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CMS comparison Statamic vs WordPress

Statamic vs WordPress

Statamic is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. WordPress 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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  • Statamic Traditional · Closed source · 8 of 28 built in
  • WordPress Traditional · Open source · 13 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Statamic on 29 Sept 2026, WordPress 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
Statamic vs WordPress feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Statamic Traditional
WordPress Traditional
Overview
What it is Laravel-based PHP CMS that stores content in flat files by default. Free Core edition. Pro adds users, APIs and multi-site. You host it.Open-source PHP CMS that renders sites through themes and extends through plugins. Teams self-host it or buy managed WordPress hosting.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Statamic 6, Core and Pro Version 6.34.1, released 23 Sept 2026 WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org Version 7.1.2, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor Statamic, LLC statamic.com WordPress.org community project (Automattic is the largest contributor) wordpress.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary, source available. Core is free to use. Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
Hosting Self-hosting No vendor cloud Self-hosting No vendor cloud Automattic's WordPress.com and many third-party hosts sell managed WordPress.
Built with PHP, Laravel, VuePHP, JavaScript, React block editor
Database Flat files by default, SQL databases via the Eloquent DriverMySQL, MariaDB
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Core free for one admin user. Pro $349 per site, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise from $10k per year. Free to start Free to download and self-host. Hosting and premium plugins 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 Blueprints and fieldsets are YAML files in the project. 4 Built in Post types, taxonomies and meta registered in PHP.
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in Blueprint builder in the Control Panel. 4 Plugin or add-on ACF or Custom Post Type UI plugins. Core has no content type builder. 12
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Replicator and Bard sets. 5 Built in Block editor with patterns and synced patterns.
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Paid tier Multi-site and multilingual content need Pro. 61 Plugin or add-on WPML or Polylang plugins. Core translates the interface only. 13
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in Glide resizes and crops on request. 7 Built in WordPress generates registered image sizes on upload.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Paid tier Read-only REST API on Pro. 8 Built in 5
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Paid tier Read-only GraphQL API on Pro. 9 Plugin or add-on WPGraphQL, a canonical plugin on WordPress.org. 6
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Not available Laravel events only. No webhook settings in core. Plugin or add-on WP Webhooks plugin. Core sends no outgoing webhooks. 16
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Built in Antlers or Blade templates. Built in Block themes and classic PHP themes.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Paid tier Working copies of live entries need Revisions on Pro. Core has unpublished entries. 101 Limited Edits to a published post go live on update. PublishPress Revisions adds pending drafts. 11
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Limited Future-dated entries stay private until their date. Set per collection. 11 Built in Scheduled publishing only. Scheduled unpublishing needs a plugin.
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Paid tier Revisions on Pro. 10 Built in Revisions with a visual scrubber since 7.0. 2
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 121 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 Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 12 Built in Block Editor and Site Editor edit content inside the theme's styles.
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Not available Approval workflows are on the roadmap as planned. 19 Plugin or add-on PublishPress plugins. Core has only the Pending Review status. 711
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. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Collaboration addon. Requires Pro. 18 Not available Pulled from 7.0. Still experimental in the Gutenberg plugin. 3418
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Paid tier Roles and permissions need Pro. 131 Plugin or add-on Plugins such as Members or User Role Editor. Core roles are fixed. 7
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Field conditions depend on field values. User roles can't drive them. 4 Not available
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier Pro via Laravel Socialite providers such as SAML2. Enterprise tier lists SSO. 1521 Plugin or add-on SAML or OIDC plugins, e.g. miniOrange SAML Single Sign On. 15
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Paid tier Enterprise tier, from $10k per year, lists audit logging. 121 Plugin or add-on Simple History or WP Activity Log plugins. 14
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Paid tier Pro. 61 Built in Multisite network in core, with shared users. 8
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in Custom fieldtypes, widgets and Control Panel pages. 17 Built in Custom blocks, admin pages and meta boxes.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Statamic Marketplace for addons. 18 Built in WordPress.org plugin directory.
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Limited Core allows one form. Pro removes the limit. 116 Plugin or add-on Form plugins such as WPForms or Contact Form 7. 17
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Paid tier Member accounts, registration and login tags need Pro. 1416 Built in Open registration with the Subscriber role. 7
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available Plugin or add-on Official AI plugin plus a connected provider. Core ships the AI Client only. 29
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Third-party addons only, such as MCP Server for Statamic by Cbox. 20 Plugin or add-on MCP Adapter plugin from the WordPress AI team. 10

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

Where they differ

Statamic and WordPress get a different status on 19 of the 28 features and the same status on 9. Statamic has 8 built in on its baseline edition, WordPress has 13. 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
Statamic is closed source (Proprietary, source available. Core is free to use.). WordPress is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later).

Built in on Statamic, a different answer on WordPress 1

  • Content model in the UI Statamic: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

Built in on WordPress, a different answer on Statamic 6

  • REST API Statamic: Paid tier. WordPress: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Statamic: Limited. WordPress: Built in.
  • Version history Statamic: Paid tier. WordPress: Built in.
  • Visual editing Statamic: Limited. WordPress: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Statamic: Paid tier. WordPress: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Statamic: Paid tier. WordPress: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 12

  • Localization Statamic: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • GraphQL API Statamic: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Webhooks Statamic: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Drafts Statamic: Paid tier. WordPress: Limited.
  • Approval workflows Statamic: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Real-time co-editing Statamic: Plugin or add-on. WordPress: Not available.
  • Custom roles Statamic: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Single sign-on Statamic: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Audit log Statamic: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Form builder Statamic: Limited. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • AI writing assistant Statamic: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Official MCP server Statamic: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

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