rather than a hope.
Agree the risk with security now
Tell your security team the expected go-live date and agree which interim controls they need.
Reduce the attack surface
Ask your partner about restricting access to the admin interface, adding a web application firewall and removing unused features and modules.
Freeze new development
Put new features on the new platform only. Every change to the old site is work you will do twice.
Migrate the highest-value pages first
A phased launch that moves key marketing pages early shortens your exposure.
Frequently asked questions
When is Kentico Xperience 13 end of life?
Kentico Xperience 13 reaches end of life on December 31, 2026. Since January 1, 2026 it has received security fixes only, and Kentico does not offer paid extended support beyond the end-of-life date.
Is upgrading from Kentico 13 to Xperience by Kentico an upgrade or a migration?
It is a migration. Xperience by Kentico is a new product, and partners report typical projects of three to six months, longer for highly customized sites. Kentico's open-source migration tool moves much of the content, but templates and customizations generally need to be rebuilt.
What are the best alternatives to Kentico?
For marketing-led teams, HubSpot Content Hub and Storyblok rate highest among the alternatives we compared. Umbraco and Sitefinity keep you on .NET, and Optimizely is the enterprise step up. Xperience by Kentico remains the lowest-risk path for teams that want to stay with Kentico.
Does Xperience by Kentico have A/B testing?
Not built in. Kentico's own migration guidance notes that A/B testing is not supported in Xperience by Kentico, so teams that relied on testing in Kentico 13 should plan for a separate testing tool.
How we rated these platforms
Each rating combines the relevant criteria from our independent scorecards into a five-point scale. The Fit score blends the ratings below, weighted for this topic, into one number out of 10. Ratings are recalculated whenever a scorecard is updated, so the order above always reflects current evidence. The written analysis was last reviewed on October 1, 2026.
Scorecards and platform inclusion are unsponsored: no vendor pays to appear in this guide or to change a rating. Full criteria, weights and evidence are in the methodology and on each platform’s scorecard. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Still deciding?
Answer seven questions for a shortlist built around your team, or put the top two side by side.