Craft CMS vs Drupal
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Drupal
Flexible enterprise CMS for complex content structures
| Feature | Craft CMS | Drupal |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,608 | ★ 4,290 |
| First released | 2013 | 2001 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Sitecore | Adobe Experience Manager, Sitecore |
What are Craft CMS and Drupal?
Craft CMS
Craft CMS is a content management system focused on giving developers and designers complete control over content structure and markup. The core product is open source with optional commercial editions.
- Flexible content modeling
- Twig templating
- GraphQL API
- Plugin store
Drupal
Drupal is a robust open-source content management framework suited to large, complex websites with structured content and demanding requirements. It is known for granular permissions, multilingual support, and an extensible module architecture.
- Structured content modeling
- Strong multilingual support
- Granular access control
- Headless and decoupled options
Craft CMS vs Drupal: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Craft CMS versus GPL-2.0 for Drupal. Craft CMS is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Drupal. Drupal is the more established project (first released 2001), while Craft CMS arrived in 2013.
Why pick each one
Choose Craft CMS if…
- Excellent for bespoke sites
- Clean control panel
Watch out for
- Pro edition is paid
- Not ideal for non-developers
Choose Drupal if…
- Scales to very large sites
- Enterprise-grade security track record
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Heavier hosting requirements
Frequently asked questions
Is Craft CMS or Drupal better?
Neither is universally better. Drupal has the larger community, while Craft CMS is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Craft CMS and Drupal free and open-source?
Yes. Craft CMS is licensed under MIT and Drupal under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Craft CMS and Drupal with Docker?
Craft CMS: yes. Drupal: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Craft CMS or Drupal?
Craft CMS has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Drupal. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.