Drupal vs Statamic
Drupal is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. Statamic is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 18.
- Drupal Traditional · Open source · 16 of 28 built in
- Statamic Traditional · Closed source · 8 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Drupal on 29 Sept 2026, Statamic 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. | Laravel-based PHP CMS that stores content in flat files by default. Free Core edition. Pro adds users, APIs and multi-site. You host it. |
| 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 | Statamic 6, Core and Pro Version 6.34.1, released 23 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Drupal community, supported by the Drupal Association drupal.org | Statamic, LLC statamic.com |
| Licence | Open source GPL-2.0-or-later | Closed source Proprietary, source available. Core is free to use. |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud Acquia, Pantheon and other companies sell managed Drupal hosting. | Self-hosting No vendor cloud |
| Built with | PHP, Symfony, Twig | PHP, Laravel, Vue |
| Database | MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite | Flat files by default, SQL databases via the Eloquent Driver |
| 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 Core free for one admin user. Pro $349 per site, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise from $10k per year. |
| 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. | Built in Blueprints and fieldsets are YAML files in the project. 4 |
| 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. | Built in Blueprint builder in the Control Panel. 4 |
| 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 | Built in Replicator and Bard sets. 5 |
| 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 | Paid tier Multi-site and multilingual content need Pro. 61 |
| 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 | Built in Glide resizes and crops on request. 7 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in JSON:API and REST modules in core. 3 | Paid tier Read-only REST API on Pro. 8 |
| 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 | Paid tier Read-only GraphQL API on Pro. 9 |
| 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 Laravel events only. No webhook settings in core. |
| 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 Antlers or Blade templates. |
| 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 | Paid tier Working copies of live entries need Revisions on Pro. Core has unpublished entries. 101 |
| 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 | Limited Future-dated entries stay private until their date. Set per collection. 11 |
| 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. | Paid tier Revisions on Pro. 10 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in Preview button on the edit form. | Built in 121 |
| 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 Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 12 |
| 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 | Not available Approval workflows are on the roadmap as planned. 19 |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on Free first-party Collaboration addon. Requires Pro. 18 |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Built in | Paid tier Roles and permissions need Pro. 131 |
| 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 | Not available Field conditions depend on field values. User roles can't drive them. 4 |
| 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 | Paid tier Pro via Laravel Socialite providers such as SAML2. Enterprise tier lists SSO. 1521 |
| 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 | Paid tier Enterprise tier, from $10k per year, lists audit logging. 121 |
| 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 | Paid tier Pro. 61 |
| 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 Custom fieldtypes, widgets and Control Panel pages. 17 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in drupal.org module directory. | Built in Statamic Marketplace for addons. 18 |
| 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 Core allows one form. Pro removes the limit. 116 |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Built in | Paid tier Member accounts, registration and login tags need Pro. 1416 |
| 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 |
| 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 addons only, such as MCP Server for Statamic by Cbox. 20 |
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
Statamic sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Statamic 6, Core and Pro.
- Statamic pricing
- statamic/cms release metadata on Packagist
- Statamic 6 release announcement
- Statamic docs: Blueprints
- Statamic docs: Replicator fieldtype
- Statamic docs: Multi-site
- Statamic docs: Image manipulation (Glide)
- Statamic docs: REST API
- Statamic docs: GraphQL API
- Statamic docs: Revisions
- Statamic docs: Collections and date behavior
- Statamic docs: Live Preview
- Statamic docs: Permissions
- Statamic docs: Users
- Statamic docs: OAuth
- Statamic docs: Forms
- Statamic docs: Extending the Control Panel
- Collaboration addon by Statamic
- Statamic roadmap
- MCP Server for Statamic addon by Cbox
- Statamic Enterprise
Considering more platforms? Compare Drupal and Statamic with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Drupal and Statamic get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. Drupal has 16 built in on its baseline edition, Statamic has 8. 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
- Drupal is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later). Statamic is closed source (Proprietary, source available. Core is free to use.).
Built in on Drupal, a different answer on Statamic 8
- Localization Drupal: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
- REST API Drupal: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Drafts Drupal: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Version history Drupal: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Approval workflows Drupal: Built in. Statamic: Not available.
- Content releases Drupal: Built in. Statamic: Not available.
- Custom roles Drupal: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Site member accounts Drupal: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
Built in on neither, with different answers 10
- GraphQL API Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Webhooks Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Not available.
- Scheduled publishing Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Limited.
- Real-time co-editing Drupal: Not available. Statamic: Plugin or add-on.
- Field-level permissions Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Not available.
- Single sign-on Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Audit log Drupal: Limited. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Multiple sites Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Paid tier.
- Form builder Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Limited.
- AI writing assistant Drupal: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Not available.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Drupal vs Payload.
Drupal against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Drupal
- Contentful vs Drupal
- Contentstack vs Drupal
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Drupal
- Craft CMS vs Drupal
- DatoCMS vs Drupal
- Decap CMS vs Drupal
- Directus vs Drupal
- Drupal vs EmDash
- Drupal vs FirstSpirit
- Drupal vs Framer
- Drupal vs Ghost
- Drupal vs HubSpot CMS
- Drupal vs Hygraph
- Drupal vs Instatic
- Drupal vs Joomla
- Drupal vs Keystone
- Drupal vs Kirby
- Drupal vs Liferay DXP
- Drupal vs Optimizely CMS
- Drupal vs Payload
- Drupal vs Prismic
- Drupal vs Progress Sitefinity
- Drupal vs Sanity
- Drupal vs Sitecore
- Drupal vs Squarespace
- Drupal vs Storyblok
- Drupal vs Strapi
- Drupal vs TYPO3
- Drupal vs Umbraco
- Drupal vs Wagtail
- Drupal vs Webflow
- Drupal vs Wix
- Drupal vs WordPress
- Drupal vs Xperience by Kentico
Statamic against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Statamic
- Contentful vs Statamic
- Contentstack vs Statamic
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Statamic
- Craft CMS vs Statamic
- DatoCMS vs Statamic
- Decap CMS vs Statamic
- Directus vs Statamic
- EmDash vs Statamic
- FirstSpirit vs Statamic
- Framer vs Statamic
- Ghost vs Statamic
- HubSpot CMS vs Statamic
- Hygraph vs Statamic
- Instatic vs Statamic
- Joomla vs Statamic
- Keystone vs Statamic
- Kirby vs Statamic
- Liferay DXP vs Statamic
- Optimizely CMS vs Statamic
- Statamic vs Payload
- Prismic vs Statamic
- Progress Sitefinity vs Statamic
- Sanity vs Statamic
- Sitecore vs Statamic
- Squarespace vs Statamic
- Statamic vs Storyblok
- Statamic vs Strapi
- Statamic vs TYPO3
- Statamic vs Umbraco
- Statamic vs Wagtail
- Statamic vs Webflow
- Statamic vs Wix
- Statamic vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Statamic
Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.
We're booking content platform
engagements for 2026.
Twenty-five minutes to walk through the work and decide if we're the right team for it. Scoping and a fixed price come after.