Concrete CMS vs Joomla
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Joomla
Versatile CMS balancing power and ease of use
| Feature | Concrete CMS | Joomla |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 82 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 852 | ★ 5,143 |
| First released | 2008 | 2005 |
| Replaces | Wix, Squarespace | Wix, Squarespace |
What are Concrete CMS and Joomla?
Concrete CMS
Concrete CMS is an open-source content management system known for its intuitive in-context editing, letting users edit pages directly on the front end. It targets non-technical website owners who want easy visual control.
- In-context front-end editing
- Drag-and-drop block layouts
- Built-in marketplace
- Workflow and versioning
Joomla
Joomla is a long-established open-source CMS that sits between WordPress and Drupal in complexity. It offers built-in multilingual support, flexible templating, and a wide range of extensions for building websites and portals.
- Built-in multilingual content
- Flexible access control levels
- Large extension directory
- Strong templating system
Concrete CMS vs Joomla: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Concrete CMS versus GPL-2.0 for Joomla. Joomla is the more established project (first released 2005), while Concrete CMS arrived in 2008. Joomla has the considerably larger community, at 5,143 GitHub stars versus 852.
Why pick each one
Choose Concrete CMS if…
- Very approachable for non-technical editors
- No separate admin needed for content
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Fewer themes available
Choose Joomla if…
- Good middle ground in flexibility
- Multilingual without extra plugins
Watch out for
- Smaller community than WordPress
- Extension quality varies
Frequently asked questions
Is Concrete CMS or Joomla better?
Neither is universally better. Joomla has the larger community, while Concrete CMS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Concrete CMS and Joomla free and open-source?
Yes. Concrete CMS is licensed under MIT and Joomla under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Concrete CMS and Joomla with Docker?
Concrete CMS: yes. Joomla: yes.