Drupal vs WordPress
Drupal is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. WordPress 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 12.
- Drupal Traditional · Open source · 16 of 28 built in
- WordPress Traditional · Open source · 13 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Drupal on 29 Sept 2026, WordPress 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 that renders sites through themes and extends through plugins. Teams self-host it or buy managed WordPress hosting. |
| 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 | WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org Version 7.1.2, released 22 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Drupal community, supported by the Drupal Association drupal.org | WordPress.org community project (Automattic is the largest contributor) wordpress.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 Automattic's WordPress.com and many third-party hosts sell managed WordPress. |
| Built with | PHP, Symfony, Twig | PHP, JavaScript, React block editor |
| Database | MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite | MySQL, MariaDB |
| 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 to download and self-host. Hosting and premium plugins 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. | Built in Post types, taxonomies and meta registered in PHP. |
| 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 ACF or Custom Post Type UI plugins. Core has no content type builder. 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 Block editor with patterns and synced patterns. |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on WPML or Polylang plugins. Core translates the interface only. 13 |
| 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 WordPress generates registered image sizes on upload. |
| 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 5 |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on WPGraphQL, a canonical plugin on WordPress.org. 6 |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on WP Webhooks plugin. Core sends no outgoing webhooks. 16 |
| 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 Block themes and classic PHP themes. |
| 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 Edits to a published post go live on update. PublishPress Revisions adds pending drafts. 11 |
| 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 Scheduled publishing only. Scheduled unpublishing needs a plugin. |
| 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 Revisions with a visual scrubber since 7.0. 2 |
| 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 |
| 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 | Built in Block Editor and Site Editor edit content inside the theme's styles. |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on PublishPress plugins. Core has only the Pending Review status. 711 |
| 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 Pulled from 7.0. Still experimental in the Gutenberg plugin. 3418 |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Built in | Plugin or add-on Plugins such as Members or User Role Editor. Core roles are fixed. 7 |
| 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 |
| 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 plugins, e.g. miniOrange SAML Single Sign On. 15 |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on Simple History or WP Activity Log plugins. 14 |
| 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 Multisite network in core, with shared users. 8 |
| 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 blocks, admin pages and meta boxes. |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in drupal.org module directory. | Built in WordPress.org plugin directory. |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on Form plugins such as WPForms or Contact Form 7. 17 |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Built in | Built in Open registration with the Subscriber role. 7 |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on Official AI plugin plus a connected provider. Core ships the AI Client only. 29 |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on MCP Adapter plugin from the WordPress AI team. 10 |
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
WordPress sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org.
- WordPress 7.1.2 Release
- WordPress 7.0 "Armstrong" release announcement
- Real-time collaboration will not ship in WordPress 7.0
- Moving to a server-aware approach for collaboration
- REST API Handbook
- WPGraphQL plugin on WordPress.org
- Roles and Capabilities documentation
- WordPress Multisite / Network
- AI plugin on WordPress.org
- WordPress/mcp-adapter on GitHub
- PublishPress Revisions plugin
- ACF: Post Types and Taxonomies
- WPML multilingual plugin
- Simple History plugin
- SAML Single Sign On plugin (miniOrange)
- WP Webhooks plugin
- WPForms plugin
- Roadmap to 7.1
Considering more platforms? Compare Drupal and WordPress with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Drupal and WordPress get a different status on 12 of the 28 features and the same status on 16. Drupal has 16 built in on its baseline edition, WordPress has 13. 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 WordPress 6
- Content model in the UI Drupal: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
- Localization Drupal: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
- Drafts Drupal: Built in. WordPress: Limited.
- Approval workflows Drupal: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
- Content releases Drupal: Built in. WordPress: Not available.
- Custom roles Drupal: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
Built in on WordPress, a different answer on Drupal 3
- Scheduled publishing Drupal: Plugin or add-on. WordPress: Built in.
- Visual editing Drupal: Limited. WordPress: Built in.
- Multiple sites Drupal: Plugin or add-on. WordPress: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 3
- Field-level permissions Drupal: Plugin or add-on. WordPress: Not available.
- Audit log Drupal: Limited. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
- Official MCP server Drupal: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Drupal vs Payload and WordPress vs Payload.
Drupal against other platforms
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WordPress against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs WordPress
- Contentful vs WordPress
- Contentstack vs WordPress
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs WordPress
- Craft CMS vs WordPress
- DatoCMS vs WordPress
- Decap CMS vs WordPress
- Directus vs WordPress
- EmDash vs WordPress
- FirstSpirit vs WordPress
- Framer vs WordPress
- Ghost vs WordPress
- HubSpot CMS vs WordPress
- Hygraph vs WordPress
- Instatic vs WordPress
- Joomla vs WordPress
- Keystone vs WordPress
- Kirby vs WordPress
- Liferay DXP vs WordPress
- Optimizely CMS vs WordPress
- WordPress vs Payload
- Prismic vs WordPress
- Progress Sitefinity vs WordPress
- Sanity vs WordPress
- Sitecore vs WordPress
- Squarespace vs WordPress
- Statamic vs WordPress
- Storyblok vs WordPress
- Strapi vs WordPress
- TYPO3 vs WordPress
- Umbraco vs WordPress
- Wagtail vs WordPress
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- Wix vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs WordPress
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