The Best Open Source WordPress AlternativesTop Blog Publishing & CMS Tools like WordPress

The best open source alternative to WordPress is Drupal. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to WordPress and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to WordPress are Joomla, Ghost, Grav and Jekyll.

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WordPress alternatives are mainly Blog Publishing Tools but may also be CMS Tools or Website Builders.  Other popular filters includes Self-Hosted + Open Source. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of WordPress.
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Open-source software for creating websites and blogs with an emphasis on accessibility, ease of use, performance, and security.

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WordPress alternatives page was last updated Dec 19, 2024
  1. Drupal icon
     486 likes

    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 adva...

    213 Drupal alternatives
    Drupal screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP

    Drupal Features

    1.  Modular System
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    3.  Multiple languages
    4.  Configuration Management
    5.  Layout Builder
    6.  WYSIWYG Support
    7.  Support for Bootstrap
    8.  Ad-free
    9.  Data export/import
    10.  Modules
    Drupal iconWordPress Icon

    Drupal VS WordPress

    Is Drupal a good alternative to WordPress?
     
    Comments about Drupal as an Alternative to WordPress
     
       
    Guest

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

    Top positive commentNov 16, 2017
    1
    xu3e

    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.

    Top negative commentApr 27, 2023
    -1
    Rakshit Panchal

    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.

    Positive commentAug 21, 2024
    0
    Show more comments
    3 of 8 comments
    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
     344 likes

    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...

    204 Joomla alternatives
    Home Dashboard

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP

    Joomla Features

    1.  Modules
    Joomla iconWordPress Icon

    Joomla VS WordPress

    Is Joomla a good alternative to WordPress?
     
    Comments about Joomla as an Alternative to WordPress
     
    Guest

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

    Positive commentApr 27, 2020
    0
    Guest

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

    Positive commentJun 22, 2020
    0
    Guest

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

    Negative commentSep 4, 2018
    -12
    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
     241 likes

    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 usef...

    279 Ghost alternatives
    Ghost screenshot 1

    License model

    • Free PersonalOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    • Node.JS

    Properties

    1.  Support for Themes
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Support for MarkDown
    2.  Publishing
    3.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    4.  Real time collaboration
    5.  No Coding Required
    6.  Two-factor Authentication
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Dark Mode
    9.  Live Preview
    10.  WYSIWYG Support
    11.  Intuitive Nodes
    12.  Headless CMS
    Ghost iconWordPress Icon

    Ghost VS WordPress

    Is Ghost a good alternative to WordPress?
     
    Comments about Ghost as an Alternative to WordPress
     
    xu3e

    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.

    Negative commentApr 27, 2023
    -2
    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. Grav icon
     133 likes

    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 info...

    194 Grav alternatives
    The dashboard

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted

    Grav Features

    1.  Flat File CMS
    2.  No database needed
    3.  Support for MarkDown
    4.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    5.  Twig Templating
    6.  Two-factor Authentication
    7.  Content Management
    Grav iconWordPress Icon

    Grav VS WordPress

    Is Grav a good alternative to WordPress?
     
    Comments about Grav as an Alternative to WordPress
     
       
    Guest

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

    Top positive commentJul 23, 2017
    6
    therojam

    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.

    Positive commentJun 6, 2021
    0
    Guest

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

    Positive commentJan 17, 2020
    2
    Show more comments
    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
  5. Jekyll icon
     114 likes

    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 ...

    128 Jekyll alternatives
    Jekyll screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted

    Jekyll Features

    1.  Static Site Generator
    2.  Support for MarkDown
    3.  No Tracking
    4.  Syntax Highlighting
    5.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    6.  Command line interface
    7.  Content Management
    8.  Publishing
    Jekyll iconWordPress Icon

    Jekyll VS WordPress

    Is Jekyll a good alternative to WordPress?
     
    • 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
  6. Hugo icon
     86 likes

    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.

    99 Hugo alternatives
    Hugo screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Support for Themes

    Features

    1.  Static Site Generator
    2.  Local server included
    3.  Publishing
    4.  Support for MarkDown
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Works Offline
    7.  No Tracking
    8.  No registration required
    9.  Arch Linux Package
    Hugo iconWordPress Icon

    Hugo VS WordPress

    Is Hugo a good alternative to WordPress?
     
  7. ProcessWire icon
     162 likes

    ProcessWire is a free and open source content management framework (CMF) and content management system (CMS). The backend is clean and structured for easy handling. This tool gives you all the freedom you need to design your website. It is not as well known as the giant WordPress or its competitors Joomla an...

    110 ProcessWire alternatives
    ProcessWire screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • PHP

    Properties

    1.  Distraction-free

    Features

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Content Management
    4.  Multiple languages
    5.  Custom templates
    6.  Interactive documentation
    7.  Community-based
    8.  Headless CMS
    9.  Consistent UI
    10.  Front End live editing
    ProcessWire iconWordPress Icon

    ProcessWire VS WordPress

    Is ProcessWire a good alternative to WordPress?
     
7 of 41 WordPress alternatives