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CMS comparison Drupal vs TYPO3

Drupal vs TYPO3

Drupal is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. TYPO3 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 11.

  • Drupal Traditional · Open source · 16 of 28 built in
  • TYPO3 Traditional · Open source · 20 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Drupal on 29 Sept 2026, TYPO3 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
Drupal vs TYPO3 feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Drupal Traditional
TYPO3 Traditional
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 for multi-site, multilingual websites, with workspaces and granular backend permissions. Self-hosted, often run by agencies.
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 TYPO3 v14 LTS, version 14.3, open source Version 14.3.7, released 8 Sept 2026
Vendor Drupal community, supported by the Drupal Association drupal.org TYPO3 Association (project); TYPO3 GmbH sells support and extended LTS typo3.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 No vendor SaaS. TYPO3 agencies and hosts run managed installations.
Built with PHP, Symfony, TwigPHP, Symfony components, Fluid
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLiteMySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite
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. Commercial support and extended LTS are sold separately.
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 TCA in PHP. The Content Blocks extension adds YAML definitions. 11
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. Plugin or add-on Mask extension builds content elements in the backend. 12
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 Content elements on pages, reordered by drag and drop.
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 Page and record translations. Guided translation wizard in v14. 2
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 Server-side image processing with crop variants. 10
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in JSON:API and REST modules in core. 3 Plugin or add-on EXT:headless outputs pages as JSON. Core has no content API. 13
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 Built in Webhooks system extension, in core since v12. 6
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 Fluid templates. Camino default theme in v14. 2
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 Built in Via the Workspaces system extension. 5
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 stop dates on pages and content.
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 Record history with diff and undo.
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 Workspace preview links. 5
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 Plugin or add-on Visual Editor extension from Friends of TYPO3. TYPO3 plans core support for v15. 3
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 Custom stages in Workspaces. 5
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 Built in Workspaces publish staged changes together. 5
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
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Built in Built in Backend user groups. 9
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 Exclude fields per backend group. 9
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 OpenID Connect extensions such as causal/oidc. 14
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 Log module records backend changes by user.
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 Built in Several site configurations in one installation.
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 Backend modules and custom form elements.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in drupal.org module directory. Built in TYPO3 Extension Repository. 16
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 Built in Form Framework with a backend form editor. 7
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Built in Built in Frontend users and the felogin extension. 8
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 Core ships AI integration points only. Third-party extensions such as AI Suite. 417
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. hauptsache.net's TYPO3 MCP Server. 15

Considering more platforms? Compare Drupal and TYPO3 with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.


Where they differ

Drupal and TYPO3 get a different status on 11 of the 28 features and the same status on 17. Drupal has 16 built in on its baseline edition, TYPO3 has 20. 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 TYPO3 2

  • Content model in the UI Drupal: Built in. TYPO3: Plugin or add-on.
  • REST API Drupal: Built in. TYPO3: Plugin or add-on.

Built in on TYPO3, a different answer on Drupal 6

  • Webhooks Drupal: Plugin or add-on. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Drupal: Plugin or add-on. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions Drupal: Plugin or add-on. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Audit log Drupal: Limited. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Drupal: Plugin or add-on. TYPO3: Built in.
  • Form builder Drupal: Plugin or add-on. TYPO3: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

  • GraphQL API Drupal: Plugin or add-on. TYPO3: Not available.
  • Visual editing Drupal: Limited. TYPO3: Plugin or add-on.
  • AI writing assistant Drupal: Plugin or add-on. TYPO3: Not available.

More comparisons

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

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