Acquia takes you where Pantheon can’t.
Your business needs more than Drupal hosting. With Acquia, you get more than just a Pantheon alternative. You get a flexible, scalable solution that works for you.




Acquia Climbs The G2 Podium (Again)
We're out here, in the front of the pack as mid-market and momentum leaders in 2022. You know, running up that road, running up that hill, with no problems.
Acquia vs Pantheon
Acquia supports Drupal 10. Get support for every Drupal application, regardless of version. Developers and Marketers choose Acquia because their business needs more than just Drupal hosting. Drive alignment and expedited development timelines with a solution that empowers business users to contribute and provides the flexibility and adaptability that your business needs.

High Availability & Global Delivery
Benefit from a highly available, multi-zone architecture without additional cost. With Pantheon, you'll be paying extra for high availability and peace of mind. Additionally, Acquia offers 9 global regions to host your application compared to Pantheon's 4 regions.

Effortless Content Editing
With low-code site builder with 70+ pre-built components, and a full suite of marketing tools, get marketers involved in content creation and marketing optimization.

99.99% Uptime – Back Your Drupal Application With Up to 99.99% Uptime*
Acquia provides the most advanced platform with multi-zone failover built in to ensure that your Drupal experiences are always available.

Optimized Drupal Developer Tools
We offer the only Cloud-based dev environment made for Drupal, and it's ready to use in minutes. Developers can focus on writing code instead of building and maintaining environments.

The Only Solution for Sites at Scale
Meet the only solution that allows organizations to seamlessly manage sites at scale and create new sites with one click. All editable with low-code.

A Hybrid CMS Model
Take advantage of a Hybrid CMS model that lets you deploy content to any channel. Acquia also supports Node.js hosting. Pantheon will not support Node.js apps.
More for your money isn't just something we say. It's something we can prove. When you look at the details, time, money and peace of mind start to add up. Fast.
Features | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Fully Managed Drupal Platform
Support for Drupal (7, 8, 9, & 10), System Monitoring, and Website Portfolio Management
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🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵
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⚫⚫⚫⚫⚪
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Security & Compliance
Platform Security, Security Add-Ons, Security Testing & Audits, Drupal Application Security, Organizational Security, and Compliance
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🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵
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⚫⚫⚫⚪⚪
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Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 Migration Tools and Services
Drupal 7 Extended Support (2024), Drupal 9 platform support, Automated Tool for Drupal 7 migrations, and an Expert Drupal Support Team
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🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵
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⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪
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Cloud-based Drupal Development Tools
Cloud Integrated Development Environment
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🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵
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⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪
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General Drupal Development Tools
Drupal Development Tools & Services, Local Development, Developer integrations
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🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵
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⚫⚫⚫⚪⚪
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Support & Services
Organizational Security, Expert Drupal Support Team, Dedicated Drupal Team, Drupal Application Support, Platform Support, and an Extensive PS Team
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🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵
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⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪
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Marketer-Friendly Site Building Tools
Low-code site builder, Pre-built site components, Master Style Guide, Out of the box distribution of Drupal
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🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵
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⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪
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Digital Marketing Extensions
Personalization, customer data platform, campaign management
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🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵
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⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪
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Drupal Community Contributions
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🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵
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⚫⚫⚪⚪⚪
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Flexible, Straight Forward Pricing for Enterprises
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🔵🔵🔵🔵🔵
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Developer Tool Comparison
Pantheon: Limited
Planning & Management
No native tooling from Pantheon. Only suggested integrations.
Build
Pantheon LocalDev. Complex setup.
Test
No native tooling from Pantheon. Only suggested integrations.
Review
No native tooling from Pantheon. Only suggested integrations.
Deploy
Automatic cache clear in Pantheon’s WebOps workflow.
Acquia: Complete
Planning & Management
Code Studio to understand the needs of your project with issue management tools.
Build
Spin up a pre-configured Cloud IDE in minutes.
Test
Code Studio ensures code quality, checks for vulnerabilities, and audits dependencies.
Review
Customizable code review and approval process built into Code Studio.
Deploy
Use Cloud Platform’s Cloud Actions to automatically execute actions after a code deploy.
Marketer Tool Comparison
Pantheon Leaves Marketing Teams on Their Own
Why Marketing Tools Are Key
Marketing teams need the ability to create and edit their content on the fly. Waiting for simple content edits in a Developer que can take time that Marketers don’t have. Low-code tools allow Marketers to create content on their own.
Acquia offers Marketing Tools
Create Content With Low Code
Acquia Site Studio lets anyone on the team create sites and pages quickly and easily using low-code. With 70+ prebuilt components and a drag-and-drop UI, you are set up to start building from day 1.
Content Editing
Eliminate the endless requests to your development team to edit content. Marketing teams can update content with no coding required, in real time through Site Studio’s drag-and-drop interface.
We’re Committed to Your Success
No pre-scripted call center runaround. Our team of Drupal experts is here to help you solve problems as quickly as possible.

World Class Support
Expert Drupal support available 24/7/365 with custom solution planning and implementation and an option for a Technical Account Manager.

Training & Certification
Comprehensive Drupal and Acquia product training with option for certification and expert training and advice from Professional Services.

Product Documentation
Get access to an expansive collection of product documentation, code snippets and tutorials.

Acquia Developers Center
Turn to the Dev Center for expert guidance from Acquia's tech team, so you can take on any challenge that comes your way.

We’ll Support Your App
Dedicated support for the platform and your Drupal app is included for all our Enterprise customers. No fancy extra package required.
When You Need More Than Hosting, You Need More Than Pantheon.
When it comes to your digital experience, you shouldn't have to compromise. Acquia Cloud subscriptions come with a full set of products to help you build a better Drupal application.





With Acquia Cloud IDE, all you need is a browser to write great code. Set up and debug in almost no time.

With a low-code, drag and drop site builder, Acquia Site Studio makes it easy for non-technical users to make great Drupal sites.

Make the move from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 seamless with Acquia Migrate Accelerate, the only automated tool for D7 to D9 migration.

Changing the way you work doesn't have to be a chore. With Acquia Cloud Platform, you can adjust your workflows as needed and get back to work quickly.
Customer Success
Analyst Rankings | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
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Named a Leader in the Forrester Agile CMS Wave
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Named a Leader in the Gartner DXP Magic Quadrant for 4 years straight
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Named a Leader in the previous Gartner WCM Magic Quadrant for 4 years straight
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G2 Crowd Leader
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Investment in Drupal Community and Developers | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
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Drupal’s Founder, Dries Buytaert works here
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#1 Overall Drupal Contributor over the past 10
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Dedicated Drupal Acceleration Team
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#1 Drupal Contributor to Drupal Security
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Within the top 30 Drupal contributors
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1800+ Drupal Contribution Credits
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Focused on Drupal
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Sponsors Drupal events
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Managerial Considerations/Staffing | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
3 fully trained security teams dedicated to securing the platform and implementing best-practices
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3 fully trained security teams dedicated to securing the platform and implementing best-practices
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Platform support available to all 24/7/365
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✓
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Expert Drupal application support available 24/7/365
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Add-on
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Dedicated Drupal Acceleration Team committed to contributing to Drupal
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Drupal experts ingrained in our engineering teams to ensure all products are built Drupal-first
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Internal team training (including yearly training on security best practices)
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Flexible, Straight forward Pricing | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
100% transparent pricing with a customer success guarantee
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Three pricing options: Hosting only, Agile Content, Complete Digital Experience Platform (Content and Data)
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IT Solutions
Hosting for Drupal Applications | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Kubernetes-native operators and controllers built specifically for Drupal (not to be confused with just using Kubernetes)
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Aurora Serverless DB for fastest DB performance (up to 3x faster than pantheon’s Maria DB)
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Amazon EFS to deliver data as fast as 10GB/second
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Large File Delivery (up to 1GB)
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China Managed Services offering
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Node.js Support
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Fully managed Search with Solr
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Search platform compatible with Drupal 9
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Supports Drupal 9 Applications
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Supports Drupal Multisite Applications
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Up to 300 seconds for PHP scripts
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High Availability for all Customers (Multizone Failover)
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9 Global Regions for Application Hosting
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Website Portfolio Management | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Centralized Site Management - A single dashboard to view all of your sites, set roles and permissions and administer new sites.
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✓
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✓
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One Click Site Creation - Within minutes, clone an existing site and use it as a template for a new site(s)
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✓
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✓
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Composable Site Templates - Manage multiple themes in an easily-accessible repository.
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Low-Code Presentation Controls - Enforce brand guidelines like color pallets, fonts, and responsive grid layouts.
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Low-Code component editing - Drag and drop prebuilt components from Site Studio's library into layouts and new sites
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Structured Content & Metadata - Enable content categorization and classification to support search, discovery, and content delivery.
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✓
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✓
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Enterprise Access Management & Site Governance - Establish roles and permissions to ensure correct access for your whole team.
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✓
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✓
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Enterprise Workflows - Optimize workflows at scale to make your entire site delivery process more efficient.
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✓
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✓
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System Monitoring | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
New Relic APM Pro - Dig into performance issues with New Relic, included for all Cloud Platform subscriptions
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✓
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✓
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Stack Metrics - Understand your application's performance, health, and resource utilization
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Log forwarding, streaming, downloading - Gather, understand, and share information from various logs quickly and easily
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Uptime Monitoring & Alerts - Receive alerts if your site is not responsive, and monitor uptime trends
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Cloud Development Tools for Drupal | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Optimized AWS networking
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Firewall exceptions not needed to connect with the Cloud Platform
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Low bandwidth requirements
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Non-admin access sufficient
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Preconfigured Chromedriver
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Role-based access
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Automated user data sanitization
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Federated Authentication (SSO)
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Acquia CLI
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Preconfigured Drupal best practices
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Drupal Support | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Provides infrastructure support - any issues related to hardware and storage
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✓
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Provides application support - any issue related to the codebase of your Drupal application
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Only supports Drupal applications
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Drupal routine updates and maintenance
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Deliver the latest security patches and bug fixes to modules installed on your website
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Implement best practices such as revision control, staging and deployment, testing, updates, backup monitoring, and more
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Dedicated Slack Channel Available
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Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 Migration Support and Tooling | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Leverage a comprehensive migration environment and curated process for your Drupal upgrade.
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Optimized Cloud Environment - Leverage a pre-built cloud environment to support your new Drupal 9 application
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Module Recommendation Engine - Automatically recommends modules and patches from your D7 site to smooth migration paths.
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Migration User Interface - Curated user interface built specifically for D7 to D9 migrations making it easier to use.
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Pre-Loaded Drupal 9 Code Base - Make migration smoother with top equivalents for your D7 contrib modules, as well any core + contrib patches.
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Migration Dashboard - View your progress and any errors encountered during migrations in one centralized migration dashboard.
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Dependency Knowledge Baked In - Acquia Migrate Accelerate will not let you import article comments unless articles have already been imported.
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Migration Preview - View the before/after values as well as a rendered preview, before importing content.
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Migration Queue - Queue one or more migrations for import. Migrations sort automatically according to their result.
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Migration Error Logs - Log any errors you encounter in one console that tracks migration/code-related errors, and validation errors.
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Error Resolution Suggestions - Acquia Migrate Accelerate generates a solution for the most common error messages and provides next steps.
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Content Mapping Page - Use insight into how source and destinations map together, and what process plugins are used.
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Low-Code Presentation Building - Leverage Site Studio's low-code approach to accelerate your Drupal 9 presentation build.
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Developer Solutions
Plan | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Project and issue management
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Task lists with automated updated from tags
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Description templates for issues
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Kanban board for projects
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Milestone tracking and issue due dates
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Build | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Lando integration for local development
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Cloud IDE for turn key development
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CI/CD pipelines out of the box
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Optimized Drupal environment
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Dedicated hardware per IDE
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PHP Code Sniffer
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Ruby / RVM
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Node.js / NPM / NVM
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Preconfigured Xdebug
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Composer / Composer 2
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Environment isolation
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Code, database and files synchronization
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Auto-configured database connection
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Prod-matched PHP configuration
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Ready to use development environments deployed within minutes without installing any extra software (i.e. Cloud IDEs)
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Test | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Audit Dependencies
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Audit vulnerabilities
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Audit Code Quality
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Review | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Customizable code review and approval process
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Issue Management tools
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Merge request tracking and automation
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Value Streams Analytics
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Issue and project time tracking
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Deploy | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Visual UI for deploying code
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Branch and tag management per environment
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Set defaults per environment
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Select Actions on the fly while deploying
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Automatically execute actions after a code deploy
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Ability to manage multiple sites from one UI and push code updates to all sites with guaranteed success (Site Factory)
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Automated code deployment across environments controlled by a drag-and-drop interface
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Built in code security and performance quality testing
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Build API to integrate your development platform with external systems
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Code tests automatically run when you push code from development to staging environments to ensure code quality
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Integration between development platform and third-party services (i.e. Github)
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Automated syncing between file systems and databases across all environments (Click and Drag UI)
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Seamless Drupal Development Workflows
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Cloud based Developer environment
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Security Solutions
Security Add-Ons | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Secure Virtual Private Cloud (Acquia Shield VPC)
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Add-on
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Secure Virtual Private Network (VPN)
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Add-on
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Secure tunnel between your firewall and your public facing website
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Add-on
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Built-in CDN for optimal performance (60+ Points of Presence around the world)
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Advanced Global CDN with over 200 Points of Presence around the world
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Add-on
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Basic WAF available to protect against ~20% of threats
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Add-on
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Advanced WAF with highly customizable rules and automatically applied Drupal WAF rules to protect against 80% of threats(Edge Security)
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Add-on
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Specify application access by IP address in the Cloud UI (Access Control List)
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Add-on
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Centralize view of logs (Log Forwarding)
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Add-on
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Leverage internal organizational security policies to authenticate users (Enterprise SSO)
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Add-on
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Security Testing and Audits | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
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Yearly 3rd party security audits including: malicious user testing, insider threat assessments, and spearphishing exercise
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Monthly server and web application vulnerability scans
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Monthly operating system scans
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Monthly database and web application scans
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DDoS Detection
|
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Drupal Application Maintenance and Security | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
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Automatically track Drupal core updates and ensure they are administered to all applications
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Automatically track Drupal module updates and ensure they are administered to all applications
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Automatically track Drupal security updates and ensure they are administered to all applications
|
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Disaster recovery
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Add-on
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Drupal Steward Program Member
|
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Information Security
ORGANIZATIONAL SECURITY & Support | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
3 dedicated security teams
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Internal security awareness training for entire organization required
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All operations, support, engineering, and security personnel are trained on Acquia Cloud specific platform security
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Designated incident response manager
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3rd party platform audits performed bi-annually to test and prove platform security
|
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Quarterly independent platform audits to test and prove platform security
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Monthly operating system, database, server and web application security scans to detect vulnerabilities
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Platform Security | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Multi-factor authentication
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Roles & Credentials built-in
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Real-time log streaming
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IPv6 Support
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Shell access via SSH
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ClamAV support
|
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GeoIP available
|
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Apache mod_proxy support to improve LAMP security
|
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Built-in security and performance optimization monitoring (Acquia Insight)
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Drupal Steward Program member
|
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✓
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Compliance | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
FedRAMP Authorized
|
✓
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PCI
|
✓
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HIPAA
|
✓
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ISO 27001
|
✓
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SOC 2
|
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SOC 1
|
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GDPR
|
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CSA STAR
|
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FISMA
|
✓
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FERPA
|
✓
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✓
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EU-US & US-Swiss Privacy Shield
|
✓
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✓
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Marketing
Out of the Box CMS | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Curated version of Drupal CMS
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✓
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Build and launch new content within days
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✓
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Pre-selected Drupal Modules to eliminate any configuration requirements
|
✓
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Fully managed security and performance updates
|
✓
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Pre-built content types and defined authoring experience
|
✓
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Pre-built integrations to key marketing technology
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✓
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Low Code Tool To Empower Content Authors | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Acquia offers a low-code page builder that is compatible with Drupal, but only available through Acquia.
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✓
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Site building experience created for non-technical users
|
✓
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Low-code visual, drag and drop interface
|
✓
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70+ pre-built components to quickly assemble new pages
|
✓
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Prebuilt page templates to spin up new pages or sites faster
|
✓
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Style Guide manager to ensure brand governance and consistency across pages and sites
|
✓
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Preset design elements w the ability to customize each component
|
✓
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Empowers all team members to create content - marketing, agency partners, IT, subject matter experts
|
✓
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Personalization Engine for Content | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Designed to natively integrate with Drupal
|
✓
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Build individual experiences for each user
|
✓
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A/B testing and optimization of content
|
✓
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—
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Unified customer profile
|
✓
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Real-time optimization across channels and devices
|
✓
|
—
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Identify the best performing content
|
✓
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Customer Data Platform and More | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Customer Data Platform that natively connects with Drupal
|
✓
|
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Customer Data Platform that provides a 360 degree view of your customers and prospects
|
✓
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—
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Campaign Management design to work with Drupal
|
✓
|
—
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Digital Asset Management with pre-built integrations to Drupal
|
✓
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For Digital Marketers | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
---|---|---|
Pre- built page templates for any campaign or product launch
|
✓
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Drag and Drop visual page builder
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✓
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Smart components connected to your martech
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✓
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For Designers | Drupal Cloud | Pantheon |
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Master Style Guide to enforce brand standards
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✓
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Layout canvas
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✓
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Custom Style creation
|
✓
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Drag and Drop Template creator
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✓
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