Best Content Management Systems in 2026
Updated
In short: Drupal is ranked #1 of 165 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Prismic and Webflow CMS. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Prismic. The lowest first paid tier on this page is ExpressionEngine at $3.25/mo.
A CMS can shape how content is organized, edited, and maintained across a site. Compare platform type, custom content types, and custom user roles to understand the listed approaches to structure and access. Editorial workflows and a media library matter to day-to-day publishing, while multilingual content and SEO tools offer further points to weigh. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing add cost context. Drupal, Prismic, and Webflow CMS are among the options. Consider the content your team manages and how it moves through editing and publication when comparing the stated capabilities.
165 content management systems ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Content Management Systems, ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going. 18 of the 25 on this page can be tried for free.
- 1 DrupalFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 2 PrismicPaid from $10/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 3 Webflow CMSPaid from $15/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 4 Decap CMSPaid from €19/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 5 HubSpot Content HubFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 6 Umbraco CMSPaid from €45/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 7 MODXPaid from $36/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 8 PimcoreFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 9 ExpressionEnginePaid from $3.25/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 10 KilnPaid from $4.99/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 11 Progress Sitefinity
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 12 Marketpath CMSPaid from $49/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 13 GhostPaid from $18/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: yes
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 14 Enonic XPFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 15 dotCMSFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 16 Xperience by Kentico
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 17 Plone
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 18 Zesty.ioPaid from $475/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 19 StrapiPaid from $35/mo
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 20 Modern Campus CMS
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: yes
- 21 Vvveb CMSFree plan
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 22 October CMSPaid from $26/mo
- Free to practise on: yes
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 23 Joomla
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 24 TYPO3 CMS
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
- 25 Contao
- Free to practise on: not on record
- Free trial: not on record
- Well documented: yes
- Runs where you work: not on record
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Platform type | Editorial workflows |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drupal | 9.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | hybrid | Yes |
| 2 | Prismic | 9.1 | Free plan | $10/mo | Yes | $10/mo | Agentic web platform and headless CMS | Yes |
| 3 | Webflow CMS | 8.6 | Free plan | $15/mo | Yes | $25/mo | hosted | Yes |
| 4 | Decap CMS | 8.4 | Free plan | €19/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 5 | HubSpot Content Hub | 8.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | hosted | Yes |
| 6 | Umbraco CMS | 8.3 | Free plan | €45/mo | Yes | — | hybrid | Yes |
| 7 | MODX | 8.3 | Free plan | $36/mo | Yes | $90/mo | hybrid | Yes |
| 8 | Pimcore | 8.3 | Free plan | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 9 | ExpressionEngine | 8.3 | Free plan | $3.25/mo | Yes | $249/mo | self_hosted | Yes |
| 10 | Kiln | 8.3 | Free plan | $4.99/mo | Yes | $4.99/mo | — | — |
| 11 | Progress Sitefinity | 8.1 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 12 | Marketpath CMS | 8.1 | Free plan | $49/mo | Yes | $49/mo | hosted | Yes |
| 13 | Ghost | 8.0 | No | $18/mo | No | $18/mo | Open source blog and newsletter platform | Yes |
| 14 | Enonic XP | 7.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 15 | dotCMS | 7.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 16 | Xperience by Kentico | 7.8 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 17 | Plone | 7.8 | No | — | Yes | — | hybrid | Yes |
| 18 | Zesty.io | 7.8 | Free plan | $475/mo | Yes | $475/mo | — | — |
| 19 | Strapi | 7.7 | No | $35/mo | Yes | $35/mo | Open-source Headless CMS | Yes |
| 20 | Modern Campus CMS | 7.7 | No | — | — | — | hosted | Yes |
| 21 | Vvveb CMS | 7.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | hybrid | Yes |
| 22 | October CMS | 7.6 | Free plan | $26/mo | Yes | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 23 | Joomla | 7.5 | No | — | Yes | — | hybrid | Yes |
| 24 | TYPO3 CMS | 7.5 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | Yes |
| 25 | Contao | 7.5 | No | — | Yes | — | self_hosted | Yes |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which content management system is ranked first on The Geeks Club?
Drupal is ranked #1 of 165 with a score of 9.3. Prismic is second and Webflow CMS third.
How many of these have a free plan?
16 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, ExpressionEngine has the lowest first paid tier we found: $3.25/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on.