Quick answer: For most websites — blogs, small businesses, online stores and content sites — WordPress is the better choice: it’s easier to learn, has a far bigger ecosystem (tens of thousands of free plugins) and runs about 40% of all websites versus about 1% for Joomla (W3Techs, October 2026). Joomla is worth considering for structured sites that need multilingual content and fine-grained user permissions built in, if someone on your team is comfortable managing it.
Joomla vs WordPress at a glance
| WordPress | Joomla | |
|---|---|---|
| Share of all websites | ~39.6% | ~1.1% |
| CMS market share | ~58.3% | ~1.6% |
| Cost | Free (open source) | Free (open source) |
| Ease of use | Easier for beginners | Steeper learning curve |
| Extensions | 70,000+ free plugins in the official directory (reported) | About 5,000 extensions in the official directory (reported) |
| Multilingual | Via plugins | Built into core |
| User permissions (ACL) | Roles; advanced control via plugins | Granular access control in core |
| Custom fields | Core basics; advanced via plugins | Built into core |
| Best for | Most sites | Structured, multilingual, permission-heavy sites |
Market share from W3Techs (22 October 2026). Extension counts as reported in 2026 comparisons.
1. Ease of use
WordPress is generally easier to start with. The dashboard is simple, the block editor feels familiar, and almost every host offers one-click installs. Joomla’s interface is more structured — content, menus, modules and components interact in ways that take time to understand. Once learned, Joomla is powerful, but beginners usually get productive faster with WordPress.
2. Extensions and themes
This is WordPress’s biggest advantage. Its plugin and theme ecosystem is many times larger than Joomla’s, so almost any feature — forms, SEO, ecommerce, memberships, bookings — has several mature options. Joomla has quality extensions too, but fewer choices and a smaller developer pool. That also affects cost: it’s easier and usually cheaper to hire WordPress developers.
3. Multilingual sites
Joomla includes multilingual content management in core, so you can run a site in several languages without extra plugins. WordPress needs a plugin for this. If multilingual is central to your project and you want it built in, Joomla deserves a look; otherwise, WordPress multilingual plugins work well for most sites.
4. User roles and permissions
Joomla’s access control list (ACL) lets you define detailed permissions for groups of users out of the box — useful for intranets, membership portals and organisations with many editors. WordPress has five simple default roles and uses plugins for advanced permissions.
5. Security
Both are secure when updated properly. WordPress is a bigger target because it’s more popular, and most of its vulnerabilities come from third-party plugins rather than core. Joomla publishes fixed support dates for major versions (for example, Joomla 5 security fixes are scheduled to end in October 2027 and Joomla 6 in October 2029), while WordPress focuses support on its latest release. With either CMS, updates, strong passwords and backups matter most — see our WordPress security guide.
6. SEO
Both can rank well. WordPress makes SEO easier thanks to popular plugins that handle titles, sitemaps and schema in minutes — see best SEO plugins. Joomla has built-in SEO settings and extensions too, but with fewer options.
7. Ecommerce
WordPress with WooCommerce powers a huge number of online stores and has a vast range of payment, shipping and marketing extensions. Joomla has ecommerce extensions, but the ecosystem is much smaller. See WordPress ecommerce.
8. Cost
Both are free to download. Your costs are hosting, premium extensions and developer time. Because WordPress talent is easier to find, development and maintenance are often cheaper.
9. Community and support
WordPress has a huge global community, official forums, Learn WordPress courses and countless tutorials. Joomla has a dedicated, helpful community, but it’s smaller, so you’ll find fewer up-to-date tutorials for specific problems.
10. Performance
Neither CMS is automatically faster. Speed depends on hosting, caching, the theme or template and how many extensions you use. A lean Joomla site and a lean WordPress site can both load quickly; a site loaded with heavy plugins or extensions will be slow on either. WordPress has more performance plugins and hosting options built specifically for it — see how to speed up WordPress.
11. For developers
Developers often find Joomla’s MVC architecture clean and well organised for building custom components. WordPress uses hooks (actions and filters), a REST API and blocks built with React, and it can also run as a headless CMS. The deciding factor is usually the team: there are far more WordPress developers, agencies and freelancers, which makes hiring, handover and long-term maintenance easier.
Which should you choose?
| Your project | Better choice |
|---|---|
| Blog or content site | WordPress |
| Small business website | WordPress |
| Online store | WordPress (WooCommerce) |
| Multilingual organisation site with many editor groups | Joomla (or WordPress with plugins) |
| Intranet with detailed permissions | Joomla |
| You want the biggest pool of developers and plugins | WordPress |
Moving from Joomla to WordPress
Many sites switch from Joomla to WordPress for the bigger ecosystem. Migration plugins and services can move articles, categories, users and images. Plan redirects so old URLs point to new ones, test on a staging site and check SEO after launch.
Also comparing other platforms?
See WordPress vs Wix, WordPress vs Squarespace, WordPress vs Shopify and Umbraco vs WordPress security.
Frequently asked questions
Is Joomla better than WordPress?
For most websites, no — WordPress is easier and has a bigger ecosystem. Joomla is better for some multilingual and permission-heavy projects.
Is Joomla still used in 2026?
Yes, by about 1.1% of all websites according to W3Techs, with active development and new major versions.
Is WordPress more secure than Joomla?
Both are secure when maintained. WordPress is targeted more because it’s more popular.
Which is better for SEO?
Both can rank well; WordPress’s SEO plugins make it easier.
Can I move from Joomla to WordPress?
Yes, with migration tools or a developer. Set up redirects to keep your rankings.
Final thoughts
WordPress wins for most people thanks to its ease of use and enormous ecosystem. Choose Joomla only if its built-in multilingual and permission features match a specific need. New to WordPress? Start with how to use WordPress.
Security: what changed in 2026
Joomla and WordPress both run on PHP, so both were affected when the October 2026 PHP2Shell vulnerabilities were disclosed. Researchers demonstrated attacks against test installations of WordPress, Drupal and Joomla, because the flaws were in PHP itself rather than in either CMS. The fix for both was the same: a patched PHP version on the server. This is a useful reminder that platform choice matters less for security than good hosting, prompt updates and sensible extensions. Whichever CMS you choose, pick a host that applies security patches quickly.
Which is easier to find help for?
WordPress has a much larger community, which means more tutorials, more developers, more plugins and faster answers to common problems. Joomla’s community is smaller but experienced, and its built-in features mean you may need fewer extensions. If you plan to hire help often, WordPress’s larger talent pool usually makes it cheaper and quicker to find someone.
WordPressPrime.com is an independent guide and is not affiliated with the WordPress Foundation, WordPress.org or Automattic. Always back up your website before making changes, and check official sources for the latest details.
