If you’re still running Kentico Xperience 13, you may be asking yourself: Should I upgrade to Xperience by Kentico, or stick with what I have? Today, we’re looking at how an upgrade can transform your digital experience and help your marketing team make more of an impact with less effort.
Why upgrading is the smartest move for your digital experience platform
Your team might be comfortable with your current CMS, but sticking with a legacy platform for short-term convenience could lead to missed opportunities down the line.
Here’s the thing—upgrading isn’t just about keeping up with technology. It’s about improving your digital operations, future-proofing your marketing stack, and empowering your team to work more efficiently.
We've rounded up 10 compelling reasons why upgrading to Xperience by Kentico is the right move for your business.
1. Evergreen & versionless platform (no more major upgrades)
Say goodbye to costly and time-consuming upgrades. Xperience by Kentico is evergreen, meaning you get continuous monthly refreshes instead of disruptive version changes.
- No more “big bang” upgrades
- Lower technical debt
- Always on the latest features and security patches
Continuous updates keep your platform fresh and future-ready, so you can focus on creating marketing campaigns that deliver results instead of dealing with upgrades and security fixes.
2. Flexible hosting with a vendor-managed SaaS option
While not cloud-native in the strict technical sense, Xperience by Kentico SaaS offers a fully managed, scalable Azure-based environment. Here's what that means for your team:
- Savings on upfront cloud infrastructure costs
- Enterprise-grade security and disaster recovery
- Automatic updates and WAF/DDoS protection
- Built-in high availability and performance optimization
For businesses and organizations that need more control, Xperience by Kentico is also available in private cloud deployments.
3. Modern & streamlined user experience
A user-friendly platform makes all the difference. Fast, intuitive access helps your team work more efficiently and avoid frantic IT requests. Built on the latest tech stack (.NET 8 and React), Xperience by Kentico offers:
- Intuitive content management experience
- Faster load times and responsiveness
- Consistent UI/UX across the entire platform
Whether you're a developer or a marketer, Xperience by Kentico was created with everyone in mind. With an intuitive interface and powerful capabilities, it helps teams get more done with less friction.
4. Built-in multichannel content management
So many channels, so little time. Upgrading removes the time and content limitations that hold you back from reaching customers where they are. Xperience by Kentico helps you engage your customers across web, email, and headless channels with one platform.
- Reusable content from a centralized Content Hub
- Hybrid headless—structured content with marketer control
- Easier governance and consistency across channels
You can create content once and confidently publish it everywhere. Marketers stay in control while developers get the flexibility they need. It’s multichannel delivery without the complexity.
5. Enhanced digital marketing features
Digital marketers love the built-in marketing features that come standard with Xperience by Kentico—it means fewer tools and a cleaner, more manageable martech stack. Plus, there's even more features to look forward to in upcoming releases.
- Easy to set up native personalization
- Marketing automation for seamless email campaigns
- Coming soon: Customer Journey Insights to better track engagement and optimize touchpoints
Xperience by Kentico’s built-in tools help you run effective campaigns—without the hassle of juggling too many third-party add-ons.
“While we only went live just over a month ago, the shift to Kentico is already proving to be a great decision. The simplicity, transparency, and scalability of the platform are helping our teams work smarter and deliver value faster. A big thank you to Devotion for supporting us through this transformation – we’re excited about what’s to come.”
6. Transparent & predictable pricing
Unpredictable costs often hold teams back from upgrading, but straightforward, transparent pricing means there's no surprises. You shouldn’t need a finance degree to understand your platform costs!
- No consumption-based pricing traps
- Transparent and predictable pricing and TCO
- Lower TCO and better budgeting predictability
Compare that to legacy DXPs or overbuilt solutions and you’ll see the price difference.
7. Enterprise-grade security and compliance
Technology is rapidly evolving, and so are security risks. Xperience by Kentico is designed to keep up, with security is built into every layer:
- ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II compliant
- Continuous patching and proactive protection with monthly refreshes
- Built-in Web Application Firewall (WAF) and DDoS protection (via Cloudflare)
These features help keep your marketing efforts and customer data secure—so you can focus on engagement, not vulnerabilities. It’s all about building confidence and trust with every interaction.
8. Smarter marketing with AI assistance
Take your campaigns to the next level with AI that’s built to support your daily work. Meet AIRA, your built-in AI assistant:
- Suggests image focal points for better design
- Helps with content and email transformations
- Will soon provide insights into customer journeys
AIRA is an integrated part of the user workflow, making it a dependable, time-saving tool that you can count on for your marketing activities.
9. Built for developers, loved by marketers
Xperience by Kentico is based on .NET 8 with extensibility and flexibility in mind.
- Streamlined deployment
- Modern DevOps-friendly architecture
- Supports low-code extensions and API integrations
While not “API-first” in the strictest sense, the architecture is developer-friendly and built for scalability.
10. A thoughtful migration experience
Upgrading from Kentico Xperience 13 to Xperience by Kentico doesn’t mean starting from scratch, all on your own! Resources are available to help you along the way:
- Clear or documented upgrade path
- Clear best practices for transition
- Up to 90% cost savings thanks to automated content and data migration, too
With the right support and tools in place, your move to Xperience by Kentico can be smooth and efficient.
Check out our video to get a feel for the familiar features and exciting updates in Xperience by Kentico.
From KX13 to Xperience by Kentico
What's new and what carries over
Ready to future-proof your digital experience?
With Xperience by Kentico, you’re not just upgrading your CMS—you’re investing in a modern, agile, and efficient way to run your digital marketing operations:
- Streamlined multichannel delivery
- AI-enhanced workflows
- Evergreen innovation
- Predictable costs and lower IT overhead
Let's take the next step together. Your team (and your future self) will thank you.
Looking for more information about upgrading from Kentico Xperience 13 to Xperience by Kentico? Download our free ebook on upgrading to learn more.
