Now booking enterprise content platform builds for 2026. Contact us

Join us
Contact us

What we build

Who it's for

How we engage

Case studies

Industries

Partnerships

About

Writing

Tools

For startups Join us
Contact us
CMS comparison Joomla vs Progress Sitefinity

Joomla vs Progress Sitefinity

Joomla is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. Progress Sitefinity is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 16.

Book a call
  • Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in
  • Progress Sitefinity Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Joomla on 29 Sept 2026, Progress Sitefinity 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
Joomla vs Progress Sitefinity feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Joomla Traditional
Progress Sitefinity Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is Open-source PHP CMS built around articles, custom fields, core multilingual support and group-based access control. Self-hosted.Progress's .NET CMS and DXP for websites, run self-hosted or on the Sitefinity Cloud PaaS, with ASP.NET Core and Next.js renderers.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Joomla 6.1, open source. Joomla 5.4 is still maintained. Version 6.1.3, released 18 Aug 2026 Sitefinity CMS 15.4 DX edition, self-hosted or on Sitefinity Cloud Version 15.4.8639, released 29 Sept 2026
Vendor Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla project) joomla.org Progress Software progress.com
Licence Open source GPL-2.0-or-later Closed source Proprietary
Hosting Self-hosting No vendor cloud The project's launch.joomla.org offers free hosted sites through a hosting partner. Self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with PHP.NET, ASP.NET Core and Next.js renderers
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLMicrosoft SQL Server
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free and open source. Hosting and commercial extensions cost extra. No free option Pricing on request. DX and DX+Enterprise editions, self-hosted or on Sitefinity Cloud.
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 Fields live in the database. A new content type means writing a component. Built in Export for deployment writes module and field changes to files for source control. 3
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Limited Custom fields on articles, contacts, users and categories. No new content types. 5 Built in Module Builder.
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Limited Modules placed in template positions. No page-level block editor in core. 4 Built in Page editor widgets.
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in Per-item language with multilingual associations. 7 Built in Multilingual content per item.
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Limited Manual crop and resize in Media. No generated sizes or URL transforms. 9 Built in Resize through URL parameters and thumbnail profiles. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Web Services API with token authentication. 10 Built in OData REST web services. 5
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available Built in GraphQL on the web services layer. 6
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Not available None in core. Only small third-party extensions. 19 Built in Service hooks with a webhook action, available on all licences. 7
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Built in Template system, with Cassiopeia as the default. Built in ASP.NET Core, Next.js or legacy MVC renderers. 1
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Limited Unpublished items only. Saving a published article updates it live. 8 Built in
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Start and finish publishing dates. 8 Built in Scheduled publish and unpublish per item. 9
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Compare and restore. Includes custom field values since 6.0. 34 Built in Revision history.
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Limited Backend Preview shows the last saved version of an article. 8 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 Front-end editing opens the article or module form on the site. 4 Built in Page editor with widgets.
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Built in Workflows component, off by default. Visual workflow editor since 6.1. 112 Built in One or two approval levels, or a custom workflow. 8
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Not available Publishing and scheduling work per item. 9
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 Joomla checks out and locks an item while someone edits it. Not available Pages lock while another user edits them. 10
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Built in User groups, access levels and ACL. 4 Built in 11
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Built in Per-field Edit Custom Field Value permission. 6 Limited Module Builder types only, in the classic editing UI. Built-in content types have none. 12
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Plugin or add-on SAML or OIDC extensions from the JED. Core authenticates against LDAP only. 1314 Built in OpenID Connect and external providers such as Azure AD. 13
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Built in User Actions Log. 12 Paid tier DX + Enterprise includes Audit Trail. Progress sells it as an add-on for DX. 142
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Not available One site per install. Third-party multisite extensions only. 15 Built in Multisite with shared content and per-site permissions. 15
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in Components, modules, plugins and custom field types. Built in Custom fields, widgets and AdminApp extensions.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Joomla Extensions Directory, the JED. 14 Built in Sitefinity integrations directory. 16
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Limited Contact forms accept custom fields. Core emails submissions and does not store them. 20 Built in Forms module with a drag-and-drop builder.
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Built in Front-end registration and login. 4 Built in Front-end users with registration and login widgets.
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available No first-party AI. Third-party extensions such as 4AI. 18 Plugin or add-on Sitefinity AI subscription for text generation and agents. 17
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Third-party only, e.g. Onepoint's MCP Server for Joomla. 16 Plugin or add-on Sitefinity MCP Server, 15.4.8633 or later, needs a Sitefinity AI subscription. 18

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

Where they differ

Joomla and Progress Sitefinity get a different status on 16 of the 28 features and the same status on 12. Joomla has 12 built in on its baseline edition, Progress Sitefinity has 22. 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
Joomla is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later). Progress Sitefinity is closed source (Proprietary).
Vendor cloud
Joomla has no vendor-run cloud. Progress Sitefinity has a vendor-run cloud.
Free option
Joomla has a free option. Progress Sitefinity has no free option.

Built in on Joomla, a different answer on Progress Sitefinity 2

  • Field-level permissions Joomla: Built in. Progress Sitefinity: Limited.
  • Audit log Joomla: Built in. Progress Sitefinity: Paid tier.

Built in on Progress Sitefinity, a different answer on Joomla 12

  • Content model in code Joomla: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Content model in the UI Joomla: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Reusable blocks Joomla: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Image transformations Joomla: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • GraphQL API Joomla: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Webhooks Joomla: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Drafts Joomla: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Preview Joomla: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Visual editing Joomla: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Single sign-on Joomla: Plugin or add-on. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Joomla: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.
  • Form builder Joomla: Limited. Progress Sitefinity: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 2

  • AI writing assistant Joomla: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Plugin or add-on.
  • Official MCP server Joomla: Not available. Progress Sitefinity: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

Joomla against other platforms

Progress Sitefinity against other platforms

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

We're booking content platform
engagements for 2026.

Twenty-five minutes to walk through the work and decide if we're the right team for it. Scoping and a fixed price come after.

Book a 25-min call Or email us instead