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CMS comparison Craft CMS vs WordPress

Craft CMS vs WordPress

Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. WordPress is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 13.

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  • Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • WordPress Traditional · Open source · 13 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Craft CMS on 29 Sept 2026, WordPress on 29 Sept 2026. Plans and releases can change after those dates.

WAYF is an official Payload partner and top contributor. Every platform in the table is classified by the same published definitions, and each answer lists the vendor page it came from.

Feature comparison

Built inPaid tierPlugin or add-onLimitedNot available
Craft CMS vs WordPress feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Craft CMS Traditional
WordPress Traditional
Overview
What it is Self-hosted PHP CMS with custom fields and Twig templates. Pixel & Tonic sells licences per project and runs Craft Cloud hosting.Open-source PHP CMS that renders sites through themes and extends through plugins. Teams self-host it or buy managed WordPress hosting.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Craft CMS 5 in Solo, Team and Pro editions. Craft 6 is in alpha. Version 5.11.3, released 18 Sept 2026 WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org Version 7.1.2, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com WordPress.org community project (Automattic is the largest contributor) wordpress.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Craft License, source available Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Craft Cloud starts at $120 per month per project and includes a Team licence. Self-hosting No vendor cloud Automattic's WordPress.com and many third-party hosts sell managed WordPress.
Built with PHP, Yii 2, TwigPHP, JavaScript, React block editor
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLMySQL, MariaDB
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Solo free for one user. Team $279, Pro $399 per project, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise on request. Free to start Free to download and self-host. Hosting and premium plugins cost extra.
Content modelling
Content model in code You define content types in files in your repository, review them like any other code and apply them from there. Imperative migration scripts alone count as limited. Built in Project config YAML records sections, entry types and fields for Git. 7 Built in Post types, taxonomies and meta registered in PHP.
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in 6 Plugin or add-on ACF or Custom Post Type UI plugins. Core has no content type builder. 12
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Matrix fields with nested entry types. 8 Built in Block editor with patterns and synced patterns.
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in Per-site and per-language field translation on every edition. 61 Plugin or add-on WPML or Polylang plugins. Core translates the interface only. 13
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in 10 Built in WordPress generates registered image sizes on upload.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Element API plugin. 12 Built in 5
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 111 Plugin or add-on WPGraphQL, a canonical plugin on WordPress.org. 6
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Webhooks plugin. 13 Plugin or add-on WP Webhooks plugin. Core sends no outgoing webhooks. 16
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Built in Twig templates. Built in Block themes and classic PHP themes.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 14 Limited Edits to a published post go live on update. PublishPress Revisions adds pending drafts. 11
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Post date and expiry date on entries. 15 Built in Scheduled publishing only. Scheduled unpublishing needs a plugin.
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Editors can view and restore revisions. 14 Built in Revisions with a visual scrubber since 7.0. 2
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 1 Built in
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 14 Built in Block Editor and Site Editor edit content inside the theme's styles.
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Plugin or add-on Workflow plugin by Verbb, $49. 16 Plugin or add-on PublishPress plugins. Core has only the Pending Review status. 711
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Not available
Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live. Not available Not available Pulled from 7.0. Still experimental in the Gutenberg plugin. 3418
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Paid tier Pro. Team allows one user group. Solo has one user. 51 Plugin or add-on Plugins such as Members or User Role Editor. Core roles are fixed. 7
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Paid tier Per-field Current User Condition. Rules by user group need Pro. 65 Not available
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier First-party SAML SSO on Enterprise. 13 Plugin or add-on SAML or OIDC plugins, e.g. miniOrange SAML Single Sign On. 15
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Not available No core log. Craft 5 audit plugins exist but are niche. 20 Plugin or add-on Simple History or WP Activity Log plugins. 14
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Built in Included on every edition. 19 Built in Multisite network in core, with shared users. 8
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in 18 Built in Custom blocks, admin pages and meta boxes.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 Built in WordPress.org plugin directory.
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Plugin or add-on Formie by Verbb, $99. Pricing page lists forms as plugin-only. 171 Plugin or add-on Form plugins such as WPForms or Contact Form 7. 17
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Paid tier Public registration needs Pro. 5 Built in Open registration with the Subscriber role. 7
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available No first-party AI feature. Plugin or add-on Official AI plugin plus a connected provider. Core ships the AI Client only. 29
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Third-party Craft CMS MCP plugin by Stimmt Digital. 19 Plugin or add-on MCP Adapter plugin from the WordPress AI team. 10

Considering more platforms? Compare Craft CMS and WordPress with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Craft CMS and WordPress get a different status on 13 of the 28 features and the same status on 15. Craft CMS has 14 built in on its baseline edition, WordPress has 13. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Licence
Craft CMS is closed source (Proprietary Craft License, source available). WordPress is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later).
Vendor cloud
Craft CMS has a vendor-run cloud. WordPress has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Craft CMS, a different answer on WordPress 4

  • Content model in the UI Craft CMS: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Localization Craft CMS: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • GraphQL API Craft CMS: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Drafts Craft CMS: Built in. WordPress: Limited.

Built in on WordPress, a different answer on Craft CMS 3

  • REST API Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. WordPress: Built in.
  • Visual editing Craft CMS: Limited. WordPress: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Craft CMS: Paid tier. WordPress: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 6

  • Custom roles Craft CMS: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Field-level permissions Craft CMS: Paid tier. WordPress: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Craft CMS: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Audit log Craft CMS: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • AI writing assistant Craft CMS: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Official MCP server Craft CMS: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Craft CMS vs Payload and WordPress vs Payload.

Craft CMS against other platforms

WordPress against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

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