Joomla vs October CMS

WordPress

ClickSites

Wix is a website-building and business management platform that helps users create any type of website and expand the brand's online presence. Wix offers its users different ways to build sites; for those less tech-savvy, the Wix Editor is the way to go. It boasts a choice of various pre-designed templates that can be personalized with a drag-and-drop editor and various other AI capabilities, such as an automated text generator.

WordPress is a website and blog creation and publishing platform with tools for aesthetic designing, visitor tracking, content storage and upload, and more

ClickSites.ai lets you create stunning, fully-functional websites without any coding. Simply chat with the AI assistant, and it generates everything-design, content, and images. Your ideal website is just a conversation away!

Web Designer

My biggest con is that it doesn't have as large of a community as it's competitors, so if I have a question or want to discuss methods with other developers, it's harder to find answers.

Joomla is an open-source content management system (CMS) which allows users to build websites & online applications, with site templates, multi-language support & more

Access Controls/Permissions

Activity Dashboard

Activity Tracking

Alerts/Notifications

Asset Library

Asset Sharing

Campaign Management

Collaboration Tools

Commenting/Notes

Content Management

Content Publishing Options

Customizable Branding

Customizable Fields

Customizable Forms

Customizable Templates

Data Import/Export

Design Management

Document Classification

Document Management

Drag & Drop

eCommerce Management

File Management

Full Text Search

Landing Pages/Web Forms

Metadata Management

Multi-Language

Online Store Builder

Pre-built Templates

Real Time Editing

Reporting/Analytics

Search/Filter

Shopping Cart

Social Media Integration

Text Editing

Third-Party Integrations

User Management

Version Control

Video Support

Website Analytics

Website Management

WYSIWYG Editor

Reviewers appreciate that Joomla is free and includes cost-effective templates and plugins, and they value the free community support. Some users report that paid extensions and developer costs can reduce its overall value for money.

Value for money

The Joomla integration most frequently cited by reviewers is Google Maps, a GIS product rated 4.6 out of 5 for its integration with Joomla.

Integrations

By industry, Joomla reviewers are most commonly professionals in information technology and services (16%). The most frequent use case for Joomla cited by reviewers is website builder (81% of reviewers).

Open Source

Joomla

Web-based

Drupal

PrestaShop

Squarespace

Webflow

October CMS

Microsoft Azure

Basic

Challenging version upgrades

QA Manager

I understand there are some dependencies on the versions of external software like PHP or MySQL, but the support sometimes is not clear and has generated some users to leave Joomla and look for other opportunities.

71% of reviewers feel negative about Joomla’s version compatibility. Users report frequent difficulties when upgrading between major versions, citing tedious migration processes and compatibility issues with extensions and plugins. They say outdated versions are still widely used, leading to security vulnerabilities and unsupported features. Reviewers mention that unclear support for dependencies and lack of backward compatibility create frustration, especially for those without technical expertise. They feel that managing updates across different versions is complex and can result in broken websites or lost functionality.

Complex and risky updates

65% of reviewers feel negative about Joomla’s update process. Users indicate that updating Joomla and its plugins is often cumbersome, unintuitive, and sometimes leads to site instability or data loss. They say manual updates are required frequently, which can be time-consuming and error-prone. Reviewers mention that failed updates may render sites unusable, and automatic update options are lacking. They express concerns about the need for constant vigilance to maintain security, and note that updates can break existing plugins or slow down site performance.

Unintuitive and outdated UI

45% of reviewers feel negative about Joomla’s user interface. Users say the admin panel is complex, cluttered, and not beginner-friendly, making navigation and content management challenging. They report that the interface feels outdated compared to competitors, with confusing menus and terminology. Reviewers mention that even basic tasks can be difficult to locate, requiring reference to documentation. They feel that the UI’s complexity can overwhelm inexperienced users and slows down workflow, especially for those accustomed to more modern, streamlined platforms.

Frequent security vulnerabilities

42% of reviewers feel negative about Joomla’s security and access control. Users report recurring security issues, including susceptibility to hacking and spam if the software and extensions are not kept up to date. They say the platform’s code base has had vulnerabilities, and the basic installation may not provide sufficient protection. Reviewers mention that managing security requires constant attention and technical knowledge, and they find it difficult to assess the safety of third-party extensions. They express concerns about the overall reliability of Joomla’s security protocols.

Plugin compatibility issues

Sometimes plugins and add-ons become unsupported which is sometimes dissapointing if they are something you rely on.

44% of reviewers feel negative about Joomla’s integrations. Users report frequent problems with plugins and third-party extensions, including compatibility issues after updates and difficulties finding reliable, up-to-date add-ons. They say integrating new features often requires technical expertise, and unsupported or outdated plugins can break site functionality. Reviewers mention that plugin costs can be excessive, and the lack of seamless integration options limits the platform’s flexibility. They find that maintaining interoperability between core Joomla and extensions is a persistent challenge.

Freedom and community support

open source, with a great community, which is open to help you with the issue you can face along the way;

100% of reviewers feel positive about Joomla being open source. Users say they value the freedom to modify and redistribute the software, which allows for deep customization and cost savings. They appreciate that Joomla is free to use, making it accessible for individuals and organizations with limited budgets. Reviewers highlight the active open source community, which provides support, resources, and ongoing improvements. They mention that the open source nature encourages collaboration and innovation, and they find it beneficial for both beginners and experienced developers seeking flexibility and control over their websites.

Comprehensive feature set

Programmer

It is simple to use, has a vast selection of features, and is highly customizable, making it very flexible.

91% of reviewers feel positive about Joomla’s features. Users indicate that Joomla offers a wide range of built-in tools, such as custom fields, multilingual support, access control, and contact management. They say the platform is highly customizable and flexible, allowing them to manage complex websites efficiently. Reviewers appreciate the logical structure and the ability to handle major projects, noting that the core features are robust and meet diverse needs. They find the feature-rich environment beneficial for both small and large websites, and value the stability and extensibility offered by the platform.

Active community assistance

83% of reviewers feel positive about Joomla’s customer support, especially the community-driven aspect. Users say they benefit from extensive forums, documentation, and user groups that provide solutions to common problems. They appreciate the large, active community of developers and users who share knowledge, create tutorials, and offer troubleshooting help. Reviewers indicate that while official company support may be limited, the community compensates by offering a wealth of resources and guidance. They find the collaborative environment helpful for learning, problem-solving, and staying updated with best practices.

Extensive template library

Web Designer and Content Writer

The broad collection of professionally designed templates and extensions allow us to create and customize the site to match the target clients.

84% of reviewers feel positive about Joomla’s templates. Users highlight the large selection of free and paid templates, which help them quickly create and customize websites. They say the availability of professionally designed templates streamlines the design process and allows for creative flexibility. Reviewers appreciate the ease of installation and the ability to modify templates to fit specific needs. They mention that the active community contributes new templates regularly, making it easier to find suitable designs for various industries and purposes, and they value the cost-effectiveness for small businesses.

Versatile website building

Owner

It is quite intuitive, allows you to quickly create a website, and at the same time gives numerous options for its significant expansion.

91% of reviewers feel positive about Joomla’s website creation capabilities. Users report that Joomla enables them to build anything from simple personal blogs to complex corporate portals. They appreciate the scalability, flexibility, and professional results they can achieve, even with limited technical knowledge. Reviewers say the platform supports both novice and advanced users, offering tools for responsive design, SEO, and modular development. They mention that Joomla reduces reliance on outsourcing, saves time, and provides extensive options for customization, making it suitable for a wide range of web development projects.

Joomla is robust in it’s flexibility for a wide range of uses for developing even complex websites.   If you are looking for a wide range of capabilities this is great software choice.

Senior Tester Engineer

Its rich text editor has many accessibility features that help authors to create SEO-friendly articles.

webmaven

Out of the box you have everything you need to build a website that is fast, accessible and responsive for all devices.

Content Writer and Web Designer

It allows you to create a website that serves your needs using ready templates and plugins. Since Joomla has many free templates, you can create a customized website, online shop, or blog without spending money or time on the project.

Director

I had to take over the services of a web designer / IT specialist for any changes to the web design and also had to rely on designer for any major changes on the platform and system updates.

Retired Guy building website for fun

Today, there are so many quicker and simpler ways to build most website needs, I feel like it might be a bit of a dinosaur.

Webmaster

Modern and capable software with lots of flexibility for small business owners and larger businesses alike.

Joomla helps us build responsive website with important features and functions with a fraction of the time we would otherwise need to complete the project.

Sometimes we also need to use many third-party extensions to create complex websites, which make the project overwhelming since the available extensions are limited.

It's too complex to be suited to building a small business website.  

Website Adminiatrator

No need for any additional "plug-ins" needed from other 3rd party

Self-employed

You can easily customize the basic website with thousands of extensions and themes so it fits your needs perfectly.

a free and powerful tool, it allowed me to create my first website and gave me a taste for learning web design.

I like Joomla because it provides many templates and extensions to create the website our clients want.

The template and plugin libraries are extensive, making it easy to tailor the website to meet our clients' needs.

Office Manager

Needs more drag/drop features for those who aren't as tech-savvy as someone who regularly develops websites for a living.

Perhaps it's a best fit for a publication of some sort.  

Very useful for simple websites or blogs.

Freelancer

As a CMS, Joomla is more powerful than WordPress (which originally is a blog platform), Joomla can be used on the broader fields, I used it to build hunting site, Chinese acupuncture site, a blog site, several different kinds of eCommerce sites.

IT Specialist

I've built several sites with Joomla and it's able to provide the full functionality that my clients expect ,thanks to various templates, extensions and plugins that can be integrated.

Owner/Operator

It allowed me in the beginning of my business to have customers customize their templates and it did not take long time to implement their websites.

Create pages in a professional way, make your website look its best, it has many tools and plugins to be very creative, generate your own templates with great quality.

Managing Director

Hierarchical structure of all URLs, good menu and plugin control and easy template development

Less plugins and can be tricky to find solutions online for niche issues

Senior Administrator

It's often hard to sell clients on Joomla vs something like Wordpress which they recognise more.

The call line service was very helpful, but as per above, they could only advise a list of IT companies to assist.

Weak components and plugins, no visual editor

this tool is a solution for quality, secure and large sites

Although Joomla is user-friendly and fairly easy to use, someone who has never built a website will likely experience challenges especially when choosing and installing templates and extensions.

The learning curve is longer than that of competitor such as WordPress.

Always found it a pleasure to work with, with most functions supported out of the box and easy to hack if it needed to be extended or customised under the surface.

Assistant Professor

It is highly scalable and can be used to create websites and applications of any size, from small blogs to large e-commerce sites.4.

Up to 12 years ago I used Joomla a lot for many websites and back then it was very intuitive, easy to use and fairly complete, compared to what competitors offered

Must for company needing a fast Web presence.

IT Engineer

Joomla was quite disappointing to us, however, this is likely due to our lack of knowledge surrounding the product.

web page developer

I love that it is a very professional and easy-to-use platform to quickly create and edit templates

I like Joomla because it is easy to use even for people with just the basic web design knowledge.

It is also very extensible, offering hundreds of third-party extensions that can be used to add further features.

Web developer

Overall Joomla is a decent product, with a very good support and some good idea (user management mostly).

Content Editor 

The easiness of content upload, the variety of options, and the compatibility of it with our website.

Offers a better management system for the users, and also you can enjoy with big option in themes, it is quite flexible for different types of content, it has a multilingual service and you can play a lot with different slides and themes not only the parental one.

It is a free CMS which can be used to build your website and make it look good and attractive.

Joomla is an excellent solution for any small or big business that needs a dynamic and scalable website.

Compared to similar products on the market, it's a bit more complex with respect to the learning curve and requires patience and proper research to ease into it.

Student

I love the fact that Joomla is more inexpensive than Wordpress and all the modules are completly free and customizable

After using Joomla since 15 years I really must say: This is a great way to start your own website!

Website Creation

Templates

Themes

Training and Learning Curve

Technical Knowledge

Web Development

Freelancers

Small Business

Large Enterprises

Mid-size Business

Open Source Matters

Google Drive

Google Drive is a cloud storage and backup platform to access files, docs, photos & more, store them in a safe place, and collaborate with other people

Microsoft SharePoint

SharePoint is a collaboration & content management platform which can be used to build portals, collaboration sites, & also content management sites

Built on the Laravel framework, October CMS is a content management system designed for building websites. It provides developers with a foundation for creating scalable web applications.

Audio File Management

Calendar Management

Content Library

Electronic Forms

Image Editing

SEO Management

Tagging

By industry, October CMS reviewers are most commonly professionals in computer software (32%). The most frequent use case cited by reviewers is content management (100%).

Users and use cases

October CMS is a content management program with key features that include website management, content publishing options, customizable templates, SEO management, access controls and permissions, and more.

Proprietary

Linux

Windows

Adobe Workfront

Relayto

Dokmee ECM

In cases when a client doesn't have the budget to build some deeply customised backend, but needs a simple and understandable, extensible interface for the admin or frontend - OctoberCMS has practically no competitors in this segment.

At the time, it was quite a young CMS and lacked a few features others support, for example versioning

President and CEO

OctoberCMS is light enough that it appeals to my sense of speed and aversion to heavyweight waste, and seems to transcend many of the trendy come-and-go fads in technology.  

Founder

You can literally do anything with it, and very fast with an inclusive UX/UI for both backend admin and front end web.

Building out new applications with Octobers yaml based form parsing and object relationships is fantastic.  

UX Designer

The e-commerce part is a bit complicated and maybe some sort of a package would help a lot here.

Joomla vs October CMS Comparison (2026)

Joomla

October CMS

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives