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Craft CMS alternatives: 6 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Oct 25, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

Common reasons people leave Craft CMS: needs a developer to build templates; no drag-and-drop themes, and smaller plugin ecosystem than WordPress. We ranked 6 alternatives by how directly each one replaces Craft CMS, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Statamic currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#AppPricingOpen sourcePlatformsVerified factsScore
1WordPress logoWordPressOpen sourceYesSelf-hosted, Web, iOS +14 of 459.6
2ProcessWire logoProcessWireOpen sourceYesSelf-hosted, Web3 of 357.2
3Drupal logoDrupalOpen sourceYesSelf-hosted, Web3 of 355.3
  1. WordPress logo

    1. WordPressTop pick

    Best for: Anyone who wants the largest ecosystem of themes, plugins, hosts and developers

    Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Web, iOS, Android

    59.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from Craft CMS

    Free core and a vast plugin market if clients want to self-manage everything.

    Pros

    • Huge plugin and theme ecosystem for almost any feature
    • Cheap hosting and easy-to-find developers everywhere
    • Block editor lets non-developers build and edit pages

    Cons

    • Plugin-heavy sites get slow and hard to maintain
    • Frequent target for attacks, so updates can't be ignored
    • Quality of third-party plugins varies widely
    Visit WordPress Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.377
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is WordPress a good Craft CMS alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    License
    GPL
    Checked Oct 25, 2026wordpress.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Stack
    PHP with MariaDB/MySQL
    Checked Oct 25, 2026wordpress.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Server requirements
    PHP 8.3+, MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.11+ recommended
    Checked Oct 25, 2026wordpress.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Open source
    Yes
    Checked Oct 25, 2026wordpress.org(opens source in a new tab)
  2. ProcessWire logo

    2. ProcessWire

    Best for: PHP developers who want total control over markup with a stable, simple core

    Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Web

    57.2

    score / 100

    Why switch from Craft CMS

    Free open-source PHP CMS with similarly flexible fields and templates.

    Pros

    • Very flexible fields and templates for any content shape
    • Clean PHP API that's quick to learn
    • Stable core with careful, backwards-compatible releases

    Cons

    • Small community and few ready-made themes
    • Not aimed at non-developers building their own site
    • Development leans heavily on one lead maintainer
    Visit ProcessWire Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.369
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is ProcessWire a good Craft CMS alternative?

    Verified facts

    3 of 3 verified
    Open source
    Yes
    Checked Oct 25, 2026processwire.com(opens source in a new tab)
    API reference
    Documents all classes and API variables
    Checked Oct 25, 2026processwire.com(opens source in a new tab)
    License
    MPL 2.0
    Checked Oct 25, 2026processwire.com(opens source in a new tab)
  3. Drupal logo

    3. Drupal

    Best for: Organisations with complex content, many editors and in-house or agency developers

    Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Web

    55.3

    score / 100

    Why switch from Craft CMS

    Free open-source option with even deeper structure for very large sites.

    Pros

    • Strong content modelling, permissions and multilingual support in core
    • Thousands of contributed modules and a large professional community
    • Works as a traditional CMS or a headless API backend

    Cons

    • Steeper learning curve than WordPress for site builders
    • Major upgrades and custom modules need experienced developers
    • Overkill for small brochure sites
    Visit Drupal Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.363
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Drupal a good Craft CMS alternative?

    Verified facts

    3 of 3 verified
    License
    GPL
    Checked Oct 25, 2026drupal.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Open source
    Yes
    Checked Oct 25, 2026drupal.org(opens source in a new tab)
    Price
    Free
    Checked Oct 25, 2026drupal.org(opens source in a new tab)

The best Craft CMS alternative for…

The highest-ranked app in this list for each need.

Statamic logo

Best Craft CMS alternative for most people

Statamic

Similar developer-first approach, built on Laravel with a flat-file option.

WordPress logo

Best Craft CMS alternative for a free option

WordPress

Free core and a vast plugin market if clients want to self-manage everything.

Storyblok logo

Best Craft CMS alternative for a free plan you can upgrade

Storyblok

Hosted headless CMS with a visual editor if you want to drop server upkeep.

ProcessWire logo

Best Craft CMS alternative for open source

ProcessWire

Free open-source PHP CMS with similarly flexible fields and templates.

Kirby logo

Best Craft CMS alternative for self-hosting

Kirby

File-based PHP CMS with a one-off licence and a highly customisable panel.

WordPress logo

Best Craft CMS alternative for iPhone and Android

WordPress

Free core and a vast plugin market if clients want to self-manage everything.

Drupal logo

Best Craft CMS alternative for working in the browser

Drupal

Free open-source option with even deeper structure for very large sites.

Craft CMS alternatives: common questions

What is the best alternative to Craft CMS?

Statamic ranks first right now. Similar developer-first approach, built on Laravel with a flat-file option. Kirby and WordPress follow it in our ranking.

Is there a free alternative to Craft CMS?

Yes. Statamic (free plan + paid), WordPress (open source), ProcessWire (open source) and Drupal (open source) have a free option. Check each app's verified facts for current plan limits.

Is there an open-source alternative to Craft CMS?

Yes: WordPress, ProcessWire and Drupal. WordPress, ProcessWire and Drupal can also be self-hosted.

Why do people switch from Craft CMS?

The complaints we hear most: needs a developer to build templates; no drag-and-drop themes; smaller plugin ecosystem than WordPress; paid editions required once you need more than one user.

How is this list ranked?

Every app is scored with the same published formula: how directly it replaces Craft CMS, reviews (weighted by verification), visits from AppBreakup, how recently its facts were checked against its own website, and reader votes.