Joomla vs Wix
Joomla is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. Wix 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 20.
- Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in
- Wix Site builder · Closed source · 21 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Joomla on 29 Sept 2026, Wix 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 | Open-source PHP CMS built around articles, custom fields, core multilingual support and group-based access control. Self-hosted. | Hosted website builder with a CMS, business apps and hosting, run by Wix.com Ltd. Wix Studio adds an editor and workspace for agencies. |
| 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 | Wix website builder with Wix CMS, in Wix Editor and Wix Studio SaaS, continuously updated |
| Vendor | Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla project) joomla.org | Wix.com Ltd. wix.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 Wix Headless serves the same content to a frontend you host. |
| Built with | PHP | Hosted SaaS, JavaScript through the Wix IDE, CLI and SDK |
| Database | MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL | Wix CMS collections, managed by Wix |
| 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 Free plan. Light $17, Core $29, Business $39, Business Elite $159 per month billed yearly in the US. |
| 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 Only Wix CLI apps and headless projects define collections in TypeScript files. 13 |
| 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 20 |
| 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 saved components on the canvas. |
| 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 Wix Multilingual, with manual or automatic translation. 14 |
| 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 and crop through image URL parameters. 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 Data Items REST API. 3 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Not available | Built in GraphQL endpoint over the same data as the REST API. 4 |
| 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 App webhooks, or an HTTP request step in Wix Automations. 16 |
| 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 | Built in Draft status on CMS items, on by default for new collections. 11 |
| 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 status changes on CMS items. 11 |
| 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 | Limited CMS keeps weekly and manual collection backups. Restores replace whole collections. 9 |
| 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 |
| 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 Approvals for site changes in the Wix Studio enterprise solution. 8 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Not available | Limited Release Manager publishes whole site versions and test sites. No grouped item releases. 12 |
| 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. | Built in Built into the Studio Editor. 7 |
| 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 Not every permission is available to custom roles. 619 |
| 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 CMS permissions apply per collection. 20 |
| 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 OpenID Connect only, with the Wix Studio enterprise solution. 10 |
| 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 Not documented publicly. |
| 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 One account or Studio workspace manages many sites, each on its own plan. |
| 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 Dashboard extensions add custom pages and widgets. 17 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Joomla Extensions Directory, the JED. 14 | Built in Wix App Market. |
| 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 Wix Forms. |
| 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 Members Area handles sign-up and login. |
| 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 AI text creator in the Wix and Studio editors. 18 |
| 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 Wix MCP for docs, code and site API calls. 5 |
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
Wix sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Wix website builder with Wix CMS, in Wix Editor and Wix Studio.
- Wix plans and pricing
- Wix blog: Wix Premium plans (May 2026)
- Wix Data Items API
- The Wix GraphQL API
- The Wix MCP
- Wix Help: creating custom roles for collaborators
- Wix Help: Studio Editor collaborating on a site
- Wix Help: enterprise approvals for site changes
- Wix Help: restoring CMS collections with backups
- Wix Help: SSO login for your organization
- Wix Help: managing collection item statuses
- Wix Help: Release Manager
- Wix CLI: data collections extension files
- Wix Help: Wix Multilingual overview
- Wix Media: URL image transformation
- Wix Developers: about webhooks
- Wix Developers: about dashboard extensions
- Wix Help: Studio Editor AI text creator
- Wix Help: inviting collaborators
- Wix Help: CMS overview
Considering more platforms? Compare Joomla and Wix with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Joomla and Wix get a different status on 20 of the 28 features and the same status on 8. Joomla has 12 built in on its baseline edition, Wix has 21. 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). Wix is closed source (Proprietary).
- Self-hosting
- Joomla can be self-hosted. Wix cannot be self-hosted.
- Vendor cloud
- Joomla has no vendor-run cloud. Wix has a vendor-run cloud.
Built in on Joomla, a different answer on Wix 4
- Version history Joomla: Built in. Wix: Limited.
- Approval workflows Joomla: Built in. Wix: Paid tier.
- Field-level permissions Joomla: Built in. Wix: Not available.
- Audit log Joomla: Built in. Wix: Not available.
Built in on Wix, a different answer on Joomla 13
- Content model in the UI Joomla: Limited. Wix: Built in.
- Reusable blocks Joomla: Limited. Wix: Built in.
- Image transformations Joomla: Limited. Wix: Built in.
- GraphQL API Joomla: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Webhooks Joomla: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Drafts Joomla: Limited. Wix: Built in.
- Preview Joomla: Limited. Wix: Built in.
- Visual editing Joomla: Limited. Wix: Built in.
- Real-time co-editing Joomla: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Multiple sites Joomla: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Form builder Joomla: Limited. Wix: Built in.
- AI writing assistant Joomla: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Official MCP server Joomla: Not available. Wix: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 3
- Content model in code Joomla: Not available. Wix: Limited.
- Content releases Joomla: Not available. Wix: Limited.
- Single sign-on Joomla: Plugin or add-on. Wix: Paid tier.
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