The Best WordPress AlternativesTop Blog Publishing & CMS Tools like WordPress

WordPress is described as 'Open-source software for creating websites and blogs with an emphasis on accessibility, ease of use, performance, and security' and is a leading Blog Publishing tool in the development category. There are more than 100 alternatives to WordPress for a variety of platforms, including Web-based, Self-Hosted, SaaS, Windows and Mac apps. The best WordPress alternative is Drupal, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like WordPress are Joomla, Ghost, Blogger and Grav.

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WordPress alternatives are mainly CMS Tools, but if you're looking for Blog Publishing Tools or Website Builders you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, .NET Framework, Free, Self-Hosted, Website Builder, Linux and Self-Hosted + Open Source. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to WordPress.
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Alternatives list

  1. Drupal icon
     491 likes
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    Drupal is a free and open source CMS that has been created “by developers for developers”, and is therefore slightly more complicated to learn than a solution like Wix or WordPress. It's intended for an audience with technical skills, which is why it is perhaps less popular. This drawback can also be an advantage: thanks to the great flexibility of Drupal, it is possible to obtain much more advanced results thanks to more in-depth functionality. And like WordPress, it can also be extended with thousands of themes and modules.

    206 Drupal alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
     
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    8
    94
    Comments about Drupal as an Alternative to WordPress
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    1

    Wordpress is a good framework for absolute beginners, Drupal for more advanced users, imo

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Top Negative Comment
    xu3e
    -1

    Some times ago Drupal started using Symphony Framework which is a great for some. Not for many. I am not sure why but anytime i tried Drupal on localhost or my VPS, it was very slow comparing to wordpress. Slower than WORDPRES?! No hell! I really do not see any advantages. But in a past, i had a big feelings for Drupal. Not anymore.

    Rakshit Panchal
    Positive
    0

    Drupal and WordPress are both popular content management systems (CMS), but they serve different needs.

    WordPress is known for its ease of use and is ideal for beginners and small to medium-sized sites. It has a large library of themes and plugins, making customization straightforward.

    Drupal, on the other hand, is more complex but offers greater flexibility and scalability. It’s well-suited for large, complex websites with extensive data and custom functionality.

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    WordPress Icon
    Drupal icon
    • Most users think Drupal is a great WordPress alternative.

    • Drupal is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to WordPress.

    • Drupal is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to WordPress.

    • Drupal is Free and Open SourceWordPress is Freemium and Open Source
  2. Joomla icon
     350 likes
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    Joomla is another free and open source popular CMS. It's a powerful, versatile, and flexible platform with a large community of users and developers. It is known to be more accessible than Drupal, but more complex than WordPress. Like the other two, it can be extended with themes and extensions. Joomla still requires some technical skills and is primarily intended for developers.

    201 Joomla alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP
     
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    3
    58
    Comments about Joomla as an Alternative to WordPress
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    All in one installation with extensions I need improve the security. No problem of compatibility of extensions when I update.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Joomla is the only CMS that allows you to make a simple website to a complex website with an optimal learning curve.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    -12

    Joomla is a CMS, Wordpress was more concepted for blogging - even if it's a CMS similar Sw today...

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    WordPress Icon
    Joomla icon
    • Most users think Joomla is a great WordPress alternative.

    • Joomla is Free and Open SourceWordPress is Freemium and Open Source
  3. Ghost icon
     250 likes
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    Launched in 2013, Ghost is a modern blogging platform that you can self-host or pay for a hosted version (a bit like WordPress). But unlike the three CMS mentioned above, it's not based on PHP but on NodeJS, which can be a good thing for JavaScript developers. Ghost has a very sleek interface and offers useful tools like subscriptions, memberships, analytics, and integrations to easily grow your audience. You can also download beautiful themes from their marketplace to speed up the process of launching your website.

    272 Ghost alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    • Node.JS
     
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    1
    51
    Comments about Ghost as an Alternative to WordPress
    xu3e
    Negative
    -1

    Needs NodeJS, which means more powerful hosting or VPS that cost more than ordinary hosting. There is also less plugins and support. It is just a basic blog platform. Faster? Yeah. More secure? Yeah. Membership included? Yeah. But you have to pay more than on wordpress. And good luck with looking for an enthusiastic developers working for a smile. Wordpress is still the best platform. For a blogging i would choose anything but ghost.

    WordPress Icon
    Ghost icon
    • Most users think Ghost is a great WordPress alternative.

    • Ghost is the most popular Web-based alternative to WordPress.

    • Ghost is Free Personal and Open SourceWordPress is Freemium and Open Source
    • Ghost is Privacy focusedWordPress is not according to our users
  4. Blogger icon
     224 likes
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    Yes, the famous Blogger is still alive! Launched in 1999, and bought in 2003 by Google, it's the veteran of this list. It's a free blogging platform that offers most of the features you would need for blogging: a commenting system, built-in social features, ease of use, templates, the ability to use your own domain name… It's more limited than WordPress, but if what you're looking for is a simple solution to publish blog posts, this might be a good fit for you.

    198 Blogger alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
     
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    3
    49
    Comments about Blogger as an Alternative to WordPress
    ndlinn
    Negative
    0

    This is really in no way comparable to WordPress

    jgemmba9901
    Positive
    0

    Good ecosystem, blog builder

    Guest
    Positive
    -4

    Add JavaScript in post page easily.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    WordPress Icon
    Blogger icon
    • Most users think Blogger is a great WordPress alternative.

    • Blogger is the most popular Android & Android Tablet alternative to WordPress.

    • Blogger is Free and ProprietaryWordPress is Freemium and Open Source
  5. Grav icon
     135 likes
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    Grav is a powerful and easy to use open source CMS written in PHP and based on the Symfony web application framework. Compared to other content management systems, it is a fast, simple and flexible file-based platform. This means that Grav doesn't use a database like MySQL or MongoDB, but stores all the information in YAML files. This also means that the learning curve is pretty straightforward, there are less security risks, and the websites are usually pretty fast. There's also a marketplace with themes and plugins, but don't expect to see as many as for WordPress, Joomla or Drupal.

    183 Grav alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
     
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    6
    41
    Comments about Grav as an Alternative to WordPress
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    6

    It's not a messy pile of spaghetti code. It uses modern tools like Composer and Twig.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    therojam
    Positive
    0

    Grav is easy to deploy by just extracting the downloaded archive. It got an terminal client where to install plugins/extensions like an administrative backend or other themes. It has spotless file structure.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    2

    The features you want, without the bloat you don't

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
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    3 of 6 comments
    WordPress Icon
    Grav icon
    • Almost everyone thinks Grav is a great WordPress alternative.

    • Grav is Free and Open SourceWordPress is Freemium and Open Source
  6. Squarespace icon
     84 likes
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    Squarespace is a versatile CMS, suitable for bloggers, e-commerce, companies wanting to present their activity, musicians, photographers… The platform has few themes, but they are all of high quality. The administration interface is clear and well-thought-out - which has not always been the case. Several statistical data are also provided: page views, RSS feed subscriptions, most popular pages… Squarespace is proprietary and doesn't offer any option to self-host it, so you'll have to pay between $12 and $54 per month to get started.

    330 Squarespace alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Subscription
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
     
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    3
    37
    Comments about Squarespace as an Alternative to WordPress
    Guest
    Negative
    3

    Squarespace is a SaaS platform; WordPress can be self-hosted

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Ola Johansson
    Positive
    0

    It's a great tool to buil simple websites. Therefore a great alternative.

    DJbutit
    Negative
    -7

    It is a website builder it is not a blog

    WordPress Icon
    Squarespace icon
    • Most users think Squarespace is a great WordPress alternative.

    • Squarespace is the most popular iPhone, iPad & SaaS alternative to WordPress.

    • Squarespace is the most popular commercial alternative to WordPress.

    • Squarespace is Paid and ProprietaryWordPress is Freemium and Open Source
  7. Medium icon
     180 likes
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    Medium is a new place on the Internet where people share ideas and stories that are longer than 140 characters and not just for friends. It’s designed for little stories that make your day better and manifestos that change the world.

    135 Medium alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
     
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    4
    47
    Comments about Medium as an Alternative to WordPress
    Guest
    Negative
    14

    Médium is not a CMS. It is a website

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    fernandosoares
    Positive
    4

    Medium should not be classified as an alternative to WP, as of yet. It is way more limited than WP.

    jgemmba9901
    Positive
    0

    Easy to use website builder

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    3 of 4 comments
    WordPress Icon
    Medium icon
    • Some users think Medium is a great WordPress alternative, some don't.

    • Medium is Freemium and ProprietaryWordPress is Freemium and Open Source
  8. Jekyll icon
     124 likes
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    Jekyll is a static site generator (SSG) created in 2008 by Tom Preston-Werner, the founder of GitHub. It's coded in Ruby and requires NodeJS. It's very different from WordPress on many points. For starters, it's a static site generator, which means it takes your text and generates static HTML pages for your site (with no database).

    Like Grav, it's pretty fast and simple to use, but it requires a bit more technical knowledge as you don't have access to an admin dashboard to manage your website. One advantage, though, is that you can use the free hosting provided by GitHub Pages with Jekyll.

    129 Jekyll alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
     
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    23
    • Almost everyone thinks Jekyll is a great WordPress alternative.

    • Jekyll is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to WordPress.

    • Jekyll is Free and Open SourceWordPress is Freemium and Open Source
  9. Hugo icon
     92 likes
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    Hugo is a general-purpose website framework for generating static web pages. Hugo flexibly works with many formats and is ideal for blogs, docs, portfolios and much more.

    103 Hugo alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
     
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    6
  10. Write.as icon
     121 likes
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    Write.as is an online platform that allows you to publish an article and even an entire blog on the web in a few seconds. It comes in the form of a minimalist and distraction-free online word processor, and reduces the technical part of online publishing to a strict minimum while respecting your privacy and anonymity. Write.as can be used without even having to log in. The interface is as simple as it gets: just choose a title and start writing. Write.as is an open source and ads-free platform that you can use for free, or you can pay a monthly subscription (from $6 to $30) to get more features (custom domain, themes, private blog, custom CSS, and more).

    102 Write.as alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Subscription
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Google Chrome
    • Kindle Fire
     
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    19
  11. Webflow icon
     86 likes
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    Build custom websites using Webflow's platform with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Design, animate, collaborate, and host responsive sites, generating clean code. Users enjoy CMS integration for content, SEO control, and globalized experiences. Transform unstyled elements into reusable components.

    239 Webflow alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
     
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    9
  12. Bear Blog icon
     44 likes
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    Privacy-first, no-nonsense, super-fast blogging. No trackers, no JavaScript, no stylesheets. Just your words.

    86 Bear Blog alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once or Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
     
12 of 105 WordPress alternatives