Craft CMS vs Statamic vs ExpressionEngine in 2026

Craft CMS, Statamic and ExpressionEngine sit in the same broad space. Twig-based, developer-friendly, alternatives to WordPress for teams that want a content system that does not feel like WordPress. They are not interchangeable. Each makes different architectural bets and the right fit depends on what the team values most.

Craft CMS: the structured content default

Craft CMS, built by Pixel & Tonic, is the most active of the three in 2026. Craft 5 has been the stable line since 2024 and the platform receives steady feature releases. The control panel is the strongest editor experience in this comparison and the field system is built around structured content.

Craft uses MySQL or PostgreSQL. It runs on standard PHP hosting. The plugin ecosystem is mature and the plugins that exist tend to be well-maintained because the smaller community has higher signal-to-noise than WordPress.

Pricing is per-project rather than per-seat. The Solo licence is free and Pro costs $299 per project. Annual update fees apply. Craft Commerce is a separate paid product.

Statamic: flat-file Laravel

Statamic sits on Laravel and stores content in flat files by default. That makes it an unusual choice. Content lives in YAML and Markdown files inside the codebase, version-controlled alongside the templates and configuration. For small teams this is a strength because the content history sits in git.

A hybrid mode exists where Statamic can run against a database. That option matters for sites with hundreds of entries where the filesystem starts to feel sluggish, or where multiple editors collaborate concurrently.

The Laravel foundation matters. A Statamic site can sit alongside an existing Laravel application and share the same infrastructure. For SaaS founders who already have Laravel code, Statamic is the natural marketing site choice.

Statamic licensing was simplified through 2025 with the introduction of a single tier for most projects, replacing the earlier Pro and Solo split that had been the subject of criticism. Current 2026 licence pricing sits in line with Craft for similar project profiles.

ExpressionEngine: the long-tail option

ExpressionEngine has been around since 2002. It is now owned by Packet Tide and continues to receive maintenance releases, though the release cadence is much slower than Craft or Statamic. The platform retains a small but committed user base, particularly in the United States.

ExpressionEngine is the right choice when an existing ExpressionEngine site is working well, the team knows the platform and the cost of migration outweighs the cost of staying. It is rarely the right choice for a new build in 2026 because the active developer community and plugin ecosystem are smaller than the alternatives.

For teams currently on ExpressionEngine and considering a move, Craft CMS is the most common destination. The mental model is similar enough that the migration is more manageable than a jump to a different platform family.

How to choose

Choose Craft CMS when the editorial team is the main user of the system, publishing volume is steady and the team values a polished control panel. Craft makes the day-to-day publishing experience as good as it gets in this category.

Choose Statamic when the marketing site sits alongside a custom Laravel application, when the team is small enough that flat-file content management is comfortable or when version control of content is genuinely valuable.

Stay on ExpressionEngine when migrating away from a working site would cost more than the value of the move. Migrate from ExpressionEngine when the platform is holding the team back and the migration cost is justified by future productivity.

For more on these comparisons, see Statamic vs Craft CMS and leaving Statamic.