Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Content Management Systems

Drupal vs Joomla

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 7 checks side by side
Higher score Drupal #1 in Content Management Systems 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 6 of 6 features Visit Drupal
Joomla #6 in Content Management Systems 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 6 of 6 features Visit Joomla

Drupal leads on 0 checks, Joomla on 0, and 7 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 7 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreDrupal · 9.4/10
  • Free planboth

Drupal scores higher on our rubric for content management systems: 9.4 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #6.

Drupal is the better fit for complex structured and editorial content. Joomla is the better fit for general-purpose open-source website management.

  • Drupal fits best

    Complex structured and editorial content

  • Joomla fits best

    General-purpose open-source website management

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Drupal 9.4/10 Visit ↗ Joomla 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 8.6
Ranking #1 in Content Management Systems #6 in Content Management Systems
Best for Complex structured and editorial content General-purpose open-source website management
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web Web
Support Community, Docs Community, Docs
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Drupal 6/6 · Joomla 6/6
Editorial workflows ✓ ✓
Custom user roles ✓ ✓
Multilingual content ✓ ✓
SEO tools ✓ ✓
Media library ✓ ✓
Custom content types ✓ ✓
Specs
Platform type Hybrid Hybrid
Our review
Pros
  • Configurable content types and fields support deep structured content.
  • Editorial workflows, custom permissions, and multilingual support are built in.
  • API-first options, visual building, media, SEO, and enterprise integrations.️
  • Free, open-source platform with self-hosted deployment
  • Built-in multilingual content, workflows, SEO, and versioning
  • Granular permissions, custom fields, templates, extensions, and APIs
Cons
  • Self-hosted deployments add hosting and maintenance responsibilities.
  • Advanced implementations can require developer or agency involvement.
  • Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of simpler websites.
  • You manage hosting for a self-hosted installation
  • Hosting and third-party extensions may add separate costs
  • Fewer verified integrations than category leaders
Our verdict

Drupal is a free, open-source content management platform for websites and digital experiences. It is designed for developers, agencies, and organizations that need configurable content models, custom architecture, integrations, and…

Read the review →

Joomla is a free, open-source content management system for publishing web content on a user's own hosting. It is suited to corporate sites, portals, intranets, publications, government and nonprofit websites, online reservations, and…

Read the review →
  1. DrupalContent Management Systems 9.4Free plan
  2. JoomlaContent Management Systems 8.6Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Drupal — where it wins

    • Configurable content types and fields support deep structured content.
    • Editorial workflows, custom permissions, and multilingual support are built in.
    • API-first options, visual building, media, SEO, and enterprise integrations.️

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-hosted deployments add hosting and maintenance responsibilities.
    • Advanced implementations can require developer or agency involvement.
    • Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of simpler websites.

  • Joomla — where it wins

    • Free, open-source platform with self-hosted deployment
    • Built-in multilingual content, workflows, SEO, and versioning
    • Granular permissions, custom fields, templates, extensions, and APIs

    Where it doesn't

    • You manage hosting for a self-hosted installation
    • Hosting and third-party extensions may add separate costs
    • Fewer verified integrations than category leaders
  • Drupal9.4/10 · Free plan

    A mature CMS for complex content, editorial control, and custom digital architectures.

    Visit DrupalFull verdict →
  • Joomla8.6/10 · Free plan

    A capable, free CMS for multilingual publishing, workflows, permissions, and structured content.

    Visit JoomlaFull verdict →

More comparisons

All content management systems comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update