Cost of Migrating to AEM from WordPress or Drupal

Switching content management platforms is never a simple decision. When a business starts seriously evaluating the cost of migrating to AEM from WordPress or Drupal, the conversation quickly moves beyond licensing fees. There are infrastructure costs, development hours, training, content restructuring and a long tail of hidden expenses that catch teams off guard.

AEM, or Adobe Experience Manager, is built for enterprises that need granular control over digital experiences at scale. WordPress is the world most popular CMS. Drupal is highly flexible. So why would anyone leave those behind? Because at a certain level of complexity, those platforms start showing their limits. And when they do, AEM becomes a serious option.

The real question is: how much does the move actually cost?

What Makes AEM Migration Expensive

AEM is not a drop in replacement. It operates on a fundamentally different architecture than WordPress or Drupal. WordPress themes become AEM components. Drupal modules need to be reimagined as AEM services or integrations. Content models have to be rebuilt from scratch.

That architectural gap is where costs start piling up.

A mid sized enterprise migrating from WordPress to AEM can expect to spend anywhere from $200,000 to $500,000 or more depending on the scope of the project. Drupal migrations, which often involve more complex content structures, can push that number higher. These figures include implementation partners, licensing, infrastructure setup, testing and quality assurance.

Is that number alarming? For some organizations, yes. But context matters. Businesses that are running global digital campaigns, managing thousands of pages in multiple languages, or trying to personalize content across channels are often spending enormous resources just keeping WordPress or Drupal functional at that scale.

License and Infrastructure Costs

AEM licensing is the first major line item. Adobe offers AEM as a cloud service with subscription based pricing, which varies based on usage, traffic and the specific modules included. Expect annual licensing costs to start around $250,000 for mid market enterprises, scaling upward from there.

On top of that, infrastructure costs for AEM as a Cloud Service are partly absorbed into the Adobe subscription. If a team is deploying AEM on premises or on a managed cloud, the infrastructure overhead climbs significantly. Server provisioning, CDN configuration, security compliance, monitoring tools all come into play.

Development and Implementation Costs

This is where the bulk of the budget tends to go. Migrating to AEM requires certified AEM developers, which are not easy to find. Hourly rates for experienced AEM architects range from $150 to $250 in North America and project timelines typically span six to eighteen months depending on the scale.

What does that development time cover?

• Component development to replicate or replace existing functionality
• Content architecture design within AEM Sites
• Integration with marketing tools, CRMs, analytics platforms
• Custom workflows and DAM configuration
• Front end templating using AEM Editable Templates or SPA frameworks

Drupal sites with complex taxonomy structures and custom modules tend to require more rearchitecting than WordPress sites. However, WordPress sites with heavily customized themes and third party plugin dependencies also present migration challenges that are easy to underestimate.

Content Migration Costs

Raw content migration is often treated as an afterthought. It should not be.

Moving tens of thousands of pages from WordPress or Drupal into AEM requires mapping old content models to new ones, cleaning up legacy metadata, reformatting assets for the AEM DAM and often rewriting large volumes of content to fit new templates.

Automated migration tools can handle a portion of this work, but they are rarely a complete solution. Manual quality assurance is almost always necessary. Budget for at least 20 to 30 percent of total migration costs just for content work. Many organizations underestimate this and end up delaying launches or dealing with content integrity issues post migration.

Training and Change Management

AEM is a powerful platform. It is also complex. Content authors who have been working in WordPress for years will need time to adjust. Drupal editors familiar with structured content will find some things familiar but many things different.

Training costs for content teams, marketing managers and administrators are real. Depending on the size of the team, structured training programs from Adobe or certified partners can run from $10,000 to $50,000.

Change management is often invisible in project budgets but very visible in post launch productivity dips. Teams that invest in proper enablement before go live have a much smoother transition.

Ongoing Costs After Migration

Migration is not the finish line. After going live on AEM, teams should expect ongoing costs for:

• Platform updates and maintenance (especially on AEM as a Cloud Service, which pushes continuous updates)
• AEM developer support retainers
• New component development as business needs evolve
• Performance monitoring and optimization

Annual maintenance and support contracts with AEM implementation partners typically range from $50,000 to $150,000 depending on scope. This is not optional for teams without in house AEM expertise.

How DWAO Helps Organizations Navigate AEM Migration

DWAO is a digital experience consultancy with deep expertise in Adobe Experience Manager implementations. For organizations evaluating the cost of migrating to AEM from WordPress or Drupal, DWAO brings clarity to a process that can quickly become overwhelming.

The team at DWAO handles the full migration lifecycle. That includes discovery workshops to map existing content architecture, AEM component development, DAM configuration, integration with Adobe Experience Cloud products and post migration support. DWAO has worked with enterprises across industries including retail, financial services, healthcare and manufacturing.

What sets DWAO apart is its approach to scoping. Rather than applying a one size fits all project model, the team conducts thorough audits of existing platforms before recommending a migration strategy. That means fewer surprises mid project, tighter timelines and budgets that actually reflect real world complexity.

For teams unsure about where to start, DWAO also offers migration readiness assessments that help organizations understand what they are getting into before committing to a full engagement.

Is the Investment Worth It

For enterprises at the right scale, yes. AEM offers capabilities in personalization, content governance, DAM and omnichannel delivery that WordPress and Drupal simply cannot match without significant custom development.

The cost of migrating to AEM from WordPress or Drupal is high. There is no softening that reality. But for organizations managing complex digital ecosystems across multiple brands, regions, or channels, the return on that investment tends to materialize quickly through reduced operational overhead, faster campaign delivery and better customer experiences.

The key is going in with realistic expectations, a seasoned implementation partner and a clear scope. Without those, costs balloon fast.