Joomla! CMS vs. ExpressionEngine CMS: Comparing Best Content Management Systems Solutions 2026

Overview: Joomla! CMS and ExpressionEngine CMS as Content Management Systems Category solutions.

Joomla! CMS and ExpressionEngine CMS both excel in content management, but cater to different business needs and user bases. Joomla! CMS is favored by large enterprises, emphasizing robust integration and customer acquisition, while offering extensive vendor support. ExpressionEngine CMS, on the other hand, appeals more to industries like marketing and education, focusing on enhancing customer relationships and providing a seamless integration experience. The choice between them will hinge on the specific operational requirements and support preferences of the business.

Joomla! CMS: Joomla-CMS is free and open source, offering a mobile-ready and user-friendly way to build websites. Thousands of features and designs are available.

ExpressionEngine CMS: ExpressionEngine is a flexible, feature-rich content management platform used worldwide. It empowers individuals and organizations to easily manage their websites.

Joomla! CMS ExpressionEngine CMS
Key Capabilities Supported Joomla! CMS supports content management, communication management, and helpdesk management. It's ideal for building and managing extensive content and facilitating community interactions. → ExpressionEngine CMS focuses on content management, communication, and community building, enabling focused content curation and engagement management. →
Business Goals Joomla! CMS helps businesses acquire customers and enhance relationships, making it valuable for companies aiming to improve their digital presence. → ExpressionEngine CMS primarily enhances customer relationships and improves efficiency, targeting businesses looking to establish thought leadership. →
Core Features Joomla! CMS offers features like analytics, custom reports, and ease of migration, which are crucial for data-driven decision-making and secure content handling. → ExpressionEngine CMS emphasizes training, security, and AI-powered features for advanced content management and reporting needs. →
Vendor Support Joomla! CMS provides comprehensive support via training, email, phone, chat, and 24/7 assistance, catering to user preferences for rapid support access. → ExpressionEngine CMS offers robust training and 24/7 support, albeit with fewer immediate channels, balancing support with moderate complexity. →
Segments and Industries Joomla! CMS is popular among large enterprises in IT and software, supporting complex content structures with vast integration capabilities. → ExpressionEngine CMS is widely used in education and marketing, offering solutions for varied and dynamic content publishing needs. →
Operational Alignment Joomla! CMS is built for large-scale operations with high integration demands, fitting seamlessly into diverse enterprise environments. → ExpressionEngine CMS suits smaller-scale operations, particularly in marketing, where engagement management is critical. →
lightning

Applying your context and needs changes the comparison

Joomla! CMS and ExpressionEngine CMS: Best activities based on customer satisfaction

Most deployed common Activities for Joomla! CMS and ExpressionEngine CMS

How can Joomla! CMS and ExpressionEngine CMS enhance your Content Management process?
Joomla and ExpressionEngine are both content management systems that allow users to create and manage websites. Joomla is known for its ease of use and vast plugin library, while ExpressionEngine emphasizes flexibility and security. However, Joomla's ease of use can sometimes come at the cost of technical depth, while ExpressionEngine's robust features may require more learning and dedicated support. Both systems are limited in that they may require some programming knowledge for advanced settings.
"...The plugins included in joomla makes it very simple to create content management systems as well as websites...." Peer review by Gordon shivugu
"...This is our first CMS and it has been a life-saver when it comes to making instant updates or creating/editing content across all of the different pages...." Peer review by Employee in Marketing
What makes Joomla! CMS and ExpressionEngine CMS ideal for Training & Onboarding?
Joomla offers extensive training resources and community support for developers, enabling team members to learn the system and contribute to projects. ExpressionEngine focuses on backend development and provides a structured framework for teams to collaborate. However, ExpressionEngine may require developers to learn a specialized templating language, limiting its ease of use for non-developers. Joomla’s reliance on modules and templates can make complex projects challenging without extensive development expertise.
"...It is good to know if for some reason something happens to the development team I am using that there are others that can pick up where they left off without it being fully proprietary...." Peer review by Executive Sponsor
"...Hopefully, you have a team of helpful developers around you to walk you through the process!...." Peer review by Katie H, Digital Strategist, Marketing and Advertising
What solutions does Joomla! CMS and ExpressionEngine CMS provide for Community Building?
Joomla Cms and ExpressionEngine Cms both have large and active developer communities. Both systems offer a wide variety of add-ons and extensions that enhance functionality. Joomla Cms has a larger and more extensive developer community, while ExpressionEngine Cms has a smaller but more focused community. However, ExpressionEngine Cms has a smaller community of developers, which may result in higher contractor rates.
"...There are many developers in the community and there are a great number of options and looks you can add to your site with Joomla...." Peer review by Administrator
"...The developer/user community is extremely helpful and there are many online community support channels including EllisLab support forums, the ExpressionEngine Answers channel at Stack Exchange...." Peer review by Roger Glenn, Senior Web Developer, Mach 1 Media

Joomla! CMS in Action: Unique Activities

What Are the key features of Joomla! CMS for Communication Management?
Joomla is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) used to publish web content. It enables user management, content publishing, and communication with users. Joomla's core publishing system is intuitive and easy to use, but it lacks video content publishing capabilities.
"...This platform is a free platform that allows users to publish and design websites...." Peer review by Administrator
What makes Joomla! CMS ideal for Helpdesk Management?
Joomla provides a user-friendly interface. The platform has a strong community that offers assistance and support for users. Extensive documentation is available to help resolve issues.
"...Available templates that are easy to customize and deploy almost immediatelyGreat open source so a lot of available documentation/support to help with issuesEasy to use interface and easy to hand off to client to update on their on with minimal support from us...." Peer review by Verified User, Employee in Information Technology, Construction

IT and Other Capabilities

  • Low
  • Medium
  • High

Business Setting

Joomla! CMS ExpressionEngine CMS
Peer score 4.1 3.7
Peer insights 3550 1404
Top industries
Information Technology And Services 20.0%
Internet 15.0%
Computer Software 13.0%
Internet 36.0%
Marketing And Advertising 18.0%
Education 13.0%
SMB and Mid-Market 82.0% 91.0%
Enterprise 18.0% 9.0%
Pricing Joomla! CMS ExpressionEngine CMS

News

Latest Joomla! CMS news

Joomla! Launches Active Delivery Phase for Accessibility Programme

Joomla has launched the active delivery phase of its 20-month accessibility programme, funded by the Sovereign Tech Agency. The initiative aims to enhance accessibility across Joomla's software, templates, and community practices. Project managers Cynthia Shelly and Robert Deutz lead the effort, with the first milestone focusing on audits and testing protocols nearing completion.

01/09/2026 - source

Latest ExpressionEngine CMS news

ExpressionEngine 6 Update | Blog | ExpressionEngine

ExpressionEngine is nearing the completion of its version 6 update, focusing on ease of upgrade for add-on developers and enhancing user experience with a new control panel design. The update includes refactoring core integration tests, transitioning to a roles-based system, and maintaining backward compatibility. A beta release is anticipated following the completion of these enhancements.

31/08/2026 - source