---
title: Optimizely Content Management System Reviews
meta_title: 'Optimizely Content Management System Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing,
  & Features | G2'
meta_description: Filter 197 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry
  to find out how Optimizely Content Management System works for a business like yours.
aggregate_rating:
  rating_value: 4.0
  review_count: 197
  scale: '5'
date_modified: '2026-08-09'
parent_category:
  name: Content Management
  url: https://www.g2.com/categories/content-management
---


# Optimizely Content Management System Reviews
**Vendor:** Optimizely  
**Category:** [Web Content Management Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/web-content-management)  
**Average Rating:** 4.0/5.0  
**Total Reviews:** 197
## About Optimizely Content Management System
Optimizely&#39;s Content Management System (CMS) is purpose-built for marketers, and fully composable for developers. It’s the only CMS that supports the end-to-end content lifecycle, making it easy to deliver on-brand, high-impact digital experiences that &#39;wow&#39; audiences. User-friendly tools let marketers build channel-specific experiences in a few clicks (no coding needed), creating, previewing and publishing directly from the Visual Builder while Optimizely&#39;s modern GraphQL service enables content delivery from anywhere, to anywhere, so you can meet customers where they are. Store and organize brand-approved content for easy reuse with Optimizely&#39;s fully-integrated DAM, and apply data-driven personalization with AI-guided insights to deliver consistent, on-brand content that&#39;s optimized for individuals, in real-time.



## Optimizely Content Management System Pros & Cons
**What users like:**

- Users value the **flexibility** of Optimizely CMS, enabling tailored designs and seamless integration for various needs. (17 reviews)
- Users find the **ease of use** of Optimizely CMS highly beneficial, allowing seamless operation without training. (16 reviews)
- Users appreciate the **easy content management** of Optimizely CMS, benefiting developers and marketers alike with its intuitive interface. (16 reviews)
- Users highly value the **intuitive interface and robust content management** capabilities of Optimizely CMS for seamless use. (15 reviews)
- Users value the **powerful customization options** of Optimizely CMS, enhancing their website development and management experience. (15 reviews)
- Users value the **seamless integrations** of Optimizely CMS, enhancing content management with minimal technical effort required. (13 reviews)
- Customer Support (12 reviews)
- Intuitive (11 reviews)
- Reliability (10 reviews)
- Personalization (9 reviews)

**What users dislike:**

- Users find the **initial learning curve** of Optimizely CMS quite challenging, especially for those unfamiliar with .NET. (11 reviews)
- Users find the **licensing cost** of Optimizely CMS to be a significant barrier for smaller businesses and projects. (9 reviews)
- Users find the **learning difficulty** of Optimizely CMS challenging, particularly for new developers adapting to its complexities. (9 reviews)
- Users find the **complexity of Optimizely CMS** challenging, especially for those without a strong technical background. (6 reviews)
- Users find the **developer challenges** cumbersome, often facing steep learning curves and requiring extensive customization efforts. (5 reviews)
- Limited Features (5 reviews)
- Slow Performance (5 reviews)
- Users face **update issues** with Optimizely CMS, particularly during the transition to .NET core, causing short-term adoption challenges. (5 reviews)
- Coding Required (4 reviews)
- Lack of Customization (4 reviews)

## Optimizely Content Management System Reviews
  ### 1. Optimizely CMS, from content management to marketing workflow engine.

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Paul d. | Chief Technology Officer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** May 07, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

I have been using Optimizely CMS from 2006 and have seen it grow through all the years. The last few years its effectiveness has increased due to being part of the Optimizely One product, integrated with AI and workflow. This has really leveraged the product to go from Content Management System (CMS) to Digital Experience Platform (DXP) to Marketing Operating System (Marketing OS). It is not a place to do tasks anymore, but to check up on the final content of your workflow on every channel and in every language. It has become really easy to use.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

The real power of the Optimizely CMS is leveraged in the newest version, which requires an upgrade for many existing users to a different format. Looking at long-term strategy, you would need to do that anyways, but this could hurt user adoption on the short-term.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Optimizely CMS, in combination with its Optimizely CMP product and Opal AI, really leverage the power of workflows with Generative AI and AI agents. Instead of providing information on how to do something, the system really does the tasks for you in good quality. All steps still need human oversight, ofcourse, but free up much needed mental space for the creative work as a marketer.

  ### 2. Easy to use with lots of customization opportunities

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Alyssa G. | Web Development Specialist, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** May 06, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

I find the CMS easy to navigate while also having many customizable features to enhance the usage of the system. As a web developer, not only is the CMS interface easy to work with, but so is the code. There has been many opportunities to add our own customization and it's pretty easy to integrate any add-ons and apps. The CMS works well with 3rd party implementations as well as Optimizely's own library of apps. I feel the opportunities are kind of endless with what you can do with the platform which is always a plus. Their customer service has also been top notch with detailed reports and fast responses. 9 times out of 10, their customer support will have a solution ready for whatever problem we happen to encounter weather it be on the code side or within the CMS itself.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

I do feel that the developer documentation could be a little more detailed. I find that whenever I need to look into the documentation, i'm still left with a few questions. But on the bright side the forums will almost always have an answer within them. And also i do end up finding answers on google from independent blogs/forums and customer support usually can help fill in any missing info as well.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Optimizely allows for everyday people, who have little to no website management experience, to create a website with ease. It allows for the customization of a site and with a web developer on the team, even more customization is possible. Honestly, it's kind of endless the opportunities that are available to easily create a website with a good user experience.

  ### 3. Easy content editing and custom functionality

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Michelle H. | Web and Digital Marketing Manager, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** April 21, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

Optimizely is easy for a variety of content editors to make changes - with permission restrictions it's simple to grant team members access to manage their content contributions. The ability to develop custom functionality has been beneficial for our team and has allowed for unique user experiences to help set our brand apart from peers. The ease of integrating other 3rd party solutions into the CMS has been seamless. I've had great customer service from Optimizely over the years where they are quick to respond to tickets and helpful with requests that are less common.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

The out of box forms are a little limiting and require custom development in order to style them and/or create custom workflows. It would be great if the A/B testing capability was available outside of their ODP package.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

The site search feature allows us to easily track content topics users are interested in and/or looking for. This feature has allow our content team to develop relevant content and provide easier navigation to items people commonly search for, which has reduced calls to our call centers.

  ### 4. Optimizely is a robust CMS with a rich feature set for organizations of all sizes.

**Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Brian L. | Senior Director, CRM and Web Integration, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** April 21, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

The Optimizely CMS is intuitive and easy to use.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

The system is expensive and could be cost-prohibitive for smaller organizations.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

We use Optimizely to run our website to support over 100,000+ of our members.  The Optimizely CMS is solving several key challenges for the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) by streamlining content creation, management, and delivery across its digital platforms. Prior to implementation, AMTA likely faced difficulties with outdated content workflows, inconsistent user experiences, and limited personalization capabilities. Optimizely CMS addresses these issues by providing a user-friendly interface, robust content personalization tools, and seamless integration capabilities. This empowers AMTA to deliver relevant, timely information to its members and site visitors, enhance engagement, and maintain a consistent brand voice. As a result, the association can better support its mission of promoting the massage therapy profession and serving its members through a more dynamic and responsive digital presence.

  ### 5. A great CMS for developers

**Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Jonathan O. | Manager of Web Development Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 27, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

As a developer and technical admin for the Opti CMS, I find it very easy to do whatever I need.  Things work as expected and We've had nearly zero downtime since using the platform.  Although the ease of use for editors depends greatly on choices made during implementation, we've found the experience to be positive.  The CMS is easy to use and our customer support team at Optimizely are very supportive and take great care of us.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

I don't really dislike anything but there are some minor annoyances over some things in the CMS.  
Recently we've needed to find a document stored in the CMS based on its public URL but, because it was stored inside of a "for this block" that was likely stored in another "for this block" or "for this page" folder, it became nearly impossible to find.  Some additional internal reporting and management utilities would be helpful.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Our previous CMS platform was a bit of a disaster, partly due to the platform and partly due to the implementation.  This product allows us to host our website within little-to-no technical issues outside of some implementation problems that we are easily able to remedy.  We can host the content that we want, the way that we want, without worrying about the technology.  Our internal stakeholders have just gotten use to the site being up 100% of the time without issues.  Even when we deploy updates to our CMS, we have zero downtime.

  ### 6. Excellent product and easy to use as a developer

**Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Robin F. | Backend developer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 25, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

Ease of use, as a developer to code-first approach to CMS is very useful.
Plenty of training materials available and an active community forum.
I use this every day and alongside other CMS offerings and find Opti to always provide the best environment to implement a fully functional website using a mix of Opti features and standard .NET practices.
Very extendable and lots of 3rd party plugins available to use and simple to create your own and integrate into a CMS website.
Customer support available for reporting issues and assistance using cloud services.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

Since upgrade to .NET core some features have not yet been implemented (DDS admin)
Upgrading from .NET framework to core can be complicated and time consuming.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Agency website development providing boiler plate style sample projects (Alloy/Foundation) for a starting point to get a website running and customised quickly and easily.
Client requirements often involve heavy customisation of base product, which can be done easily with Opti CMS.

  ### 7. Easy to Use and Customize CMS

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Automotive | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** April 02, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

I like how clean and easy campaigns are to be created with many subtasks, where we have recurring tasks and campaigns that happen each month. The team is able to quickly and easily replicate tasks and apply to multiple accounts. It's very easy to follow the logic, and  create standardized task templates. I interact with Optimizely every day.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

I wish customer support would be a little more involved with bringing simple functionality updates to life - IE: the big one - the search functionality leaves a lot to be desired.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Optimizely helps combine multiple tasks per multiple accounts and divisions into clearly defined campaigns. It benefits my team and me by being able to structure/copy campaigns for future use as templates to easily recreate and request the same deliverables at the end.

  ### 8. Optimizely easy for team work

**Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Cathie E. | Freelance Writer and Communications Consultant, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 25, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

The work I do entails a variety of steps and Optimizely CMS makes it easy for everyone to stay current on work management steps. I do the writing part and I will write it in a GDOC, then copy and paste and it does a much better job than other systems of maintaining formatting so I don't have to the onerous task of reformatting everything. It's also easy to add photos and comments.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

it works really well, I have been pleased with it.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Since we work as a team there are a number of steps that we need to stay current on and it's clear to know whose step  is whose and where we are in the flow. I also appreciate the two days heads up when my step is due.

  ### 9. Seamless website efficiency

**Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Jesse F. | S, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** August 20, 2024

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

Optimizely CMS gives users a very easy on-ramp to content management operation in the web space. The widget-based drag and drop UX allows webpages and experiences to be constructed quickly and easy. It integrates with many different platforms via connectors and API.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

It still requires a familiarity with web architecture and design fundamentals. It will give a lot of the tools, but users should have an appropriate background to build a functional website.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Time efficiency - we need to build webpages quickly and effectively. The user-driven UX is critical to that. Integration to other tools and libraries also necessary to feed the right content to the web.

  ### 10. Optimizely CMS Review

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Environmental Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** May 01, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

It's easy for our team to use, helping us as the technology team enable our business and customer needs. The performance, reliability and flexibility of the solution works well for our team.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

There is some need to stay on top of updates and new features to ensure we don't fall behind, but this is easily manageable and not a major obstacle for us.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Helping us tell our story to our customers, making it easy for them to do business for us and helping us communicate or make visible constant updates happening in our business and industry.

  ### 11. For content editors and developers

**Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Ibrahim U. | Senior Optimizely Developer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** October 25, 2024

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

it’s smooth and accessible for both tech and non-tech users, which makes collaboration easy. For me as a developer, Optimizely’s flexibility and scalability stand out. Built on .NET, it’s highly customizable, and the modular setup simplifies integration and feature development. Plus, the extensive API documentation and strong community support make it easy to get answers and optimize projects quickly. 

It’s just a well-rounded platform that scales well and keeps both content editors and developers happy. :-)  Love it.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

The licensing costs can be a hurdle for smaller projects or clients

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Optimizely CMS is handling multilanguage content, allowing us to manage global sites seamlessly. The block-based content model is especially effective, as it lets us build reusable components, speeding up development and maintaining consistency across pages. Plus, Optimizely’s intuitive editorial experience reduces the learning curve for editors, making it easier for them to update content without needing technical support. Overall, it empowers our team to create, translate, and manage content efficiently across regions, keeping the user experience cohesive.

  ### 12. Good night sleep

**Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Non-Profit Organization Management | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** April 28, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

The stability of the system and ease of use for our business users keeps people like me in IT to have a good night sleep.
The ability to re-use the same "widgets" for different pages are good.
Now since it is about AI they also have AI built-in for the publishing process.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

The technical support especially the developer side can be improved.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

We need to maintain multiple sites for our main company and it's subsidiaries.
It is doing a great job at it.

  ### 13. Very simple to use but crucially flexible content management system.

**Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Tom P. | Digital Content Manager, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 19, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

The navigation is simple to use and easy to manage and update.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

Switching between domains can sometimes be slow.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

The ability to host several domains all in one place.

  ### 14. Straighforward and easy to use

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** April 01, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

Very user friendly. Can use it without any training. Very intuitive.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

Some of the fields feel repetitive (but issue may be on our side)

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Keeping projects organized and coordinated to completion.

  ### 15. Robust CMS for Scalable Web Management

**Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Transportation/Trucking/Railroad | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 17, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

Simple to use CMS that allows for teams to scale their website building and managment processes.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

At times can lag in terms of speed of platform.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Scalability and speed in managing a website.

  ### 16. Very intuitive and easy to use! Make content updating a sinch!

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Stelios K. | Marketing Manager, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** January 20, 2025

**What do you like best about Optimizely Content Management System?**

Very easy to use and allows for easy custom coding, as well.

**What do you dislike about Optimizely Content Management System?**

Its a pricey service but worth the investment.

**What problems is Optimizely Content Management System solving and how is that benefiting you?**

By having an easy to method to keep our new ecommerce website up to date.


## Optimizely Content Management System Discussions
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  - [Is Episerver open source?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-episerver-open-source) - 1 comment
  - [Is Episerver a CMS?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-episerver-a-cms) - 1 comment

- [View Optimizely Content Management System pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/optimizely-content-management-system/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1622672&qs=pros-and-cons&section=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-14+13%3A45%3A13+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=053b7aa9-183a-49ab-93e3-dad4191c971a&secure%5Btoken%5D=1e67ba515d5086b651a393c67fc8f7014118b3ad1d3570e08d3192d0c4d153c0&format=llm_user)

## Optimizely Content Management System Features
**Content**
- Content Authoring
- Rich Text Editor
- Versioning
- Plug-ins/Widgets/Apps
- Approval Process
- Content Scheduling
- Asset Management
- Internal Search
- Content Repository
- SEO Management
- eCommerce Management
- Forms Management
- Campaign Management
- Media Management
- Drag & Drop Editor
- Audio Editor

**Functionality**
- Developer Tools
- Automation
- Website Staging

**Publishing**
- Automated Publishing
- Multi-language
- AR/VR Capability

**Design**
- Breadth of Pre-Built Templates
- Mobile
- Branding/Themes
- Customization

**Management**
- Web Content Dedication
- Website Hosting
- Role-Based Permissions

**Development**
- Image Management
- Reuseable Content
- Unlimited Environments
- Form Builder
- Web Forms
- Customizable Forms
- User Management
- Workflow Management
- Template Management
- Compliance Management
- Asset Lifecycle Management
- Website Management
- Document Management
- SEO Management
- Content Management
- Multi-Channel Management
- Integrated Development Environment
- File Management

**Platform**
- User Community
- SEO
- Flexible Navigation Structures
- User, Role, and Access Management
- Enterprise Scalability
- Internationalization
- Dashboards and Reports
- API

**Support**
- CMS Variety
- Multi-CMS Support
- Compliance

**Analytics**
- Personalization
- Content Performance
- Interactive Content

**Agentic AI - Web Content Management**
- Cross-system Integration
- Natural Language Interaction
- Social Media Integration

**Agentic AI - Headless CMS**
- Cross-system Integration
- Third-Party Integrations

**Additional Functionality**
- AI/Machine Learning
- Reporting/Analytics
- Collaboration Tools
- Image Editing
- Website Publishing Options
- Chatbot
- Content Publishing Options
- Text Editing
- Access Control
- Website Accessibility Tools
- Content Delivery
- Content Personalization
- Configurable Workflow
- Generative AI
- Alerts/Notifications
- Video Editing
- AI Copilot
- Performance Testing
- Activity Monitoring
- Multi-Channel Distribution

**Additional Functionality**
- A/B Testing
- Full Text Search
- Two-Factor Authentication
- SDKs
- Content Publishing Options
- Multi-Channel Marketing
- Image Editing
- API
- Content Library
- Mobile Access
- Reporting/Analytics
- AI Copilot
- De-Coupled Front & Back Ends
- Collaboration Tools
- Activity Dashboard
- Generative AI
- Customizable Templates
- Text Editing
- Drag & Drop
- Rich Text Editor
- Scheduling
- Tagging
- Single Sign On
- Configurable Workflow
- Categorization/Grouping
- Preview Functionality
- Multi-Channel Distribution
- For Marketers
- Version Control
- Approval Process Control
- Filtering
- For Developers
- Website Analytics
- Role-Based Permissions
- Historical Reporting
- Access Controls/Permissions
- Email Marketing
- Loyalty Program
- Customer Touchpoints
- Customer Segmentation
- Web/Mobile App Development
- Product Catalog
- Inventory Optimization
- Multi-Location
- Data Synchronization
- Inventory Tracking
- Customer Database
- Activity Tracking
- Multi-Currency
- Shopping Cart
- Reporting & Statistics
- Customer Accounts
- Conversion Tracking
- CRM
- Search/Filter
- Barcode/Ticket Scanning
- SSL Security
- Alerts/Notifications
- Secure Login
- Document Review
- Content Delivery
- Customizable Branding
- Secure Data Storage
- Document Storage
- Mobile Capture
- Offline Access
- Templates
- File Sharing
- Data Capture and Transfer

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