Open‑Source WCMS: WordPress vs Joomla vs Drupal

Looking for an open‑source Web Content Management System (WCMS)? Here’s a concise, developer‑friendly comparison of the big three—WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal—with notes on TYPO3, Ghost, and Magento Open Source. We cover strengths, multilingual and workflow capabilities, headless APIs, and the kind of projects each platform fits best. Citations point to the official docs so you can double‑check or go deeper.

What are the best open‑source WCMS options right now?

Shortlist (open source, self‑hosted):

WordPress — huge ecosystem, fast to launch, block editor; great for marketing sites, blogs, and SMB sites. Has a full REST API.
Joomla — built‑in multilingual and powerful ACL; solid for portals and community sites that need granular permissions.
Drupal — advanced content modeling, built‑in multilingual and editorial workflows; favored for complex, structured content and larger teams.
TYPO3 — enterprise‑grade multisite & multilingual, fine‑grained permissions; common in EU enterprise.
Ghost — modern publishing platform and headless‑friendly APIs; ideal for content‑first sites and publications.
Magento Open Source — commerce‑first platform with CMS features; choose it when catalog + checkout drive the project.

Quick picker (what fits where)

Platform	Best for	Team	Complexity
WordPress	Marketing/blog sites	Small–mid	Low
Joomla	Portals, communities	Small–mid	Medium
Drupal	Structured content apps	Mid–large	High
TYPO3	Enterprise multisite	Mid–large	High
Ghost	Publishing/blogging	Small	Low
Magento OS	E‑commerce stores	Mid–large	High

How do I choose between WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal?

Decision guide

Pick WordPress if speed‑to‑launch, non‑technical editors, and a massive plugin/theme market matter most. You can still model custom content via custom post types/fields and go headless via the REST API.
Pick Joomla if you need built‑in multilingual support and granular user permissions (ACL) out of the box.
Pick Drupal if you need complex content models, editorial workflows (draft → review → publish), and multilingual in core. It’s excellent for structured content and multi‑role teams.

Do these CMSs support headless builds and APIs?

WordPress — Core REST API for posts, pages, taxonomies, users, media, etc. Good fit for React/Vue front‑ends or mobile apps.
Joomla — Joomla 4/5 include Web Services with token auth; you can also expose custom endpoints.
Drupal — JSON:API is in core; zero‑config endpoints for entities/fields enabling fully headless setups.
Ghost — Designed with headless use in mind; clean Content/Admin APIs.

What about multilingual, roles/permissions, and editorial workflow?

Multilingual

WordPress — Use a plugin‑based approach; the advanced admin handbook recommends evaluating multilingual plugins and URL strategies.
Joomla — Multilingual is built into core; language associations and packs are supported out of the box.
Drupal — Multilingual is provided by core modules (Language, Content Translation, etc.).

Roles & permissions

Joomla — Robust ACL system for viewing and actions.
Drupal — Granular roles/permissions; pair with Content Moderation for editorial gates.

Editorial workflow

Drupal — Content Moderation + Workflows in core (draft/review/published states).
WordPress & Joomla — Basic publish/draft by default; advanced workflows typically added via extensions/plugins.

Any hosting or server requirements I should know?

Always check the official requirement pages for current versions:

WordPress — PHP, MySQL/MariaDB, HTTPS; Apache or Nginx recommended.
Joomla 4/5 — PHP 8.x with modern MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL; see the official technical requirements.
Drupal 10/11 — PHP 8.x with supported DB versions (e.g., MySQL/Percona or MariaDB); see the system/database requirements.

All of these run well on a standard LAMP/LEMP stack. If you plan to go headless, ensure CORS and caching layers are configured appropriately.

Link me to the official sites to explore each option.

Need human WordPress help?

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