Framer vs Joomla
Framer is a closed-source site builder that runs 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 20.
- Framer Site builder · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
- Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Framer 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 | Hosted visual site builder with a CMS, hosting and AI agents. Designers build pages on a canvas. Run by Framer. | 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. | Framer 3.0 site plans, Free to Enterprise SaaS, continuously updated | Joomla 6.1, open source. Joomla 5.4 is still maintained. Version 6.1.3, released 18 Aug 2026 |
| Vendor | Framer B.V. framer.com | Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla project) joomla.org |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary | Open source GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Hosting | No self-hosting Vendor cloud A paid plan is required to connect a custom domain. | Self-hosting No vendor cloud The project's launch.joomla.org offers free hosted sites through a hosting partner. |
| Built with | Hosted SaaS with React code components | PHP |
| Database | Managed by Framer | MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Free plan. Basic $10, Pro $30 per site per month billed yearly. Extra editors $20 per month. | 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. | Not available You build collections in the editor or sync them through the Plugin and Server APIs. 313 | 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 13 | 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 Components with properties that content editors can change on-page. 14 | 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. | Plugin or add-on Translation locales add-on, $20 per locale per month. One free locale to try. 117 | 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 Generates 512 to 4096 px variants served through srcset. 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. | Limited Server API in open beta, through the framer-api package over WebSocket. No plain REST. 23 | Built in Web Services API with token authentication. 10 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Not available | Not available |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Not available Webhooks cover form submissions only. 10 | 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 | 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 CMS items can stay in draft. 13 | 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. | Not available No native scheduling. Third-party Marketplace plugins add it. 18 | 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 Version history and rollback of published versions. 67 | 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 Canvas editing and on-page editing of the live site. 14 | 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. | Limited Editors review and merge Pro branches. Only Deploy permission publishes. No stages. 45 | 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. | Paid tier Branching on Pro groups changes and ships them in one merge. 15 | 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. | Built in Free workspaces allow up to three editors. 1 | 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. | Limited Fixed roles plus Design, Content and Deploy permissions per project. No role builder. 4 | 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. | Not available | 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. | Paid tier Enterprise. 116 | 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. | Not available Not documented publicly. | 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 A workspace holds many site projects, each on its own plan. 4 | 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 Plugins add custom panels and tools to the editor. 11 | Built in Components, modules, plugins and custom field types. |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Framer Marketplace. 12 | Built in Joomla Extensions Directory, the JED. 14 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Built in Native forms. Submissions can also go to a webhook. 10 | 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. | Built in Agents write, rewrite and translate content. AI credits meter usage. 115 | 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 No MCP server. External Agents, in preview, link AI tools through a CLI and skills. 9 | Not available Third-party only, e.g. Onepoint's MCP Server for Joomla. 16 |
Framer sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Framer 3.0 site plans, Free to Enterprise.
- Framer pricing
- Framer update: Server API (February 2026)
- Framer Developers: Server API introduction
- Framer Help: members, roles and permissions
- Framer: collaboration with branches, reviews and staging
- Framer: publish with staging, hosting and rollback
- Framer Help: staging and versions
- Framer Help: how Framer optimizes images
- Framer External Agents
- Framer Help: connect Framer forms to a webhook
- Framer Developers: plugins introduction
- Framer Marketplace plugins
- Framer CMS
- Framer Help: on-page editing
- Framer blog: Framer 3.0 with Agents and Branching
- Framer Enterprise
- Framer Help: localization
- Framer CMS Scheduler plugin (third party)
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 Framer and Joomla with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Framer and Joomla get a different status on 20 of the 28 features and the same status on 8. Framer has 14 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
- Framer is closed source (Proprietary). Joomla is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later).
- Self-hosting
- Framer cannot be self-hosted. Joomla can be self-hosted.
- Vendor cloud
- Framer has a vendor-run cloud. Joomla has no vendor-run cloud.
Built in on Framer, a different answer on Joomla 10
- Content model in the UI Framer: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
- Reusable blocks Framer: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
- Image transformations Framer: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
- Drafts Framer: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
- Preview Framer: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
- Visual editing Framer: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
- Real-time co-editing Framer: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
- Multiple sites Framer: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
- Form builder Framer: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
- AI writing assistant Framer: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
Built in on Joomla, a different answer on Framer 8
- Localization Framer: Plugin or add-on. Joomla: Built in.
- REST API Framer: Limited. Joomla: Built in.
- Scheduled publishing Framer: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
- Approval workflows Framer: Limited. Joomla: Built in.
- Custom roles Framer: Limited. Joomla: Built in.
- Field-level permissions Framer: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
- Audit log Framer: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
- Site member accounts Framer: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 2
- Content releases Framer: Paid tier. Joomla: Not available.
- Single sign-on Framer: Paid tier. Joomla: Plugin or add-on.
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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
- Directus vs Joomla
- Drupal vs Joomla
- EmDash vs Joomla
- FirstSpirit vs Joomla
- Ghost vs Joomla
- HubSpot CMS vs Joomla
- Hygraph vs Joomla
- Instatic vs Joomla
- Joomla vs Keystone
- Joomla vs Kirby
- Joomla vs Liferay DXP
- Joomla vs Optimizely CMS
- Joomla vs Payload
- 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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