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Statamic vs WordPress
If plugin fatigue, security anxiety, or modern PHP architecture are on your mind, you're not the only one.
Most teams evaluating Statamic still respect WordPress. They just want fewer moving parts, saner workflows, and a CMS that doesn't require a plugin stack to feel complete.
Here's an honest Feature Comparison Matrix™
Highly technical. Peer reviewed by exactly nobody.
OK, now let's talk about where the real differences show up.
No Plugin Tax
The practical difference isn't whether "both can do it." It's how much glue work and annual licensing you inherit to do normal CMS things.
| Need | WordPress | Statamic |
|---|---|---|
| Custom fields | ACF Pro ($49/yr) | Built-in |
| Forms | Gravity Forms ($59/yr) | Built-in |
| Search | SearchWP ($99/yr) | Built-in |
| SEO fields | Yoast Premium ($99/yr) | Built-in (SEO Pro addon or native fields) |
| Navigation builder | Plugin or theme implementation | Built-in |
| Static caching | WP Super Cache / plugin | Built-in |
| GraphQL API | WPGraphQL (free, separate maintainer) | Built-in |
| Image manipulation | Plugin | Built-in (Glide) |
| Multi-site | WordPress MU (powerful, but complex) | Built-in |
Typical WordPress stack costs: $300-500/year recurring. Statamic Pro: $275 one-time + optional $65/year for updates and support.
Your CMS is your app, not a sidecar.
With Statamic, you're not gluing WordPress to a separate modern app. Statamic installs directly into Laravel as a Composer package, so your CMS and application share one architecture.
Need queues, notifications, Sanctum, Horizon, jobs, events, middleware, or custom domain logic? It's all native and uses the same conventions as every other Laravel app your team has built.
No split-brain between "WordPress way" and "actual app way." Just one clean stack.
Developer experience that feels 2026, not 2012.
Antlers stays focused on content and presentation. You avoid template files full of control-flow PHP and global-function choreography.
WordPress
<?php if (have_posts()) : while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
<article>
<h2><a href="/?originalUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fstatamic.com%2F%26lt%3B%3Fphp%2520the_permalink()%3B%2520%3F%26gt%3B"><?php the_title(); ?></a></h2>
<?php the_content(); ?>
</article>
<?php endwhile; endif; ?>Statamic Antlers
{{ collection:blog limit="10" }}
<article>
<h2><a href="/?originalUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fstatamic.com%2F%26%23123%3B%26%23123%3B%2520url%2520%26%23125%3B%26%23125%3B">{{ title }}</a></h2>
{{ content }}
</article>
{{ /collection:blog }}Local setup is as straightforward as composer install then php artisan serve. No wp-config dance, no giant SQL file imports, no "works on that one staging box" plugin state.
Flat files unlock cleaner Git workflows.
Statamic stores content in files by default, so content changes can travel in the same PR as code changes. Review, rollback, and deploy all happen with normal Git tooling.
- Content and templates versioned together
- Branch previews without database drift headaches
- Auditable history for both editorial and code updates
If you need database storage later, you can adopt it without rebuilding your templates or content model.
Content editing stays consistent across every project.
Live Preview and real-time collaboration are first-class in Statamic. Editors can see exactly what they're publishing without plugin hunting.
Compared to Gutenberg's block mental model and React-heavy custom block workflows, Statamic tends to be easier to teach and faster to keep consistent across many client builds.
That consistency matters: every Statamic site feels familiar to editors and developers, instead of every project having a brand-new "WordPress personality."
Security and cost are where maintenance pain shows up.
Patchstack's H1 2025 report flagged 2,816 vulnerable WordPress ecosystem components, with 92% in plugins [source].
Sucuri's hacked-site reporting continues to show WordPress as the most frequently compromised CMS in their cleaned-site dataset, often near the 95% range depending on year [source].
WordPress core is free, but annual plugin renewals for typical business-site needs commonly push into the $300-500/year range. Statamic's one-time license and optional renewal keep ownership and budgeting simpler.
Fair note: WordPress still has unmatched plugin breadth and WooCommerce depth. If your project is Woo-first, that can be a legit reason to stay.
Conrad Fuhrman CTO, Futureman Digital
“We see at minimum a 25% reduction of cost for clients that dev with Statamic, and 2 Fortune 100 companies we work with won't dev on WordPress because of security & lack of new PHP support.”
Getting started is easier than you think.
Most migrations are straightforward when you model the essentials first and move in phases.
Read the migration guide
What does a practical migration path look like?
- Map post types to collections and fields to blueprints.
- Import content incrementally and verify URL/canonical parity.
- Launch with built-in features first, then add only targeted addons.
Agency quote slot
"Switching from WordPress to Statamic cut maintenance overhead immediately and helped us ship faster with fewer cross-plugin conflicts."
Placeholder for agency/customer quote.
Content editor quote slot
"Our editors were productive in a week. Live Preview removed guesswork and made publishing much less stressful."
Placeholder for editor/customer quote.
Can I still keep WordPress where it wins?
Absolutely. If WooCommerce or a niche plugin ecosystem fit is central to your project, WordPress may still be the right tool. Statamic shines when you want a modern Laravel architecture, tighter editorial consistency, and fewer plugin dependencies.