WordPress vs Joomla vs Drupal in 2026: which CMS should you choose?

The short answer

WordPress, Joomla and Drupal are the three best known open source content management systems (CMS). All three are free to download, actively maintained and able to run serious websites. The right choice depends on the size and complexity of your project and on who will look after it, not on which one is "best" in general.

• WordPress is the best CMS for most small and mid-sized businesses in 2026: easiest to use, biggest ecosystem, easiest to hire for in almost any country.
• Drupal suits large, complex sites with many content types, user roles and strict security or governance needs, such as government portals, universities and large enterprises.
• Joomla sits in between: more built-in structure than WordPress, including multilingual features in core, with a gentler learning curve than Drupal. Its community is now much smaller.

Current versions in late 2026

All three projects shipped major updates in the last year:

• WordPress 7.1 was released in August 2026, and the latest maintenance release is 7.1.4 (October 2026). WordPress 7.2 is in beta testing.
• Joomla 6.2 was released on 13 October 2026. Joomla 5.4.10 was the last bugfix release of the 5.x series, which keeps receiving security fixes until October 2027.
• Drupal 11.4 is the current stable branch. Drupal 12 is in beta and is scheduled for the week of 7 December 2026. Drupal 10 reaches end of life on 9 December 2026, so Drupal 10 sites should plan their upgrade now.

Drupal also offers Drupal CMS, a ready-made package built on Drupal core. Version 2.0, released in early 2026, added a visual page builder called Drupal Canvas, site templates and optional AI tools, which makes Drupal easier for non-developers than it used to be.

Market share: how many sites use each CMS?

According to W3Techs data from 29 October 2026:

WordPress is used by roughly 36 times more websites than Joomla and more than 50 times more than Drupal. Raw numbers do not tell the whole story, though. Drupal's share is small, but it is concentrated among large organisations, governments and universities, where a single site can be very big.

For a business owner, market share matters for practical reasons: more themes and plugins, more tutorials in your language, and more developers who can take over your site if your agency or freelancer moves on.

WordPress vs Joomla vs Drupal: side by side

Ease of use

WordPress

WordPress is the easiest for non-technical owners. The block editor lets you write pages and posts much like a document, and most hosting companies offer one-click installs. The trade-off is that flexibility often comes from plugins, and too many plugins make a site slower and harder to maintain.

Joomla

Joomla has more options out of the box, such as access levels, multilingual features and flexible menus. That power comes with a busier admin area, and new users usually need some training before they feel comfortable.

Drupal

Drupal has traditionally been a developer's tool. Content types, fields, views and permissions are extremely flexible, but setting them up properly takes expertise. Drupal CMS 2.0 and its visual builder make day-to-day editing easier, yet the initial build and long-term care are still best left to experienced Drupal developers.

What each CMS really costs

The software is free in all three cases. What you pay for is hosting, a domain, any premium themes or extensions, the build itself and ongoing maintenance. In practice:

• WordPress has the widest price range, because you can find developers and hosting at every budget level, from freelancers to large agencies.
• Joomla hosting costs are similar to WordPress, but fewer developers means less choice when you need help.
• Drupal projects usually cost the most, because builds are more complex and Drupal specialists charge higher rates.

Maintenance is the cost most owners forget. Every self-hosted CMS needs regular updates, backups and someone who checks the site still works afterwards. Our guide to website cost gives realistic budgets in USD.

Multilingual sites and right-to-left languages

If you sell in more than one country, you may need your site in several languages, for example English and French, English and Spanish, or English and Arabic. All three systems can do it, in different ways.

• WordPress is translated into many languages and supports right-to-left (RTL) layouts for languages such as Arabic and Hebrew, but multilingual content needs a plugin. WPML and Polylang are the common choices, and some of them are paid.
• Joomla includes the multilingual framework in core. You install language packs and link translated articles and menus with "associations", without extra extensions.
• Drupal has four core multilingual modules covering languages, content translation, interface translation and configuration translation, and supports around 100 languages. It is often considered the strongest of the three for complex multilingual sites.

Whatever you choose, test the theme in every language. Long German words, French accents and RTL scripts all expose layout problems. Check that menus, forms, icons and sliders display correctly, and that fonts are readable on mobile.

Security

None of these platforms is "insecure". Most problems come from outdated software, weak passwords and poorly built add-ons.

WordPress is the largest target simply because it is the most popular. Patchstack recorded 11,334 new vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem during 2025. About 91% were in plugins and 9% in themes, while WordPress core had only 6. The lesson is to use fewer, well maintained plugins and keep everything updated.

Drupal has a long-standing reputation for security, a dedicated security team and a strong track record with governments, which is one reason public sector organisations trust it. Joomla also has a security team and regular security releases, and a smaller extension ecosystem means fewer moving parts.

For all three, the basics are the same:

• Apply core and extension updates promptly.
• Remove anything you do not use.
• Use two-factor login for admin accounts.
• Keep tested backups off the server.
• Stay on a supported version. Drupal 10 support ends in December 2026, and Joomla 5 security support ends in October 2027.

Data protection and GDPR

Because all three are self-hosted, you decide where your site and its data live. That is an advantage if you serve customers in the EU or UK, where the GDPR applies to personal data such as contact form entries, newsletter sign-ups, user accounts and analytics.

• Choose a host with data centres in a region that suits your customers, for example inside the EU for a European audience.
• Sign your host's data processing agreement and list every tool that receives visitor data, such as analytics, forms, chat and email marketing.
• Add a cookie consent tool. WordPress and Joomla have extensions for this, and Drupal has contributed modules.
• Collect only the data you need, and delete old form entries you no longer use.

The CMS does not make you compliant on its own. How you configure it, and which add-ons you install, matters far more. Many other countries now have similar privacy laws, so the same habits are worth following wherever you are.

Finding developers

We could not find reliable public statistics on how many developers work with each CMS by country, so here is the general picture from the global market.

• WordPress developers are the easiest to find, at every budget level and in almost every country, and many work remotely.
• Drupal developers are fewer and more specialised. They often work for agencies serving government, education and enterprise clients, and their rates reflect that.
• Joomla developers exist, but the pool is smaller and shrinking along with its market share. If you choose Joomla, make sure you have a long-term support plan.

Before choosing, ask yourself a simple question: if my current developer disappeared tomorrow, how quickly could I find someone else to maintain this site?

Typical use cases

Government and public sector

Drupal is widely used by governments around the world, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and France. Its permissions, workflows, multilingual features and security process suit large public portals.

Universities

Universities often run Drupal because they manage many departments, editors and sub-sites under one system. WordPress is also common for faculty blogs, news sites and smaller departments.

Small and mid-sized businesses

For most small and mid-sized companies, WordPress is the practical CMS: affordable, easy to edit and easy to hire for. Many businesses that mainly need a fast company site also skip a traditional CMS and use a static site instead. Our comparison of WordPress vs Astro explains that option.

Where Joomla still fits

Joomla can make sense for an existing Joomla site that works well, or for mid-sized multilingual and membership-style sites where its built-in features save extra plugins. For new projects, most businesses will find WordPress or Drupal easier to support long term.

Which CMS should you choose?

1. Small or mid-sized business site, blog or WooCommerce shop: WordPress.
2. Large portal with many editors, roles, content types and languages: Drupal.
3. Existing Joomla site that works: keep it, update to Joomla 6 and plan support.
4. Simple, fast company website with few edits: consider a static site instead of any of the three.

Quick checklist

• How many people will edit the site, and with what permissions?
• How many languages do you need now, and in two years?
• Who will apply updates every month?
• Where must your visitors' data be stored?
• Could you replace your developer easily if needed?

For a wider look that also covers Wix, Webflow and Shopify, read our guide to the best website platform. If you would rather have the site built for you, our web design service covers both static sites and WordPress.

If you are in the UAE

A bilingual English and Arabic site is often expected by customers in the UAE, so test right-to-left layouts carefully on whichever CMS you choose. Joomla and Drupal handle multilingual content in core, while WordPress needs a plugin such as WPML or Polylang. On data protection, the UAE has its own Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021), and free zones such as DIFC and ADGM have separate data protection rules. If you also serve EU customers, the GDPR can apply as well. Ask your host where your data is stored and keep a simple record of the tools that process customer data. For local visibility, see our guides to local SEO in Dubai and Google Business Profile.

Need a second opinion?

dhowly works with businesses worldwide, remotely, in English and French. Choosing a CMS is easier with someone who has no reason to push one platform. Book a free 15-minute call and we will look at your project, your team and your budget, and give you a straight recommendation.

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