What is the Best Way to Host Xperience by Kentico in 2026
Introduction
Over the years, I’ve been asked this question dozens of times from customers and developers, “Can you host Kentico on XYZ platform?”. It very recently came up again from a new Xperience by Kentico customer of ours at BizStream. To me, that makes this topic a good candidate for formalizing my recommendations as a blog post to share with the rest of the community. Keep reading to find out what is the best way to host Xperience by Kentico in 2026.
One smal note, the information in this post does apply to both Xperience by Kentico and Kentico 13. If you haven't followed too much around both Kentico platforms I have extensivley covered the difference between Xperience by Kentico and Kentico 13 as well.
Hosting Options for Xperience by Kentico
Kentico is highly flexible when it comes to hosting. The CMS can be deployed on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Private self-hosted servers, or the newer Kentico SaaS offering. One of the core values Kentico delivers, in my opinion, is just that, flexibility. It allows teams to choose an approach that aligns with their existing technical ecosystem preferences, and long term goals, rather than forcing a single hosting model. Each option is fully capable of running XbK successfully, but each option comes with different tradeoffs around control, cost, and responsibility.
I’m not going to speak too much to the private self-hosted option, because most teams know what they have there. The greater question is typically around whether AWS, Azure, or Kentico SaaS is better?
At the highest overview level, AWS and Azure provide greater control, scalability, and customization, but that comes at the cost of increased infrastructure ownership and maintenance over time. Kentico SaaS shifts much of that responsibility to Kentico in exchange for a more fully managed hands-off experience. But let’s dive deeper.
Hosting Xperience by Kentico on Amazon Web Servics (AWS)
How Xperience by Kentico Runs on AWS
The most common way to run Kentico inside of AWS is to configure EC2 instances. The SQL Database Server can optionally be replaced with Amazon RDS, though performance tradeoffs may apply. AWS S3 storage buckets are also recommended for handing the storage needs of the CMS. Amazon CloudFront CDN can optionally be put on top of the storage, to enhance delivery and performance of serving images, PDFs, documents, etc.
Pros of Hosting Xperience by Kentico on AWS
Typically runs on EC2 server instances well (we would recommend at least one EC2 for the front end web server / IIS, and a separate EC2 server for SQL Database).
You can replace an EC2 instance that was meant for the SQL Database server with Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)(in our experience, RDS can be a little less performant than a full virtual machine, unless you scale it up a notch or two).
Kentico has an out-of-the-box integration with AWS S3 storage for storing and serving media.
Depending on your organization's agreement with Amazon, AWS can be less expensive than Azure.
Works well with AWS WAF and AWS Load Balancer for protection and scalability of your application.
Many Kentico customers around the world use AWS.
There is a very good level of overall security and IAM when using AWS.
Can host any version of Kentico.
Cons of Hosting Xperience by Kentico on AWS
Requires at least 1 EC2 server, which means you have to worry about maintenance and patches on the Virtual Machine(s) over time (if using IaaS).
Potential to run on PaaS offering AWS Elastic Beanstalk, but not fully supported by Kentico (I have not ever personally seen this work).
Networking setup / configuration in EC2 is a little more complex to set up in my opinion.
Lack of full supported PaaS option when compared to Azure/Kentico SaaS.
Can't directly associate AWS WAF with an Amazon EC2 instance, requires an Application Load Balancer resource as well (introduces complexity).
Does not support latest .NET releases as fast as Azure / Kentico SaaS.
Security, Scalability, and monitoring over time up to your team to handle.
Email delivery is up to you. You could use AWS SES or a third party like SendGrid.
Hosting Xperience by Kentico on Microsoft Azure
How Xperience by Kentico Runs on Azure
The most common way to run Kentico inside of Microsoft Azure is to configure Azure App Service (PaaS) or Azure Virtual Machines (IaaS). Azure App Service is fully recommended by Kentico, Microsoft, and me. One of those is frequently paired with an Azure SQL Database and Azure blob storage for storage needs. It is recommended to add in a WAF via Azure Front Door or Application Gateway.
Pros of Hosting Xperience by Kentico on Azure
Kentico runs on Azure App Service or Azure Virtual Machines equally well.
Azure App Service is fully recommended and is less maintenance and less cost over time due to it being a serverless option. There are tons of built-in features like Deployment slots, and free managed SSL certificates that make this the leading choice.
Runs extremely well on Azure SQL Databases, which is less maintenance and less cost over time due to it being a serverless option.
Autoscales extremely well. Multiple options for scaling.
Azure offers the SQL Server Hybrid benefit to existing SQL Server customers. Up to 50% of your on-premise license can be re-used for Azure SQL Database hosting costs (based on agreement with Microsoft).
Kentico has an out-of-the-box integration with Azure Blob storage for storing and serving media.
Depending on organization's agreement with Microsoft, it can be less expensive than AWS.
Works extremely well with Azure Front Door (WAF) with direct connection, can work with other WAFs as well.
Supports the latest .NET releases as fast as possible (zero day release support often).
Many Kentico customers around the world use Azure.
At scale, typically will cost less than AWS (again in my experience).
There is a very good level of overall security and IAM.
Can host any version of Kentico.
Cons of Hosting Xperience by Kentico on Azure
If no agreement with Microsoft, and not cost optimized, can be more expensive than AWS.
Security, Scalability, and monitoring over time up to your team to handle.
Email delivery is up to you. You could use Azure Communication Services or a third party like SendGrid.
Kentico SaaS Hosting for Xperience by Kentico
What Kentico SaaS is and How it Works
With Xperience by Kentico SaaS, your organization buys a subscription and your installation is ready within minutes. Basically, you offload the infrastructure and deployment process to the experts at Kentico, so your team doesn’t have to worry about it. Kentico handles the hosting, scaling, deployment pipelines, backups, and security. The Kentico SaaS offering is built on top of Microsoft Azure and Cloudflare for global performance and scalability.
Pros of Kentico SaaS Hosting
100% delivered by the experts at Kentico. Kentico SaaS provides managed infrastructure and supporting services that allow you to deploy, host and manage Xperience by Kentico projects in the cloud.
Licenses and SaaS costs tied together and can be discounted compared to purchasing individually.
Kentico is responsible for Security, Scalability, and monitoring over time and not your team.
Optimized for Kentico specifically (codebase switches to be Kentico SaaS "aware")(less custom code).
No configuration necessary for Autoscaling.
Many out of the box features and integrations (ex: Cloudflare CDN integration, SendGrid for sending emails, Application Insights for observability).
Global data center options for data sovereignty.
Access to Kentico SaaS portal for deployment operations and some monitoring, metrics, and backups for your team.
Kentico support is the first line of defense and available 24/7.
Cons of Kentico SaaS Hosting
No direct access to the cloud resources for your team or your agency team.
Most likely more expensive over time when compared to managing your own subscription in AWS/Azure.
Use of the Xperience by Kentico API externally not available.
Additional Lucene Search index configuration needed (if you use it).
Not as much direct IAM granularity allowed.
Can be seen as a little bit of a "black box".
Limits customization options (around infrastructure, not the actual website itself).
Only Xperience by Kentico can be hosted in this manner. Kentico 13 and lower versions are not supported in this model.
Areas Where AWS, Azure, and Kentico SaaS are Similar
Here are a few important points that I also get asked about in these scenarios that all have the same answers.
Kentico licensing is still the same regardless of hosting option.
CI/CD pipelines are available for all options but do require configuration.
Each option has unique architectural considerations that you do still need to think through.
Experienced Kentico partners like BizStream can help guide architecture decisions.
Performance of the actual website still comes down to following Kentico best practices
Final Recommendation from a Kentico MVP
My final recommendation, as any good consultant would say, is that: it depends on your exact situation. These are all good options! However, if you consider the pros and cons above, I think it should help out immensely.
Teams often tell me that seeing the pros and cons laid out side by side helps clarify not just the technical tradeoffs, but the long term operational impact of each option. One client recently shared that this type of breakdown gave them a much clearer picture of their hosting options and what they should be considering as they evaluate their long term approach.
My Recommendation Based on Real World Kentico Projects
Based on the work that I do daily with my clients at BizStream, the choice of what is the best way to host Kentico usually boils down to:
Team skill level, familiarity with the cloud, and existing cloud investments for the organization.
If starting fresh and not many IT resources available, strongly consider Kentico SaaS.
If starting fresh, has IT resources with knowledge and capacity, and wants to or needs to own the hosting responsibility, Microsoft Azure is often my strongest recommendation.
Key Takeaways for Hosting Xperience by Kentico
There is no single best way to host Xperience by Kentico for every organization.
AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Kentico SaaS are all proven and fully supported hosting options.
Kentico’s flexibility allows teams to choose a hosting model that fits their technical skills, operational comfort, and long term strategy.
AWS and Azure offer the most control and customization but require your team to manage security, scalability, and ongoing maintenance.
Kentico SaaS reduces operational overhead by shifting infrastructure responsibility to Kentico, with some tradeoffs in access and integrations.
Cost varies significantly based on existing cloud agreements, scale, and how well the environment is optimized.
Ultimately, the best hosting choice for Kentico is the one that aligns with your team’s experience, existing investments, and long term ownership expectations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you host and run Kentico in Docker?
Techincally, yes you can. In fact, engineers at Kentico and fellow MVP, Łukasz Skowroński has posted about this and how it is possible. However, I personally think this is overkill.
Can you host and run Kentico via Google Cloud Platform (GCP)?
Again it is tehnically possible, but highly untested and most likely not supported as well by Kentico. I have not ran into a single customer in over 18 years that runs Kentico this way.
Can you mix cloud providers in a hybrid hosting setup?
Again, you could in theory. Technically this would be very bad for performance, please do not do this.
