- \n
- WordPress<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Storyblok<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Joomla<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Acquia<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Shopify<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Wix<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Adobe Experience Manager<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Salesforce Experience Cloud<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Contentstack<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
- Webflow<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n
\nWhy are Many Stores Leaving Drupal?<\/h2>\n
Drupal is a free, open-source CMS written in PHP and launched in 2001. Over time, it has built a large community of more than 1.8 million users and powered many complex websites, such as Cvent, Nokia, NASA, etc.<\/p>\n
However, the number of live Drupal sites has recently dropped to around 400,000<\/a>. This raises a clear question: why are many businesses moving away? To answer that, it helps to look at both what Drupal does well and where it starts to fall short in everyday use.<\/p>\n
What Drupal does well<\/h3>\n
Drupal has built its reputation around handling complex websites that require structure and control. In the right setup, it gives teams a very solid foundation to manage large amounts of content and scale over time.<\/p>\n
![\"Drupal\"](\"https:\/\/litextension.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/drupal-homepage.webp\")
Drupal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n These are the areas where Drupal continues to perform strongly:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Structured content and complex models<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Drupal\u2019s entity, field, and content type system is designed for large, structured information architectures. It works especially well for universities, government platforms, publishers, directories, and multi-language catalogs where content relationships need to stay consistent.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Scalability and performance (when engineered correctly)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
With proper infrastructure and caching, Drupal handles high traffic and large content volumes reliably. That\u2019s why many enterprise and public-sector platforms continue to rely on it.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Security and governance<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Drupal offers strong security practices along with detailed roles and permission controls. This level of governance is important for regulated industries and organizations managing sensitive data.<\/p>\n
Where Drupal struggles<\/h3>\n
In our experience working on Drupal migration projects, we consistently see a number of common issues that merchants run into when working with Drupal. These challenges often build up over time and start to affect how teams manage and grow their stores.<\/p>\n
These are the most typical ones:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Editor and builder UX<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Even with improvements, Drupal\u2019s admin and site-building experience still feels heavy for non-technical users. Content updates often require developer involvement. In comparison, platforms like WordPress or Webflow give teams more direct control over content and layout.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Learning curve and onboarding<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Modern Drupal relies on object-oriented PHP, Composer, and structured workflows. This makes it powerful, but also harder to adopt for teams without strong technical resources.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Module and maintenance overhead<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Drupal projects often depend on many contributed modules. Each module adds update cycles, compatibility checks, and ongoing maintenance efforts.<\/p>\n
Taken together, these issues lead directly to higher costs. Simple updates often require developer support, longer development cycles delay launches, and maintaining multiple modules adds ongoing testing and fix work. Over time, a significant amount of time and budget goes into running the system itself, rather than focusing on growth.<\/p>\n
\nTop 10 Drupal Alternatives – Our Quick Verdict<\/h2>\n
Each platform below offers a different balance of flexibility, ease of use, and scalability. The right choice depends on your business needs and how you plan to manage your website.<\/p>\n
Here are 10 Drupal alternatives to consider in 2026:<\/p>\n
1. WordPress<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Pricing<\/strong>:\n
- \n
- WordPress.com:<\/strong> Free to start, ~$200\u2013$3,000\/month<\/li>\n
- WordPress.org:<\/strong> $0\u2013$45\/month, enterprise from $25,000\/year<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Rating:<\/strong> 4.4\/5 (G2)<\/li>\n
- Best for:<\/strong> Blogs and marketing sites where teams can update content without developer support.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
As the most widely used CMS, WordPress supports everything from blogs to large content-driven platforms. At present, WordPress powers over 37.5 million<\/a> websites globally and is especially dominant in the United States, Germany, France, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
![\"WordPress.org](\"https:\/\/litextension.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/wordpress-org-homepage.webp\")
WordPress.org homepage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n WordPress outperforms Drupal when it comes to ease of use and accessibility for non-technical users.<\/strong> Unlike Drupal, whose administrative interface and content modeling require a steeper learning curve, WordPress allows editors to publish and manage content with minimal training. The Gutenberg block editor also makes it easy to build structured layouts without writing code.<\/p>\n
Key features that give WordPress an edge include:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Thousands of free and premium themes offer ready\u2011made designs<\/li>\n
- Over 60,000 plugins cover SEO, forms, caching, eCommerce, memberships, multilingual, and more<\/li>\n
- Lower technical barrier for content editors<\/li>\n
- Broad hosting and infrastructure flexibility<\/li>\n
- Strong community support and documentation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Lower development and maintenance cost (on average)<\/li>\n
- Strong SEO and marketing tooling<\/li>\n
- Good flexibility for small\u2013medium complexity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Cons:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Heavier reliance on plugins<\/li>\n
- Governance and fine\u2011grained permissions weaker out of the box<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Migration note:<\/strong> Medium difficulty \u2013 content, users, and media can be transferred automatically, but themes, plugins, and custom structures require manual setup. LitExtension automates core data migration while preserving key SEO elements, such as URLs and metadata.<\/p>\n
2. Storyblok<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Pricing:<\/strong> Free plan available; paid plans starting at \u20ac99\/month (roughly $117\/month)<\/li>\n
- Rating: <\/strong>4.6\/5 (G2)<\/li>\n
- Best for:<\/strong> Teams that want modern, API\u2011first content delivery but still need marketers to move fast without relying on developers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Storyblok is a headless CMS designed around structured, component-based content. Over the years, it has supported 1,000 businesses worldwide, according to BuiltWith<\/a>. Among Drupal alternatives, it stands out for its API-first architecture, rather than relying on add-ons or workarounds.<\/p>\n
![\"Storyblok\"](\"https:\/\/litextension.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/storyblok.webp\")
Storyblok<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Drupal can be configured for decoupled setups, but doing so often requires additional modules and custom APIs. In comparison, Storyblok offers this architecture out of the box, reducing setup time and overall system complexity.<\/p>\n
Key features that differentiate Storyblok include:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Native headless architecture with REST and GraphQL APIs<\/li>\n
- Visual editor with real-time preview<\/li>\n
- Component-based content modeling<\/li>\n
- Built-in CDN for fast global delivery<\/li>\n
- Strong multilingual and localization support<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Faster setup and time\u2011to\u2011first\u2011project<\/li>\n
- Fully managed, no\u2011infrastructure operations<\/li>\n
- Stronger built\u2011in collaboration tools<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Cons:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- More expensive at enterprise scale<\/li>\n
- Higher security risk from plugin sprawl<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Migration note: <\/strong>High. You should restructure your content into components and schemas before migration, and plan how content will be delivered via APIs along with a separate frontend setup.<\/p>\n
3. Joomla<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Pricing<\/strong>: Joomla is free and open-source. Typical costs include hosting and extensions.<\/li>\n
- Rating:<\/strong> 4.1\/5 (G2)<\/li>\n
- Best for:<\/strong> Teams that need structured content and built-in multilingual support but still want a system easier to manage than Drupal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Joomla is a traditional open-source CMS that offers structured content management and extensibility via extensions. It is often positioned between WordPress and Drupal, offering more structure than WordPress while remaining more approachable than Drupal. Today, Joomla powers over 750,000 live websites<\/a>, with strong adoption in the United States.<\/p>\n
![\"Joomla](\"https:\/\/litextension.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/joomla-homepage.webp\")
Joomla homepage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n One of its key advantages over Drupal is native multilingual support, with built-in capabilities for 70+ languages. Since this feature is part of the core system, it is easier to set up and manage without relying on additional modules.<\/p>\n
Key CMS features include:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Simpler admin interface than Drupal<\/li>\n
- Article\u2011centric but extensible content model<\/li>\n
- Template system with override support for custom layouts<\/li>\n
- Core SEO and caching tools, such as custom URL structures and metadata management<\/li>\n
- Components and modules enable flexible layouts without heavy development<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Balanced learning curve for most teams<\/li>\n
- Built-in multilingual support across languages<\/li>\n
- Accessible access control system (ACL)<\/li>\n
- Lightweight hosting requirements for deployment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Cons:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Limited flexibility for custom data structures<\/li>\n
- Lower enterprise-grade security capabilities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Migration note:<\/strong> Low to moderate. Content types map relatively well, but categories, menus, and extensions need review. Check URL structure and SEO settings after migration.<\/p>\n
4. Acquia<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Pricing<\/strong>: Custom enterprise pricing<\/li>\n
- Rating<\/strong>: 4.2\/5 (G2)<\/li>\n
- Best for:<\/strong> Enterprises already on Drupal wanting managed infrastructure and lower operational overhead<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Acquia is built on Drupal and created by its founder, Dries Buytaert. It serves as a managed cloud platform for organizations that want to keep using Drupal without handling infrastructure themselves. Managed hosting, automated updates, security monitoring, and Drupal-native tools are all included out of the box.<\/p>\n
![\"Acquia](\"https:\/\/litextension.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/acquia-homepage.webp\")
Acquia homepage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Rather than moving away from Drupal, this approach keeps the same CMS while removing the operational burden. If your main challenge is infrastructure, maintenance, or system operations, it\u2019s worth evaluating this option before committing to a full platform migration.<\/p>\n
Key Acquia features include:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Fully managed Drupal cloud platform with hosting, scaling, security, and automated updates handled<\/li>\n
- Site Factory for managing large site portfolios with centralized provisioning, configuration, and lifecycle control<\/li>\n
- Acquia DAM (Widen) for centralized asset management with metadata, permissions, workflows, and brand portals<\/li>\n
- Acquia CDP for unified customer profiles, combining data across users, transactions, and events<\/li>\n
- Built-in analytics and machine learning with cohort analysis and multi-touch attribution<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Enterprise-grade hosting with strong security, uptime, and compliance support<\/li>\n
- Reduced operational workload with managed infrastructure, updates, and monitoring<\/li>\n
- Integrated enterprise tools for DAM, CDP, and personalization within one ecosystem<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Cons:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Higher cost, geared toward enterprise budgets and use cases<\/li>\n
- More structured and opinionated delivery pipelines, with less flexibility in setup<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Migration note:<\/strong> Low. Since it\u2019s still Drupal, the move is mainly infrastructure-related. Focus on environment setup, deployment pipelines, and configuration sync.<\/p>\n
5. Shopify<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Pricing:<\/strong> $39 – $399\/month; Shopify Plus from $2,300\/month (custom pricing) on a 3-year contract.<\/li>\n
- Rating: 4.4\/5<\/strong> (G2)<\/li>\n
- Best for:<\/strong> Businesses that want to run an online store with built-in commerce features and minimal technical management.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Next, we have Shopify – a hosted eCommerce platform with integrated CMS functionality. It allows merchants to manage product pages, collections, landing pages, and blog content within a unified system. The CMS is mostly designed to support commerce workflows and ensure content, products, and marketing assets work together seamlessly.<\/p>\n
![\"Shopify](\"https:\/\/litextension.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/shopify-homepage.webp\")
Shopify is built for selling online with a commerce-first approach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Key Shopify features include:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Built-in commerce stack: products, variants, inventory, carts, checkout, taxes, shipping, discounts, and customer accounts<\/li>\n
- Integrated payments and fraud protection: Shopify Payments, multiple gateways, fraud analysis, PCI-compliant checkout<\/li>\n
- Multi-channel selling: marketplaces, social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), and Shopify POS<\/li>\n
- Built-in analytics: sales, product, and channel performance dashboards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Intuitive, beginner-friendly interface for faster setup and daily use<\/li>\n
- Extensive app ecosystem with 10,000+ options<\/li>\n
- Built-in marketing and sales tools supporting promotions, campaigns, and conversions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Cons:<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- Subscription-based pricing with potential transaction fees on third-party gateways<\/li>\n
- Limited code-level flexibility and customization<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Migration note:<\/strong> Moderate. Products, customers, and orders transfer smoothly, but URL structure, collections, and content pages need mapping. SEO redirects are critical.<\/p>\n
If Shopify is the direction you\u2019re considering, LitExtension can help ensure your data is migrated safely while keeping your store structure intact.<\/p>\n
\n\nNeed Help to Migrate Your Store from Drupal to Shopify?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
LitExtension Migration Service transfers products, customers, and orders from Drupal to Shopify \u2013 fast, accurate, and hassle-free.<\/p>\n
START FREE DEMO<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![\"LitExtension](\"https:\/\/litextension.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/2-08-1.png\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n6. Wix<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Pricing: <\/strong> Free plan available. Paid plans start from $17 – $159\/month<\/li>\n
- Rating: <\/strong>4.3\/5 (based on Trustpilot and G2 reviews)<\/li>\n
- Best for:<\/strong> Individuals and small\u2013mid businesses that want a visually polished site quickly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Rating: <\/strong>4.3\/5 (based on Trustpilot and G2 reviews)<\/li>\n
- Pricing: <\/strong> Free plan available. Paid plans start from $17 – $159\/month<\/li>\n
- Rating: 4.4\/5<\/strong> (G2)<\/li>\n
- Pricing:<\/strong> $39 – $399\/month; Shopify Plus from $2,300\/month (custom pricing) on a 3-year contract.<\/li>\n
- Rating<\/strong>: 4.2\/5 (G2)<\/li>\n
- Pricing<\/strong>: Custom enterprise pricing<\/li>\n
- Rating:<\/strong> 4.1\/5 (G2)<\/li>\n
- Pricing<\/strong>: Joomla is free and open-source. Typical costs include hosting and extensions.<\/li>\n
- Rating: <\/strong>4.6\/5 (G2)<\/li>\n
- Pricing:<\/strong> Free plan available; paid plans starting at \u20ac99\/month (roughly $117\/month)<\/li>\n
- WordPress.org:<\/strong> $0\u2013$45\/month, enterprise from $25,000\/year<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- WordPress.com:<\/strong> Free to start, ~$200\u2013$3,000\/month<\/li>\n
- Pricing<\/strong>:\n
- Module and maintenance overhead<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Learning curve and onboarding<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Editor and builder UX<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Security and governance<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Scalability and performance (when engineered correctly)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Storyblok<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
![\"Wix](\"https:\/\/litextension.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/wix-homepage.webp\")
![\"Adobe](\"https:\/\/litextension.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/adobe-experience-manager.webp\")