Joomla alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Oct 25, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

Common reasons people leave Joomla: smaller ecosystem and talent pool than WordPress, and admin interface takes time to learn. We ranked 5 alternatives by how directly each one replaces Joomla, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. WordPress currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#	App	Pricing	Open source	Platforms	Verified facts	Score
1	WordPress	Open source	Yes	Self-hosted, Web, iOS +1	4 of 4	66.5

1. WordPressTop pick
Best for: Anyone who wants the largest ecosystem of themes, plugins, hosts and developers
Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Web, iOS, Android
66.5
score / 100
Why switch from Joomla
Much bigger plugin and theme market and more hosts that optimise for it.
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 ×0.3100
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 Joomla 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)

The best Joomla alternative for…

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

Best Joomla alternative for most people

WordPress

Much bigger plugin and theme market and more hosts that optimise for it.

Best Joomla alternative for a free option

Drupal

Deeper content modelling and permissions for larger, more complex sites.

Best Joomla alternative for open source

Concrete CMS

Open-source PHP CMS with in-page editing that non-technical editors pick up fast.

Best Joomla alternative for self-hosting

ProcessWire

Lean open-source PHP CMS with a clean API for developers who want full control.

Best Joomla alternative for iPhone and Android

WordPress

Much bigger plugin and theme market and more hosts that optimise for it.

Best Joomla alternative for working in the browser

Grav

Flat-file PHP CMS that drops the database for simpler sites.

Joomla alternatives: common questions

What is the best alternative to Joomla?

WordPress ranks first right now. Much bigger plugin and theme market and more hosts that optimise for it. Drupal and Concrete CMS follow it in our ranking.

Is there a free alternative to Joomla?

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

Is there an open-source alternative to Joomla?

Yes: WordPress, Drupal, Concrete CMS and ProcessWire, plus 1 more in the list above. WordPress, Drupal and Concrete CMS can also be self-hosted.

Why do people switch from Joomla?

The complaints we hear most: smaller ecosystem and talent pool than WordPress; admin interface takes time to learn; fewer modern, well-maintained templates.

How is this list ranked?

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