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CMS comparison Joomla vs Strapi

Joomla vs Strapi

Joomla is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. Strapi is an open-source headless CMS 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 19.

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  • Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in
  • Strapi Headless · Open source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Joomla on 29 Sept 2026, Strapi 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 Strapi feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Joomla Traditional
Strapi Headless
Overview
What it is Open-source PHP CMS built around articles, custom fields, core multilingual support and group-based access control. Self-hosted.Open-source Node.js headless CMS with a visual content-type builder, self-hosted or run on Strapi Cloud. Paid plans add governance features.
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 Strapi 5 CMS, free Community edition with paid Growth and Enterprise plans for self-hosted projects Version 5.55.1, released 24 Sept 2026
Vendor Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla project) joomla.org Strapi strapi.io
Licence Open source GPL-2.0-or-later Open source MIT
Hosting Self-hosting No vendor cloud The project's launch.joomla.org offers free hosted sites through a hosting partner. Self-hosting Vendor cloud Strapi Cloud removed its free plan in 2026. Hosting starts at the Starter plan.
Built with PHPTypeScript, Node.js, React
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLPostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free and open source. Hosting and commercial extensions cost extra. Free to start Community free. Growth $45 per month with 3 seats, then $15 per seat. Cloud from $35 per project per month.
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 Content types are schema.json files in the project. 19
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 Content-type Builder works in development mode only. 16
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 Components and dynamic zones. 216
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
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 Generates small, medium and large sizes on upload. No crops on request. 15
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 2
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available Plugin or add-on Official GraphQL plugin. 14
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 218
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. Not available
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 Draft & Publish. 2
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 Paid tier Growth plan, by scheduling a Release. 6
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 Paid tier Content History keeps 14 days on Growth, 30 to 90 days on Enterprise. 7
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 Basic preview is free. Side-by-side Live Preview needs Growth. 5
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 Paid tier On Growth, editors double-click content in Live Preview to edit it. 5
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 Paid tier Review Workflows on Enterprise. 9
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Paid tier Releases on Growth and Enterprise. 6
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 Built in Unlimited admin roles on Community. 28
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 Built in 8
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 Enterprise, or a $150 per month add-on on Growth. 211
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 Enterprise plan. 10
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 Not available
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 20
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Joomla Extensions Directory, the JED. 14 Built in Strapi Marketplace. 2
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 Not available
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 Users & Permissions feature for end users. 17
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 Paid tier AI translation and image alt text on Growth. Not yet available on Enterprise. 212
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 Built in Built in. Developers switch it on in the server config. 13

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

Where they differ

Joomla and Strapi get a different status on 19 of the 28 features and the same status on 9. Joomla has 12 built in on its baseline edition, Strapi has 15. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Vendor cloud
Joomla has no vendor-run cloud. Strapi has a vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Joomla, a different answer on Strapi 5

  • Renders the website Joomla: Built in. Strapi: Not available.
  • Scheduled publishing Joomla: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Version history Joomla: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Approval workflows Joomla: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Audit log Joomla: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.

Built in on Strapi, a different answer on Joomla 8

  • Content model in code Joomla: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
  • Content model in the UI Joomla: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
  • Reusable blocks Joomla: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
  • Image transformations Joomla: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
  • Webhooks Joomla: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
  • Drafts Joomla: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
  • Preview Joomla: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Joomla: Not available. Strapi: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 6

  • GraphQL API Joomla: Not available. Strapi: Plugin or add-on.
  • Visual editing Joomla: Limited. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Joomla: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Single sign-on Joomla: Plugin or add-on. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Form builder Joomla: Limited. Strapi: Not available.
  • AI writing assistant Joomla: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Strapi vs Payload.

Joomla against other platforms

Strapi against other platforms

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

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