In 2026, the CMS landscape looks familiar at first glance: WordPress powers roughly 43% of websites, and that number has barely shifted in years. But beneath the surface, Craft CMS has quietly built a loyal following among development teams who need more control over their content architecture and deployment workflows. With Craft 5 now mature and WordPress pushing past 6.8, both platforms have evolved significantly since the last time you compared them.
This is not another which CMS is better
article. Both are excellent tools. The real question is which one fits your team's workflow, your project's content complexity, and your deployment strategy. That last point matters more than most comparison articles admit, and it is where we will spend extra time.
At a Glance: Craft CMS 5 vs WordPress 6.8+
Before diving deep, here is a quick-scan comparison for teams evaluating both platforms:
| Factor | Craft CMS 5 | WordPress 6.8+ |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free (Solo, 1 user), $35/mo (Team), custom (Enterprise) | Free core; real cost is premium plugins, themes, and managed hosting |
| Learning curve | Steeper; assumes developer comfort with Twig and CLI | Gentler; massive tutorial ecosystem, visual editing |
| Security model | Small plugin ecosystem = smaller attack surface | Large ecosystem = larger attack surface; frequent plugin patches |
| Performance | Lean core, optimised element queries in v5 | Native AVIF, Speculation Rules API; often needs caching plugins |
| Headless API | Built-in GraphQL (improved in v5) + headless starter kit | REST API built-in; WPGraphQL plugin for GraphQL |
| Plugin ecosystem | ~700 curated plugins | 60,000+ plugins (quality varies widely) |
| Deployment workflow | Git-native: Twig templates + YAML project config | Database-heavy; Git workflow requires additional setup |
| Best for | Custom content models, developer-led teams, Git-first shops | Content-heavy sites, tight budgets, non-technical editors |
Now let us unpack what actually matters.
Security: Attack Surface vs Ecosystem Size
Security comparisons between Craft and WordPress often devolve into WordPress has more vulnerabilities,
but that framing misses the point. WordPress has more reported vulnerabilities because it has a vastly larger ecosystem. According to Patchstack's annual reports, the overwhelming majority of WordPress security issues originate in third-party plugins and themes, not WordPress core. Core WordPress security is actually solid and benefits from a large, dedicated security team.
Craft CMS takes a different approach entirely. Its plugin marketplace is curated, with roughly 700 plugins compared to WordPress's 60,000+. That smaller surface area means fewer potential entry points. Craft's core team also conducts regular security audits and tends to ship patches quickly when issues surface. The commercial licensing model funds dedicated security resources rather than relying on volunteer contributors.
For teams building sites that handle sensitive data or operate in regulated industries, Craft's smaller and more controlled ecosystem is a genuine advantage. For teams comfortable with a disciplined plugin selection process and regular updates, WordPress core remains secure. The risk lives in the plugins you choose, not the platform itself.
Performance: Both Can Be Fast, But the Defaults Differ
Craft CMS 5 shipped with a significantly improved element query engine, which means content-heavy sites with complex entry types load faster without custom optimisation. Craft's Twig-based templating compiles to efficient PHP, and since you control the entire front-end output, there is no bloat from unused CSS frameworks or JavaScript libraries unless you add them yourself.
WordPress 6.8+ has made genuine strides. Native AVIF image support reduces image payload sizes without plugins. The Speculation Rules API enables the browser to prefetch likely next pages, making navigation feel instant. WordPress also introduced performance improvements to its block rendering pipeline. However, achieving top-tier Core Web Vitals scores on WordPress still typically requires a caching plugin like WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache, an image optimisation plugin, and careful theme selection.
Both platforms can achieve excellent Lighthouse scores. The difference is that Craft gets there with fewer moving parts, while WordPress gets there with the right combination of plugins and configuration. Neither approach is wrong; it depends on whether your team prefers convention-driven simplicity or configuration-driven flexibility.
Developer Experience: Twig vs Blocks
Craft CMS 5 uses Twig templating, the same engine that powers Symfony and Drupal 8+. If your team writes code in an editor, commits to Git, and deploys via CI/CD, Craft feels natural. Templates are files in your repository. Content models are defined through the control panel but exported as YAML project config files that live alongside your code. The revamped Craft 5 control panel is cleaner and faster, with improved live preview and a more intuitive content editing experience.
WordPress has fully committed to Full Site Editing (FSE). Block themes let content editors build layouts visually without touching code. The Site Editor, introduced in WordPress 5.9 and refined through 6.8, means that templates, headers, footers, and page layouts are all configurable from the admin panel. For teams with non-technical content editors, this is genuinely powerful.
The trade-off is clear. Craft assumes your team includes developers and rewards them with a code-first workflow. WordPress optimises for teams where content editors need autonomy without developer involvement. If your deployment workflow centres around Git and you want every change tracked in version control, Craft aligns with that mindset by default.
Headless and API Capabilities
Craft CMS 5 improved its built-in GraphQL API with better performance, more flexible query options, and a new headless starter kit that pairs Craft as a back-end with a front-end framework like Next.js or Nuxt. You can query any content type, asset, or entry through GraphQL without installing anything extra. For teams building headless architectures, this is Craft's strongest selling point.
WordPress offers its REST API out of the box, which covers most use cases. For teams that prefer GraphQL, the WPGraphQL plugin is mature and widely adopted. WordPress also has a growing ecosystem of headless starters, including official support through frameworks like Faust.js. The block editor's structured data output makes WordPress more headless-friendly than it was even two years ago.
Both platforms are viable headless options in 2026. Craft's GraphQL is native and deeply integrated; WordPress requires a plugin but benefits from a larger community building headless tooling around it. Your choice here should depend on whether you prefer a batteries-included approach (Craft) or a modular, plugin-based approach (WordPress).
Pricing: What You Actually Pay
Craft CMS 5 restructured its pricing into a clearer model:
- Solo: Free for a single user account. Ideal for personal projects and freelancers.
- Team: $35 per month (billed annually) for multiple user accounts and team collaboration features.
- Pro/Enterprise: Custom pricing for advanced needs including SSO, expanded support, and priority security patches.
WordPress core is free, and always will be. But the real cost of a WordPress project includes premium themes ($50-200), essential plugins like ACF Pro ($49/year), SEO tools, security plugins, managed hosting ($20-100/month for quality hosts), and ongoing maintenance time. A production WordPress site with professional-grade tooling often costs $100-300+ per year in plugin and hosting fees.
For a team of three to five developers, Craft's Team plan at $420/year is competitive with the total cost of a well-equipped WordPress stack. The difference is that Craft bundles its capabilities into a single product, while WordPress spreads costs across multiple vendors. Neither approach saves money universally; it depends on your specific requirements.
Deployment Workflow: The Comparison Nobody Makes
This is the section that most Craft vs WordPress articles skip entirely, and it is arguably the most important difference for development teams shipping production websites.
Craft CMS: Git-Native by Design
Craft CMS was designed with version-controlled deployments in mind. Here is what the workflow looks like:
- Templates are Twig files stored in your repository, just like any other code.
- Configuration is stored as YAML files via Craft's Project Config system. When you add a field, create a section, or change a setting in the control panel, Craft writes those changes to
.yamlfiles in yourconfig/project/directory. - Content lives in the database, but everything structural lives in code.
- Deploying means pushing your Git repository. On the server, you run
craft project-config/applyto sync configuration changes, andcraft migrate/allto run any pending migrations.
This means your entire site structure is reviewable in pull requests, rollback-friendly, and reproducible across environments. No surprises when promoting from staging to production.
WordPress: Git Workflow Requires More Setup
WordPress stores a significant amount of its configuration in the database, including Full Site Editing templates, widget configurations, menu structures, and plugin settings. This creates friction for Git-based workflows because:
- Theme files can live in Git, but FSE block templates are stored in the database, not as files.
- Plugin configuration is typically stored in the
wp_optionstable, not in files. - Syncing environments requires tools like WP-CLI (
wp db export,wp db import,wp search-replace) or plugins like WP Migrate. - The uploads directory (
wp-content/uploads/) needs a separate sync strategy, often rsync or a CDN-backed media library.
WordPress can absolutely be deployed via Git. Teams do it every day. But it requires a more deliberate setup: a .gitignore configured for WordPress's directory structure, database migration tooling, and a clear process for handling the database-vs-filesystem split. Our guide on automating WordPress deployments with Git walks through this setup in detail.
Both Work with DeployHQ
Whether you choose Craft or WordPress, DeployHQ handles the deployment pipeline. Push to your Git repository, and DeployHQ builds and deploys to your server automatically. For Craft, you can configure build commands to run composer install and craft project-config/apply as part of the deployment. For WordPress, DeployHQ can deploy your theme and plugin files while you manage database syncs separately.
The key insight is that Craft's architecture makes Git deployments simpler out of the box, while WordPress deployments benefit from a tool like DeployHQ to bridge the gap between its database-centric design and modern Git workflows.
If your team is evaluating build tools and package managers for front-end assets alongside your CMS choice, both platforms integrate well with npm, Yarn, or pnpm build steps. Craft projects tend to use Vite or Webpack for asset compilation, while WordPress projects often use wp-scripts or a similar build chain.
Content Modeling: Built-In vs Plugin-Extended
Craft CMS ships with a flexible content modeling system that lets you define custom fields, entry types, and content structures directly through the control panel. Matrix fields (now called entries
fields in Craft 5) allow nested, repeatable content blocks without any plugins. You define your content schema once, and editors work within those constraints.
WordPress handles content modeling through Custom Post Types and the block editor. For straightforward use cases, core WordPress handles this well. For complex, structured content (product catalogues, multi-step workflows, relational content), most teams reach for Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) or Meta Box. These plugins are excellent, but they add another dependency and another potential point of failure.
If your project has content structures that go beyond standard pages and posts, Craft's native content modeling eliminates an entire category of plugin dependencies. For teams exploring other CMS options with strong content modeling, our comparison of Kirby CMS deployment workflows covers another developer-friendly alternative.
When to Choose Craft CMS
Craft CMS is the stronger choice when your team:
- Builds custom content models that go beyond pages and blog posts
- Wants a Git-native workflow where site structure lives in version control
- Prioritises security and prefers a smaller, curated plugin ecosystem
- Has developers comfortable with Twig templating and CLI tools
- Is building a headless architecture and wants native GraphQL
- Can allocate budget for the Team or Enterprise license
When to Choose WordPress
WordPress is the stronger choice when your team:
- Operates on a tight budget and needs a free CMS core
- Requires access to a massive plugin ecosystem for diverse functionality
- Has content editors who need visual editing without developer assistance
- Is building simpler sites (blogs, brochure sites, small e-commerce)
- Wants to hire from the largest talent pool of any CMS platform
- Needs quick prototyping and launch with minimal custom development
Making the Decision
The Craft vs WordPress decision is not about which CMS is objectively better. It is about which CMS fits your team's workflow, your project's complexity, and your deployment strategy. Teams that think in Git commits and pull requests will feel at home with Craft. Teams that need content editor autonomy and vast plugin options will find WordPress more practical.
Whichever platform you choose, a solid deployment workflow matters more than the CMS itself. A well-deployed WordPress site will outperform a poorly deployed Craft site every time. Tools like DeployHQ ensure that both platforms get deployed reliably, whether you are pushing Twig templates or WordPress themes.
If you have questions about deploying Craft CMS or WordPress with DeployHQ, reach out to us at support@deployhq.com or find us on Twitter at @deployhq.