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CMS comparison FirstSpirit vs Joomla

FirstSpirit vs Joomla

FirstSpirit is a closed-source enterprise DXP 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 17.

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  • FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
  • Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in

Sources checked: FirstSpirit 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
FirstSpirit vs Joomla feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP
Joomla Traditional
Overview
What it is Java-based enterprise CMS with in-preview editing and a CaaS layer for headless delivery. Runs as FirstSpirit Cloud or on-premises.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. FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises Version 2026.10 (5.2.261011), released 15 Sept 2026 Joomla 6.1, open source. Joomla 5.4 is still maintained. Version 6.1.3, released 18 Aug 2026
Vendor Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla project) joomla.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosting No vendor cloud The project's launch.joomla.org offers free hosted sites through a hosting partner.
Built with Java, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop appPHP
Database Built-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sourcesMySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. No free option Pricing on request. 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 Templates sync to files in Git through external synchronization and FSDevTools. 34 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. Limited Developers build templates in SiteArchitect but write their forms as XML. 412 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 Pages consist of sections based on section templates. 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 Language-dependent fields per project language. 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 FirstSpirit automatically generates the image resolutions defined per project. 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 CaaS REST API. 56 Built in Web Services API with token authentication. 10
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in CaaS GraphQL API generated from the FirstSpirit data model. 56 Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Limited CaaS Change Streams push change events over WebSocket. 6 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 Generates pages from templates. CaaS covers headless delivery. 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 Changes stay unreleased until the release workflow runs. 8 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. Limited Admins set up timed schedule entries. Editors have no per-item publish date. 10 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 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 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. Built in ContentCreator in-preview editing. Omnichannel Manager for headless frontends. 7 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 8 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. Limited Release with dependencies publishes a page with its linked media and parents. 9 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 The Collaboration module adds comments on fields. No co-editing. 11 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 Groups with permissions per store and node. 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. Limited Form rules hide or lock single fields per user group. 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. Built in SAML and OpenID Connect login modules. 1314 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. Built in Audit logging to the server log once enabled. 15 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. Built in Several projects per server. Multisite Management shares content between them. 16 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 ContentCreator and SiteArchitect plug-ins. Built in Components, modules, plugins and custom field types.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17 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 Formcentric for FirstSpirit, a partner product. 18 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. Plugin or add-on AI Suite module: Content, Analyze and Image assistants. 117 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. Built in CaaS Platform MCP server builds and runs CaaS GraphQL queries. 19 Not available Third-party only, e.g. Onepoint's MCP Server for Joomla. 16

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

Where they differ

FirstSpirit and Joomla get a different status on 17 of the 28 features and the same status on 11. FirstSpirit has 19 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.

Licence
FirstSpirit is closed source (Proprietary). Joomla is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later).
Vendor cloud
FirstSpirit has a vendor-run cloud. Joomla has no vendor-run cloud.
Free option
FirstSpirit has no free option. Joomla has a free option.

Built in on FirstSpirit, a different answer on Joomla 10

  • Content model in code FirstSpirit: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
  • Reusable blocks FirstSpirit: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Image transformations FirstSpirit: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • GraphQL API FirstSpirit: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
  • Drafts FirstSpirit: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Preview FirstSpirit: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Visual editing FirstSpirit: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Single sign-on FirstSpirit: Built in. Joomla: Plugin or add-on.
  • Multiple sites FirstSpirit: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
  • Official MCP server FirstSpirit: Built in. Joomla: Not available.

Built in on Joomla, a different answer on FirstSpirit 3

  • Scheduled publishing FirstSpirit: Limited. Joomla: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions FirstSpirit: Limited. Joomla: Built in.
  • Site member accounts FirstSpirit: Not available. Joomla: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

  • Webhooks FirstSpirit: Limited. Joomla: Not available.
  • Content releases FirstSpirit: Limited. Joomla: Not available.
  • Form builder FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Limited.
  • AI writing assistant FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Not available.

More comparisons

FirstSpirit against other platforms

Joomla against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

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