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CMS comparison Decap CMS vs Joomla

Decap CMS vs Joomla

Decap CMS is an open-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run 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 19.

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  • Decap CMS Headless · Open source · 6 of 28 built in
  • Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Decap CMS 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
Decap CMS vs Joomla feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Decap CMS Headless
Joomla Traditional
Overview
What it is Open-source Git-based CMS. A React admin app added to your site edits Markdown, YAML or JSON files and commits them to your repository.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. Decap CMS 3, open source. Decap Turbo hosted backend is in public preview. Version 3.16.3, released 22 Sept 2026 Joomla 6.1, open source. Joomla 5.4 is still maintained. Version 6.1.3, released 18 Aug 2026
Vendor Decap CMS project (formerly Netlify CMS), maintained in Europe decapcms.org Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla project) joomla.org
Licence Open source MIT Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Decap Turbo, a hosted backend for login and Git access, is in public preview. Self-hosting No vendor cloud The project's launch.joomla.org offers free hosted sites through a hosting partner.
Built with JavaScript, ReactPHP
Database Your Git repository on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea or AzureMySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free and open source. The Decap Turbo hosted backend, in public preview, has a Free plan and Pro at €19 per month. 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. Built in Collections and fields are defined in config.yml. 6 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. Not available 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 List widget with variable types. 7 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 Side-by-side editing per locale, stored per folder, file or field. 8 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. Not available Media goes to the repo or an external media library. 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. Not available Content is files in Git. Read them through the Git host API. 2 Built in Web Services API with token authentication. 10
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Not available Use the Git host's webhooks on commit. 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 Pairs with a static site generator. 2 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 Editorial workflow keeps drafts on a branch until merged. 9 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. Not available 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. Not available History lives in Git. The CMS has no revision view. 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 Preview pane with custom templates and styles. 10 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. Limited Preview pane beside the form. No click-to-edit on the live page. 10 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. Limited Fixed Drafts, In review and Ready stages. No per-stage permissions. 9 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. 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 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. Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo, in public preview, has a custom roles add-on at €19 per month on Pro. Core uses Git access. 1214 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 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. Limited Sign-in runs through the Git host or Turbo. SAML only where the Git host enforces it. 413 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. Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo, in public preview, has an activity log on its Free plan. Core has Git history only. 12 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. Plugin or add-on Decap Turbo organizations share members across sites. Turbo is in public preview. Extra sites €10/month. 1412 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 Custom widgets, preview templates and editor components. 1110 Built in Components, modules, plugins and custom field types.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Not available No official extension directory. 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. Not available 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. Not available Not available Third-party only, e.g. Onepoint's MCP Server for Joomla. 16

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

Where they differ

Decap CMS and Joomla get a different status on 19 of the 28 features and the same status on 9. Decap CMS has 6 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.

Vendor cloud
Decap CMS has a vendor-run cloud. Joomla has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Decap CMS, a different answer on Joomla 4

  • Content model in code Decap CMS: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
  • Reusable blocks Decap CMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Drafts Decap CMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Preview Decap CMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.

Built in on Joomla, a different answer on Decap CMS 10

  • REST API Decap CMS: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Renders the website Decap CMS: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Decap CMS: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Version history Decap CMS: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Approval workflows Decap CMS: Limited. Joomla: Built in.
  • Custom roles Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions Decap CMS: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Audit log Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Built in.
  • Plugin marketplace Decap CMS: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Decap CMS: Not available. Joomla: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • Content model in the UI Decap CMS: Not available. Joomla: Limited.
  • Image transformations Decap CMS: Not available. Joomla: Limited.
  • Single sign-on Decap CMS: Limited. Joomla: Plugin or add-on.
  • Multiple sites Decap CMS: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Not available.
  • Form builder Decap CMS: Not available. Joomla: Limited.

More comparisons

Decap CMS against other platforms

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