Joomla vs October CMS
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
VS
October CMS
Laravel-based CMS focused on simplicity for developers
| Feature | Joomla | October CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,143 | ★ 11,147 |
| First released | 2005 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Wix, Squarespace | WordPress, Wix |
What are Joomla and October CMS?
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
October CMS
October CMS is a self-hosted content management system built on the Laravel framework, designed to make web development simple again. It uses flat-file templating with a clean backend for content editors.
- Built on Laravel
- Flat-file twig-style templating
- Plugin marketplace
- Clean developer experience
Joomla vs October CMS: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Joomla versus MIT for October CMS. Joomla is the more established project (first released 2005), while October CMS arrived in 2014. October CMS has the considerably larger community, at 11,147 GitHub stars versus 5,143.
Why pick each one
Choose Joomla if…
- Good middle ground in flexibility
- Multilingual without extra plugins
Watch out for
- Smaller community than WordPress
- Extension quality varies
Choose October CMS if…
- Great for Laravel developers
- Simple, transparent architecture
Watch out for
- Some plugins are paid
- Less suited to non-developers
Frequently asked questions
Is Joomla or October CMS better?
Neither is universally better. October CMS has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Joomla and October CMS free and open-source?
Yes. Joomla is licensed under GPL-2.0 and October CMS under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Joomla and October CMS with Docker?
Joomla: yes. October CMS: yes.