Joomla vs WordPress
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
WordPress
The most popular content management system in the world
| Feature | Joomla | WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, one-click |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,143 | ★ 21,434 |
| First released | 2005 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Wix, Squarespace | Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com |
What are Joomla and WordPress?
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
WordPress
WordPress is the world's most widely used open-source CMS, powering a large share of all websites. It offers a vast ecosystem of themes and plugins for building blogs, business sites, and complex web applications.
- Huge theme and plugin ecosystem
- Block-based Gutenberg editor
- Massive community support
- REST API for headless use
Joomla vs WordPress: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. WordPress is the more established project (first released 2003), while Joomla arrived in 2005. WordPress has the considerably larger community, at 21,434 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 WordPress if…
- Unmatched ecosystem and documentation
- Easy for non-technical users
Watch out for
- Frequent target for attacks
- Plugin bloat can slow sites
Frequently asked questions
Is Joomla or WordPress better?
WordPress is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Joomla if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Joomla and WordPress free and open-source?
Yes. Joomla is licensed under GPL-2.0 and WordPress under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Joomla and WordPress with Docker?
Joomla: yes. WordPress: yes.