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CMS comparison Joomla vs Squarespace

Joomla vs Squarespace

Joomla is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. Squarespace is a closed-source site builder that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 21.

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  • Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in
  • Squarespace Site builder · Closed source · 9 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Joomla on 29 Sept 2026, Squarespace 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 Squarespace feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Joomla Traditional
Squarespace Site builder
Overview
What it is Open-source PHP CMS built around articles, custom fields, core multilingual support and group-based access control. Self-hosted.Hosted website builder with templates, a visual editor, blogging and commerce. Squarespace runs the hosting.
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 Squarespace website plans on version 7.1 SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla project) joomla.org Squarespace, Inc. squarespace.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. No self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with PHPHosted SaaS, custom CSS and JavaScript on Core and higher plans
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLManaged by Squarespace
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 Basic $19, Core $29, Plus $49, Advanced $99 per month billed annually in the US. 14-day free trial.
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. Limited Custom post types in template.conf, only with Developer Mode on version 7.0. 23
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 Not available Fixed page and collection types. No custom fields in the editor. 2
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 Editors add and reorder sections and blocks.
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 Plugin or add-on Weglot extension. Without it, editors duplicate pages per language. 45
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 Squarespace serves uploaded images in generated sizes.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Web Services API with token authentication. 10 Limited Commerce APIs for products, orders and inventory on Core and up. No API for pages. 16
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 None in core. Only small third-party extensions. 19 Limited Commerce events only, through the Webhook Subscriptions API. 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
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 Paid tier Page drafts need a Premium or Enterprise plan. Blog posts can be drafts on any plan. 8
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 Limited Blog posts only. 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 Not available Undo and redo within an editing session only. 10
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 Editing happens on the rendered page.
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
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 Limited Enterprise Draft editor role drafts pages for an admin to publish. No custom stages. 811
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available 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 Joomla checks out and locks an item while someone edits it. Not available
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 Not available Fixed contributor permission types. 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 Not available
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 Paid tier Premium and Enterprise plans. OpenID Connect through Entra ID, SAML through Google. 1718
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 Not available
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 Limited Each site needs its own plan. Enterprise teams manage several sites from one account. 11
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. Not available
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Joomla Extensions Directory, the JED. 14 Built in Squarespace Extensions, a directory of third-party tools. 12
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 Form blocks store submissions. 13
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 Customer accounts on all plans. Member sites for gated content. 114
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 Built in Squarespace AI writer. Monthly AI credits vary by plan. 115
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 Not available The official MCP server covers domain search only. It can't reach site content. 16

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

Where they differ

Joomla and Squarespace get a different status on 21 of the 28 features and the same status on 7. Joomla has 12 built in on its baseline edition, Squarespace has 9. 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). Squarespace is closed source (Proprietary).
Self-hosting
Joomla can be self-hosted. Squarespace cannot be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Joomla has no vendor-run cloud. Squarespace has a vendor-run cloud.
Free option
Joomla has a free option. Squarespace has no free option.

Built in on Joomla, a different answer on Squarespace 9

  • Localization Joomla: Built in. Squarespace: Plugin or add-on.
  • REST API Joomla: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Scheduled publishing Joomla: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Version history Joomla: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Approval workflows Joomla: Built in. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Custom roles Joomla: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Field-level permissions Joomla: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Audit log Joomla: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Extensible admin UI Joomla: Built in. Squarespace: Not available.

Built in on Squarespace, a different answer on Joomla 6

  • Reusable blocks Joomla: Limited. Squarespace: Built in.
  • Image transformations Joomla: Limited. Squarespace: Built in.
  • Preview Joomla: Limited. Squarespace: Built in.
  • Visual editing Joomla: Limited. Squarespace: Built in.
  • Form builder Joomla: Limited. Squarespace: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Joomla: Not available. Squarespace: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 6

  • Content model in code Joomla: Not available. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Content model in the UI Joomla: Limited. Squarespace: Not available.
  • Webhooks Joomla: Not available. Squarespace: Limited.
  • Drafts Joomla: Limited. Squarespace: Paid tier.
  • Single sign-on Joomla: Plugin or add-on. Squarespace: Paid tier.
  • Multiple sites Joomla: Not available. Squarespace: Limited.

More comparisons

Joomla against other platforms

Squarespace against other platforms

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

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