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CMS comparison HubSpot CMS vs Joomla

HubSpot CMS vs Joomla

HubSpot CMS 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 19.

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  • HubSpot CMS Site builder · Closed source · 16 of 28 built in
  • Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in

Sources checked: HubSpot CMS 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
HubSpot CMS vs Joomla feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
HubSpot CMS Site builder
Joomla Traditional
Overview
What it is HubSpot's hosted CMS and site builder, sold as Content Hub. Pages and blogs connect to the HubSpot CRM, and HubSpot hosts every site.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. Content Hub: Free, Starter, Professional, Enterprise SaaS, continuously updated Joomla 6.1, open source. Joomla 5.4 is still maintained. Version 6.1.3, released 18 Aug 2026
Vendor HubSpot, Inc. hubspot.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 Self-hosting No vendor cloud The project's launch.joomla.org offers free hosted sites through a hosting partner.
Built with HubL templates, HubSpot CLIPHP
Database Managed by HubSpot, with HubDB for structured dataMySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free plan for 2 users. Starter $20 per seat per month. Pro from $450 per month for 3 seats. Enterprise from $1,500. 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 Theme and module fields live in fields.json, synced with the HubSpot CLI. 3 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. Paid tier Module fields in Design manager on Starter. HubDB tables on Professional. 14 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 Drag-and-drop modules and sections. 5 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 Free tools cover 3 languages, Starter 50, Professional unlimited. 16 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 Automatic resizing plus the HubL resize_image_url function. 7 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 CMS APIs for pages, blog posts and HubDB. 8 Built in Web Services API with token authentication. 10
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Paid tier Content Hub Professional. 9 Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Not available Webhooks API covers CRM objects. No page publish events. 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 HubL themes and templates on HubSpot hosting. 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 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. Built in 118 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 Restore previous versions on all plans. 12 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 Drag-and-drop editor edits the rendered page. 5 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. Paid tier Content approvals on Enterprise. 1 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 Content staging on Professional publishes staged pages together. 13 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 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. Paid tier Permission sets on Enterprise. Per-user permissions on all plans. 14 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 SAML SSO on Content Hub Professional and Enterprise. 15 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. Paid tier Activity logging on Enterprise. 1 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. Paid tier Multisites on Enterprise. 1 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 Custom modules and their fields appear in the page editor. 3 Built in Components, modules, plugins and custom field types.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in HubSpot Marketplace for apps and themes. 16 Built in Joomla Extensions Directory, the JED. 14
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Built in 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. Paid tier Memberships on Professional with 2 access groups and Enterprise with 100. 12 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 Breeze generates and refines content in editors on all plans. 17 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 Remote HubSpot MCP server reads site pages, landing pages and blog posts. 18 Not available Third-party only, e.g. Onepoint's MCP Server for Joomla. 16

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

Where they differ

HubSpot CMS and Joomla get a different status on 19 of the 28 features and the same status on 9. HubSpot CMS has 16 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
HubSpot CMS is closed source (Proprietary). Joomla is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later).
Self-hosting
HubSpot CMS cannot be self-hosted. Joomla can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
HubSpot CMS has a vendor-run cloud. Joomla has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on HubSpot CMS, a different answer on Joomla 9

  • Content model in code HubSpot CMS: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
  • Reusable blocks HubSpot CMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Image transformations HubSpot CMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Drafts HubSpot CMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Preview HubSpot CMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Visual editing HubSpot CMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Form builder HubSpot CMS: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • AI writing assistant HubSpot CMS: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
  • Official MCP server HubSpot CMS: Built in. Joomla: Not available.

Built in on Joomla, a different answer on HubSpot CMS 5

  • Approval workflows HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Joomla: Built in.
  • Custom roles HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Joomla: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions HubSpot CMS: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Audit log HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Joomla: Built in.
  • Site member accounts HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Joomla: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • Content model in the UI HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Joomla: Limited.
  • GraphQL API HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Joomla: Not available.
  • Content releases HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Joomla: Not available.
  • Single sign-on HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Joomla: Plugin or add-on.
  • Multiple sites HubSpot CMS: Paid tier. Joomla: Not available.

More comparisons

HubSpot CMS 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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