3-Year TCO Model
License is 20-35% of total cost. Team dominates. Adjust inputs to match your reality.
| Cost Component | AEM Cloud | Sitecore XM Cloud | Optimizely 12 | Acquia Cloud | Liferay Cloud | Kentico Xperience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| License (3-Year) | ||||||
| Annual License | $500K | $200K | $150K | $150K | $150K | $80K |
| 3-Year License Total | $1.5M | $600K | $450K | $450K | $450K | $240K |
| Implementation (Year 1) | ||||||
| Base Implementation | $1M | $500K | $400K | $400K | $500K | $200K |
| Data Migration | $200K | $150K | $100K | $100K | $150K | $75K |
| Integration Build | $300K | $200K | $150K | $150K | $200K | $100K |
| Implementation Total | $1.5M | $850K | $650K | $650K | $850K | $375K |
| Infrastructure & Hosting (3-Year) | ||||||
| Included in License | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | $100K |
| Self-Hosted Infra (if applicable) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | $300K | $150K |
| Team Cost (3-Year) | ||||||
| FTEs × Loaded Cost × 3 Years | $1.8M | $1.8M | $1.8M | $1.8M | $1.8M | $1.8M |
| Support & Premium Services (3-Year) | ||||||
| Premium Support | $100K | $66K | $50K | $66K | $50K | $30K |
| Training & Certification | $50K | $33K | $25K | $33K | $25K | $15K |
| TOTAL 3-YEAR TCO | $4.85M | $3.35M | $2.98M | $3.00M | $4.48M | $2.61M |
Methodology & Assumptions
License: Vendor list pricing (2026). AEM: Sites + Assets. Sitecore: XM Cloud. Optimizely: CMS 12 SaaS. Acquia: Cloud Platform. Liferay: DXP Cloud. Kentico: Xperience SaaS.
Implementation: Scales with team size and timeline. Base × (team_size/4) × (timeline/12). Includes discovery, architecture, build, QA, UAT, launch.
Team: Loaded cost = salary + benefits + overhead + tools. $150K default = $110K salary + 35% burden. Adjust for your market.
Infrastructure: SaaS platforms include hosting. Self-hosted (Liferay/Kentico on-prem) adds K8s/VM costs. 3 environments × $10K/mo × 36 months baseline.
Support: 20% of license for premium tiers. Training = 10% of license.
This model excludes: content migration from legacy (highly variable), third-party integrations beyond standard connectors, change management, ongoing optimization.