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CMS comparison DatoCMS vs Joomla

DatoCMS vs Joomla

DatoCMS is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Joomla 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 21.

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  • DatoCMS Headless · Closed source · 16 of 28 built in
  • Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in

Sources checked: DatoCMS on 29 Sept 2026, Joomla 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
DatoCMS vs Joomla feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
DatoCMS Headless
Joomla Traditional
Overview
What it is Hosted headless CMS run by DatoCMS. It delivers content over a GraphQL API, with a REST API for content management.Open-source PHP CMS built around articles, custom fields, core multilingual support and group-based access control. Self-hosted.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. DatoCMS SaaS, Free, Professional and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated Joomla 6.1, open source. Joomla 5.4 is still maintained. Version 6.1.3, released 18 Aug 2026
Vendor DatoCMS datocms.com Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla project) joomla.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosting No vendor cloud The project's launch.joomla.org offers free hosted sites through a hosting partner.
Built with Hosted SaaS with GraphQL delivery and REST management APIs, TypeScript clientPHP
Database Managed by DatoCMSMySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free plan. Professional €149 per month billed annually, or €199 monthly. Enterprise on request. Free to start Free and open source. Hosting and commercial extensions 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. Limited Migration scripts run by the DatoCMS CLI, auto-generated from environment diffs. 12 Not available Fields live in the database. A new content type means writing a component.
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in 1 Limited Custom fields on articles, contacts, users and categories. No new content types. 5
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Block library used in modular content and Structured Text fields. 1 Limited Modules placed in template positions. No page-level block editor in core. 4
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in Field-level locales, 5 included and up to 10 with paid add-ons. 1 Built in Per-item language with multilingual associations. 7
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in Images API with imgix URL parameters. 3 Limited Manual crop and resize in Media. No generated sizes or URL transforms. 9
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in REST Content Management API reads records. Delivery is GraphQL. 111 Built in Web Services API with token authentication. 10
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 1 Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in 1 Not available None in core. Only small third-party extensions. 19
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Not available Built in Template system, with Cassiopeia as the default.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 1 Limited Unpublished items only. Saving a published article updates it live. 8
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in 1 Built in Start and finish publishing dates. 8
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Limited History kept 3 days on Free, 60 days on Professional. 1 Built in Compare and restore. Includes custom field values since 6.0. 34
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 17 Limited Backend Preview shows the last saved version of an article. 8
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Built in Click-to-edit overlays on the site in draft mode. 17 Limited Front-end editing opens the article or module form on the site. 4
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Paid tier Editorial workflows with stage permissions on Enterprise. 16 Built in Workflows component, off by default. Visual workflow editor since 6.1. 112
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Limited Publishing a record can also publish its linked records. No standalone releases. 1 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 Presence and live updates, but a record locks while one editor edits it. 4 Not available Joomla checks out and locks an item while someone edits it.
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Built in Projects include Admin and Editor roles and can create additional roles. The Free plan is limited to 2 editor seats. 15 Built in User groups, access levels and ACL. 4
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Rules apply per model, creator, locale and workflow stage. Locale rules need Enterprise. 5 Built in Per-field Edit Custom Field Value permission. 6
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier Enterprise, with SCIM provisioning. 1 Plugin or add-on SAML or OIDC extensions from the JED. Core authenticates against LDAP only. 1314
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Paid tier Enterprise. 1 Built in User Actions Log. 12
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Built in Separate projects per site. 3 on Free, extra projects €39 a month on Professional. 1 Not available One site per install. Third-party multisite extensions only. 15
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in Plugin SDK for field editors, sidebars and custom pages. 1 Built in Components, modules, plugins and custom field types.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in DatoCMS Marketplace. 19 Built in Joomla Extensions Directory, the JED. 14
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Limited Contact forms accept custom fields. Core emails submissions and does not store them. 20
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Built in Front-end registration and login. 4
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Plugin or add-on Official AI Translations plugin with your own OpenAI, Gemini, Claude or DeepL key. 89 Not available No first-party AI. Third-party extensions such as 4AI. 18
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Built in Remote MCP server at mcp.datocms.com. 10 Not available Third-party only, e.g. Onepoint's MCP Server for Joomla. 16

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

Where they differ

DatoCMS and Joomla get a different status on 21 of the 28 features and the same status on 7. DatoCMS has 16 built in on its baseline edition, Joomla has 12. 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
DatoCMS is closed source (Proprietary). Joomla is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later).
Self-hosting
DatoCMS cannot be self-hosted. Joomla can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
DatoCMS has a vendor-run cloud. Joomla has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on DatoCMS, a different answer on Joomla 10

  • Content model in the UI DatoCMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Reusable blocks DatoCMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Image transformations DatoCMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • GraphQL API DatoCMS: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
  • Webhooks DatoCMS: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
  • Drafts DatoCMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Preview DatoCMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Visual editing DatoCMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Multiple sites DatoCMS: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
  • Official MCP server DatoCMS: Built in. Joomla: Not available.

Built in on Joomla, a different answer on DatoCMS 6

  • Renders the website DatoCMS: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Version history DatoCMS: Limited. Joomla: Built in.
  • Approval workflows DatoCMS: Paid tier. Joomla: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions DatoCMS: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Audit log DatoCMS: Paid tier. Joomla: Built in.
  • Site member accounts DatoCMS: Not available. Joomla: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • Content model in code DatoCMS: Limited. Joomla: Not available.
  • Content releases DatoCMS: Limited. Joomla: Not available.
  • Single sign-on DatoCMS: Paid tier. Joomla: Plugin or add-on.
  • Form builder DatoCMS: Not available. Joomla: Limited.
  • AI writing assistant DatoCMS: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Not available.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: DatoCMS vs Payload.

DatoCMS against other platforms

Joomla against other platforms

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

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