Is Drupal better than Joomla?

It depends on your use case. Drupal is a CMS platform while Joomla is a CMS platform. Our comparison table above uses 14 real detection signals for a data-backed verdict.

What is the key difference between Drupal and Joomla?

Drupal has 7 detectable signals in our database while Joomla has 7. Our scanner checks HTML patterns, script tags, CDN domains, HTTP headers, and meta tags to distinguish them.

How can I tell if a website uses Drupal or Joomla?

Use AI Website Detector — paste any URL at aiwebsitedetector.com and the tool simultaneously checks for Drupal's 7 signals and Joomla's 7 signals, returning a confidence score for each.

Can I switch from Drupal to Joomla?

Drupal and Joomla are both CMS platforms, making migration more feasible. Review the feature comparison table above for compatibility details.

Drupal

CMS

Joomla

CMS

Drupal vs Joomla (2026): Which Is Better?

Drupal and Joomla are both popular choices, but they serve different needs. Drupal is a CMS with a traditional, manual approach to building, while Joomla is a CMS that prioritises developer or designer control.

Below you'll find a side-by-side breakdown of detection signals, AI scores, and technical fingerprints — plus our honest take on which builder wins for different use cases.

How we detect Drupal vs Joomla — see our methodology: AI Influence Score calculation, evidence tiers, and fingerprint signal types.

Side-by-Side Comparison

	Drupal	Joomla
Category	CMS	CMS
AI Score	20/100 — Traditional	20/100 — Traditional
Detection Signals	7 patterns	7 patterns
Script Detection	2 patterns	2 patterns
CDN Detection	—	—
Header Detection	2 headers

Drupal

CMS

Drupal is a cms with an AI Score of 20/100 (Traditional). Our detection engine uses 7 signal patterns to identify Drupal-built sites.

498 sites detected so far

Detection Guide Try Drupal →

Sites using Drupal →Gallery →

Joomla

CMS

Joomla is a cms with an AI Score of 20/100 (Traditional). Our detection engine uses 7 signal patterns to identify Joomla-built sites.

394 sites detected so far

Detection Guide Try Joomla →

Sites using Joomla →Gallery →

Platform Overviews

Drupal

Drupal is an open-source content management system written in PHP, widely adopted by government agencies, universities, large enterprises, and media organizations that require a highly customizable and security-conscious publishing platform. The AIWebsiteDetector.com engine identifies Drupal installations through a combination of seven distinct technical signals, including two JavaScript file patterns, two HTML structural patterns, two characteristic HTTP response headers, and one meta tag pattern embedded in page markup. Common detection indicators include Drupal-specific generator meta tags, inline HTML attributes such as data attributes injected by the CMS core, HTTP headers like the `X-Generator` or `X-Drupal-Cache` response fields, and script paths referencing Drupal's module or core directory structure. These layered signals allow the detector to distinguish Drupal from other PHP-based CMS platforms with high confidence, even when administrators have partially obscured the installation through security hardening measures. Drupal is self-hosted software available at no licensing cost from drupal.org, though its presence on high-traffic government and institutional domains makes it one of the more consistently detectable enterprise CMS platforms in the wild, owing to the persistence of its core-generated markup across versions.

Joomla

Joomla is an open-source content management system widely adopted by government agencies, educational institutions, and mid-sized organizations that require a flexible, extensible platform beyond basic blogging. AIWebsiteDetector.com identifies Joomla-powered sites through a layered set of technical signals, including 2 script patterns, 2 HTML patterns, 2 meta tag patterns, and 1 HTTP header, giving the detection engine multiple independent vectors to confirm a positive match. The HTML and meta tag patterns typically surface Joomla-specific generator tags and structural markup embedded during page rendering, while the script patterns correspond to core Joomla JavaScript assets loaded consistently across installations regardless of the active template. The HTTP header signal provides an additional layer of server-side confirmation, making it possible to detect Joomla even when front-end themes have been heavily customized or default markup has been partially obscured. Joomla is self-hosted and freely available under the GNU General Public License, meaning it can run on virtually any standard PHP and MySQL hosting stack — a deployment flexibility that contributes to its presence across a diverse range of site categories in the detection database. This architectural consistency across hosting environments is precisely what makes Joomla reliably detectable despite the wide variation in how individual sites are configured and styled.

Key Differences

Both Drupal and Joomla are classified as CMS tools, making them the most direct competitors in this comparison.
Drupal scores higher on AI involvement (20/100 vs 20/100 for Joomla), meaning it relies more heavily on AI for site generation and content creation.
Our detection engine identifies Drupal using 7 fingerprint patterns and Joomla using 7 patterns — more signals generally means more reliable detection.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Drupal if…

You prefer a cms solution
You want more manual control over the final output
Drupal's detection fingerprint of 7 signals means your site is reliably identifiable

Choose Joomla if…

You need a cms approach
You prefer traditional building tools with predictable output
Joomla's ecosystem and community better match your team's existing workflow

Drupal vs Joomla (2026): Which Is Better?

Side-by-Side Comparison

Example Websites

Drupal websites

Joomla websites

Drupal

Joomla

Platform Overviews

Drupal

Joomla

Key Differences

Which Should You Choose?

Drupal

Check Which Builder Powers a Site

More Drupal Comparisons