Wagtail vs WordPress
Wagtail is an open-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 12.
- Wagtail Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in
- WordPress Traditional · Open source · 13 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Wagtail 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
| Platform |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| What it is | Open-source CMS built on Django. Content types are Python models, and you host it yourself on any Python stack. | 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. | Wagtail 8, open source Version 8.0, released 25 Aug 2026 | WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org Version 7.1.2, released 22 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Wagtail core team (created by Torchbox) wagtail.org | WordPress.org community project (Automattic is the largest contributor) wordpress.org |
| Licence | Open source BSD-3-Clause | Open source GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud The Wagtail project runs no managed hosting. Deploy it like any Django app. | Self-hosting No vendor cloud Automattic's WordPress.com and many third-party hosts sell managed WordPress. |
| Built with | Python, Django | PHP, JavaScript, React block editor |
| Database | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite | MySQL, MariaDB |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Free and open source. No licence fee. | 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 Page and snippet types are Django models. 2 | 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. | Not available Developers define content types in Python only. | 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 StreamField blocks. 2 | 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. | Built in Core i18n with simple_translation. The wagtail-localize package adds a translation workflow. 3 | 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 Renditions with resize, crop and format filters. 4 | Built in WordPress generates registered image sizes on upload. |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in Read-only v2 API. Writable v3 API in preview since 8.0. 51 | Built in 5 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Plugin or add-on wagtail-grapple, maintained by Torchbox. 6 | 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 Django signals such as page_published. No webhook settings. 18 | 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 | 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. | Built in | 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. | Built in Go-live and expiry dates. 7 | 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. | Built in Editors can compare and revert revisions. 11 | 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 20 | 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 Preview panel beside the edit form. No click-to-edit on the page. 20 | 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. | Built in Moderation workflows with tasks assigned to groups. 8 | 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. | Not available Concurrent editing notifications warn editors. No live co-editing. 12 | 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. | Built in Groups with page, collection and model permissions. 9 | 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. | Built in Set in code with the permission argument on panels. 10 | Not available |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Plugin or add-on django-allauth supports SAML and OpenID Connect. 19 | 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. | Built in Site-wide history report of logged actions. 11 | 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. | Built in Several sites in one installation with shared users. 9 | 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 Hooks, viewsets and custom panels. | Built in Custom blocks, admin pages and meta boxes. |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Wagtail packages directory on wagtail.org. 17 | Built in WordPress.org plugin directory. |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Built in wagtail.contrib.forms form builder. 13 | 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. | Limited Login for private pages is built in. Public sign-up needs a package such as django-allauth. 14 | 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. | Plugin or add-on Wagtail AI, an officially supported package. 15 | 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. | Limited Experimental wagtail-mcp package, announced September 2026. 16 | Plugin or add-on MCP Adapter plugin from the WordPress AI team. 10 |
Wagtail sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Wagtail 8, open source.
- Wagtail 8.0 release notes
- How to use StreamField for mixed content
- Wagtail docs: Internationalization
- Wagtail docs: Images
- Wagtail API v2 usage guide
- wagtail-grapple on GitHub
- Wagtail guide: Scheduled publishing
- Wagtail guide: Configure workflows for moderation
- Wagtail docs: Permissions
- Wagtail docs: Panels reference
- Wagtail docs: Audit log
- Wagtail 6.2: content metrics and concurrent editing
- Wagtail docs: Form builder
- Wagtail docs: Private pages
- Wagtail AI
- Experiments with MCP in Wagtail
- Wagtail docs: Packages
- Wagtail docs: Signals
- django-allauth: SAML provider
- Wagtail 4.0 release notes: live preview panel
WordPress sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org.
- WordPress 7.1.2 Release
- WordPress 7.0 "Armstrong" release announcement
- Real-time collaboration will not ship in WordPress 7.0
- Moving to a server-aware approach for collaboration
- REST API Handbook
- WPGraphQL plugin on WordPress.org
- Roles and Capabilities documentation
- WordPress Multisite / Network
- AI plugin on WordPress.org
- WordPress/mcp-adapter on GitHub
- PublishPress Revisions plugin
- ACF: Post Types and Taxonomies
- WPML multilingual plugin
- Simple History plugin
- SAML Single Sign On plugin (miniOrange)
- WP Webhooks plugin
- WPForms plugin
- Roadmap to 7.1
Considering more platforms? Compare Wagtail and WordPress with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Wagtail and WordPress get a different status on 12 of the 28 features and the same status on 16. Wagtail has 18 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.
Built in on Wagtail, a different answer on WordPress 7
- Localization Wagtail: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
- Drafts Wagtail: Built in. WordPress: Limited.
- Approval workflows Wagtail: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
- Custom roles Wagtail: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
- Field-level permissions Wagtail: Built in. WordPress: Not available.
- Audit log Wagtail: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
- Form builder Wagtail: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
Built in on WordPress, a different answer on Wagtail 2
- Visual editing Wagtail: Limited. WordPress: Built in.
- Site member accounts Wagtail: Limited. WordPress: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 3
- Content model in the UI Wagtail: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
- Webhooks Wagtail: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
- Official MCP server Wagtail: Limited. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: WordPress vs Payload.
Wagtail against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Wagtail
- Contentful vs Wagtail
- Contentstack vs Wagtail
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Wagtail
- Craft CMS vs Wagtail
- DatoCMS vs Wagtail
- Decap CMS vs Wagtail
- Directus vs Wagtail
- Drupal vs Wagtail
- EmDash vs Wagtail
- FirstSpirit vs Wagtail
- Framer vs Wagtail
- Ghost vs Wagtail
- HubSpot CMS vs Wagtail
- Hygraph vs Wagtail
- Instatic vs Wagtail
- Joomla vs Wagtail
- Keystone vs Wagtail
- Kirby vs Wagtail
- Liferay DXP vs Wagtail
- Optimizely CMS vs Wagtail
- Wagtail vs Payload
- Prismic vs Wagtail
- Progress Sitefinity vs Wagtail
- Sanity vs Wagtail
- Sitecore vs Wagtail
- Squarespace vs Wagtail
- Statamic vs Wagtail
- Storyblok vs Wagtail
- Strapi vs Wagtail
- TYPO3 vs Wagtail
- Umbraco vs Wagtail
- Wagtail vs Webflow
- Wagtail vs Wix
- Xperience by Kentico vs Wagtail
WordPress against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs WordPress
- Contentful vs WordPress
- Contentstack vs WordPress
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs WordPress
- Craft CMS vs WordPress
- DatoCMS vs WordPress
- Decap CMS vs WordPress
- Directus vs WordPress
- Drupal vs WordPress
- EmDash vs WordPress
- FirstSpirit vs WordPress
- Framer vs WordPress
- Ghost vs WordPress
- HubSpot CMS vs WordPress
- Hygraph vs WordPress
- Instatic vs WordPress
- Joomla vs WordPress
- Keystone vs WordPress
- Kirby vs WordPress
- Liferay DXP vs WordPress
- Optimizely CMS vs WordPress
- WordPress vs Payload
- Prismic vs WordPress
- Progress Sitefinity vs WordPress
- Sanity vs WordPress
- Sitecore vs WordPress
- Squarespace vs WordPress
- Statamic vs WordPress
- Storyblok vs WordPress
- Strapi vs WordPress
- TYPO3 vs WordPress
- Umbraco vs WordPress
- Webflow vs WordPress
- Wix vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs WordPress
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.