Drupal vs Joomla
Drupal is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. 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 15.
- Drupal Traditional · Open source · 16 of 28 built in
- Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Drupal 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
| Platform |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| What it is | Open-source PHP CMS with fieldable content types, core JSON:API and multilingual modules. Teams self-host it or use Drupal hosting platforms. | 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. | Drupal 11 core. Drupal CMS 2 bundles core with selected contrib modules. Version 11.4.8, released 26 Sept 2026 | Joomla 6.1, open source. Joomla 5.4 is still maintained. Version 6.1.3, released 18 Aug 2026 |
| Vendor | Drupal community, supported by the Drupal Association drupal.org | Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla project) joomla.org |
| Licence | Open source GPL-2.0-or-later | Open source GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud Acquia, Pantheon and other companies sell managed Drupal hosting. | Self-hosting No vendor cloud The project's launch.joomla.org offers free hosted sites through a hosting partner. |
| Built with | PHP, Symfony, Twig | PHP |
| Database | MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite | MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Free and open source. Hosting, support and contrib services cost extra. | 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 Content types and fields export to YAML config files. | 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 Field UI in core. | 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 Layout Builder in core. Paragraphs and Drupal Canvas are contrib. 910 | 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 content translation in core. 7 | 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 Image styles scale, crop and convert images. 8 | 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 JSON:API and REST modules in core. 3 | Built in Web Services API with token authentication. 10 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Plugin or add-on GraphQL contrib module. Developers build the schema. 4 | Not available |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Plugin or add-on Webhooks contrib module. Core has no outgoing webhooks. 18 | 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. | Built in Twig themes. | 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 Drafts of published content need the core Content Moderation module. 5 | 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. | Plugin or add-on Scheduler contrib module. 11 | 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. | Built in Revert in core. Side-by-side compare needs the Diff contrib module. | 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 button on the edit form. | 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 Layout Builder edits blocks on a rendered preview. Drupal Canvas is contrib. 910 | 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. | Built in Workflows and Content Moderation modules in core. 5 | 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. | Built in Workspaces module, stable in core since 10.3. 6 | 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. | Built in | 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. | Plugin or add-on Field Permissions contrib module. 12 | 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. | Plugin or add-on OpenID Connect or SAML Authentication contrib modules. 13 | 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. | Limited Database Logging records content events by user. It caps and prunes entries. 20 | 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 Domain contrib module. Core multisite shares only the codebase. 14 | 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 field widgets, forms and admin routes. | Built in Components, modules, plugins and custom field types. |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in drupal.org module directory. | Built in Joomla Extensions Directory, the JED. 14 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Plugin or add-on Webform contrib module. Core Contact is deprecated in 11.4. 152 | 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. | Built in | 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 AI module from the Drupal AI Initiative, bundled with Drupal CMS. 1619 | 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 Community contrib only, e.g. the MCP Server module by Lullabot and Omedia. 17 | Not available Third-party only, e.g. Onepoint's MCP Server for Joomla. 16 |
Drupal sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Drupal 11 core. Drupal CMS 2 bundles core with selected contrib modules..
- drupal 11.4.8 release
- drupal 11.4.0 release notes
- JSON:API module documentation
- GraphQL module
- Content Moderation module documentation
- Mark Workspaces as a stable core module (#3088643)
- Multilingual guide: translating content
- Image module: working with images
- Layout Builder module documentation
- Drupal Canvas
- Scheduler module
- Field Permissions module
- OpenID Connect / OAuth client module
- Domain module
- Webform module
- AI (Artificial Intelligence) module
- MCP Server module
- Webhooks module
- Drupal CMS 2.0 is here
- Database Logging module documentation
Joomla sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Joomla 6.1, open source. Joomla 5.4 is still maintained..
- Joomla Downloads: latest release
- Joomla 6.1 is here
- What's new in Joomla 6.0?
- Joomla Core Features
- Fields (user manual)
- Help5.x: Fields: Edit (permissions)
- Multilingual Associations
- Article: Preview
- Media: Image Crop Resize Rotate
- Web Services (programmers documentation)
- Workflows (user manual)
- User Actions Log
- LDAP authentication
- Joomla Extensions Directory
- JED: Multiple Sites category
- MCP Server for Joomla (JED)
- Free Hosting (user manual)
- 4AI (JED)
- Content Sharing - Webhooks (JED)
- Adding Custom Fields to the Joomla Contact Form
Considering more platforms? Compare Drupal and Joomla with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Drupal and Joomla get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. Drupal 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.
Built in on Drupal, a different answer on Joomla 7
- Content model in code Drupal: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
- Content model in the UI Drupal: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
- Reusable blocks Drupal: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
- Image transformations Drupal: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
- Drafts Drupal: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
- Preview Drupal: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
- Content releases Drupal: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
Built in on Joomla, a different answer on Drupal 3
- Scheduled publishing Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Built in.
- Field-level permissions Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Built in.
- Audit log Drupal: Limited. Joomla: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 5
- GraphQL API Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Not available.
- Webhooks Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Not available.
- Multiple sites Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Not available.
- Form builder Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Limited.
- AI writing assistant Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Not available.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Drupal vs Payload.
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Joomla against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Joomla
- Contentful vs Joomla
- Contentstack vs Joomla
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Joomla
- Craft CMS vs Joomla
- DatoCMS vs Joomla
- Decap CMS vs Joomla
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- EmDash vs Joomla
- FirstSpirit vs Joomla
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- Ghost vs Joomla
- HubSpot CMS vs Joomla
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- Instatic vs Joomla
- Joomla vs Keystone
- Joomla vs Kirby
- Joomla vs Liferay DXP
- Joomla vs Optimizely CMS
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- Joomla vs Prismic
- Joomla vs Progress Sitefinity
- Joomla vs Sanity
- Joomla vs Sitecore
- Joomla vs Squarespace
- Joomla vs Statamic
- Joomla vs Storyblok
- Joomla vs Strapi
- Joomla vs TYPO3
- Joomla vs Umbraco
- Joomla vs Wagtail
- Joomla vs Webflow
- Joomla vs Wix
- Joomla vs WordPress
- Joomla vs Xperience by Kentico
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