Software Alternatives & Startups

ExpressionEngine VS Statamic

Compare ExpressionEngine VS Statamic and see what are their differences

ExpressionEngine

ExpressionEngine is a flexible, feature-rich content management system that empowers thousands of...

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Statamic

Build better, easier to manage websites. Enjoy radical efficiency. It's everything you never knew you always wanted in a CMS.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source Freemium Free trial $259 / One-off (Pro License)

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Statamic seems to be a lot more popular than ExpressionEngine. While we know about 50 links to Statamic, we've tracked only 2 mentions of ExpressionEngine.

social mentions
2 vs 50
CMS popularity
36% vs 64%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

ExpressionEngine
Statamic
Website expressionengine.com statamic.com
Pricing
Open source
Open source Freemium Free trial $259 / One-off (Pro License) Official pricing
Platforms
PHP
Company Startup from Canada · 2012
Listed in

About ExpressionEngine and Statamic

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

ExpressionEngine
Statamic

No description of ExpressionEngine yet.

Statamic cuts out the database and creates a faster, more productive way for you to build, manage, and version control beautifully creative, bespoke websites. If you’re looking to just plop a generic theme on the internet and replace a few text blocks with your company info, then yes, maybe you...

Read more about Statamic

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

ExpressionEngine 6 features
Statamic 7 features
  • Flexibility
    ExpressionEngine is highly flexible and can be used to create a wide range of websites, from simple blogs to complex web applications. It doesn't impose rigid structures, allowing developers to design content and data structures according to the project's needs.
  • Template Engine
    Its powerful template engine allows for both simple and complex designs. Designers and developers can create custom layouts and templates without having to delve deeply into backend code.
  • Security
    Known for its robust security features, ExpressionEngine prioritizes the safety of its users. It includes in-built security measures such as data encryption, secure form handling, and regular security updates.
  • Addon Ecosystem
    ExpressionEngine has a diverse addon ecosystem, enabling users to extend core functionalities easily. Many high-quality third-party plugins are available for various needs like SEO, eCommerce, and more.
  • User Management
    The platform offers advanced user management capabilities. It allows for intricate access controls and user permissions, making it ideal for membership sites and other applications requiring multiple user roles.
  • Documentation
    ExpressionEngine provides thorough and well-maintained documentation, helping developers and content managers navigate and make the most out of the platform.

Possible disadvantages

  • Cost
    ExpressionEngine is a paid CMS. While it does offer significant advantages, the cost might be prohibitive for small businesses or individuals who are just getting started.
  • Learning Curve
    While its flexibility is a major advantage, it also means that there can be a steep learning curve for beginners. Those who are new to CMSs or coming from simpler systems may find the initial setup and customization challenging.
  • Performance
    ExpressionEngine can be resource-intensive, particularly for large, high-traffic websites. Without proper optimization and hosting, this could lead to slower load times and potential performance issues.
  • Complexity for Simple Sites
    For simpler websites, the extensive feature set of ExpressionEngine might be overkill. Users looking for a straightforward blogging platform or a basic company website may find it unnecessarily complex.
  • Limited Themes and Plugins
    Compared to other CMS platforms like WordPress, ExpressionEngine has a smaller library of pre-built themes and plugins. This may require more custom development work to achieve desired functionalities and aesthetics.
  • Community Support
    While there is a dedicated group of users, the community around ExpressionEngine is smaller compared to more widely-used CMS platforms. This could make finding community support, tutorials, and third-party resources more difficult.
  • Ease of Use
    Statamic offers an intuitive and user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate for both developers and content editors.
  • Flat File CMS
    By using flat files instead of a traditional database, Statamic offers faster performance and easier version control through Git.
  • Flexible and Extensible
    Statamic is built on the Laravel framework, making it highly customizable and extendable to suit various needs and requirements.
  • Built-in SEO Tools
    The CMS comes with built-in SEO tools, making it simpler to optimize content for search engines without requiring additional plugins.
  • Live Preview
    Content editors can see real-time previews of their changes, which improves the content editing experience and reduces errors.
  • No SQL Database Requirements
    Since Statamic is a flat file CMS, it doesn't require a SQL database, which simplifies deployment and hosting options.
  • Robust Documentation and Community Support
    Statamic offers comprehensive documentation and has an active community, providing ample resources for troubleshooting and learning.

Possible disadvantages

  • Cost
    Statamic is not free and requires a license purchase, which could be a drawback for small projects or budget-conscious users.
  • Learning Curve for Laravel
    While being powerful and flexible, the requirement to understand Laravel for deeper customization can be a barrier for developers unfamiliar with the framework.
  • Limited Plugin Ecosystem
    Compared to other CMS platforms like WordPress, the plugin ecosystem is smaller, which might require custom development for specific functionalities.
  • Hosting Requirements
    Statamic’s flat-file approach might not be ideal for very large websites with extensive content, as it can introduce performance bottlenecks.
  • No MySQL Compatibility
    While flat files offer certain advantages, they might not be suitable for every use case, particularly those requiring complex relational data handling typically managed by SQL databases.
  • Version Upgrades
    Upgrading between major versions can be complex and may require significant effort to ensure everything continues to work smoothly.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

ExpressionEngine
Statamic

No analysis of ExpressionEngine yet.

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Statamic is considered a good choice for websites where ease of use, flexibility, and customizability are important. Its focus on being a flat-file CMS increases performance and security while reducing server requirements.

Why this product is good

  • Statamic is a flexible and user-friendly content management system (CMS) built on Laravel. It streamlines content creation with its intuitive control panel and offers powerful features like versioning, multi-site management, and flexible content structures without reliance on databases. The platform caters to developers and content editors alike by offering a robust API, add-ons, and a straightforward templating language, making it highly customizable.

Recommended for

  • Developers familiar with PHP and Laravel who want a customizable and flexible CMS.
  • Small to medium-sized businesses looking for a fast and secure website solution without dealing with database management.
  • Content teams that favor user-friendly interfaces for content management without deep technical knowledge.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

ExpressionEngine 3 videos + Add
Statamic 3 videos + Add

ExpressionEngine 2 Tutorials #1 - Installation

More videos

  • - ExpressionEngine 2 Tutorials #18 - Embedded Templates
  • - ExpressionEngine 3 Interface Changes

Quick demo of our new Statamic CMS website for transistor.fm

More videos

  • - Experiencing Statamic 2 CMS
  • - I'm moving @transistorfm off WordPress and on to @Statamic. Doing another coding session now. 👍

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
ExpressionEngine
Statamic
36% 36%
CMS
64% 64%
29% 29%
71% 71%
26% 26%
74% 74%
100% 100%
0% 0%

User comments

Share your experience with using ExpressionEngine and Statamic. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

ExpressionEngine no reviews yet
Statamic no reviews yet
  • 9 Reasons I Think Craft is the Best CMS on the Market Today
    hackernoon.com · Jan 2019

    Craft CMS is simple, minimalistic, agile and has every capability a modern CMS framework needs. Over the past ten years we have worked with every CMS you could think of (Wordpress, Drupal, Rails+ActiveAdmin, Ghost,...

  • Goodbye Statamic. Hello Grav.
    www.leighhowells.com · Apr 2016

    Statamic wasn't free, but was only a small $29 fee for a site license. Recently, the guys behind Statamic updated to version 2. Unfortunately, there was a major price hike moving to version 2, of what appears to be...

  • Migrating to Statamic

    Although I am a big fan of Jekyll, on this occasion I decided to go with Statamic. This was mainly driven by ease of publishing using Statamic control panel. Statamic control panel provides ability to manage content...

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

ExpressionEngine 2 mentions
Statamic 50 mentions
  • Expression Engine & HubSpot
    Does Expression Engine support integration with HubSpot? Source: about 3 years ago
  • What technologies for these requirements?
    PHP Headless Or you go with a Headless PHP CMS. Some options for that are Bolt CMS, Suru, Twill and ExpressionEngine. A Headless CMS doesn't have any frontend. It can provide you with a REST API or you create it in their template engine... Source: over 4 years ago
  • Ask HN: Looking for Headless CMS Recommendation
    Dev budget under $25k: Statamic[1] or Wordpress (with ACF[2] & Acorn[3] Professional work above that: Sanity[4] or Hygraph[5] [1] https://statamic.com [2] https://www.advancedcustomfields.com [3] https://roots.io/acorn/ [4]... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • WordPress Is in Trouble
    There are CMSes that work with static site generators. Static site generators do not imply that the input is markdown, though this is often the usecase. https://decapcms.org/ https://getkirby.com/ https://tina.io/ https://statamic.com/... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • 9 best Git-based CMS platforms for your next project
    Statamic is one of the best flat-file CMSs. It’s built with Laravel and can be used as a headless Git-based CMS as well. The paid professional version allows you to use REST APIs and GraphQL APIs for content management and offers a... - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago

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Alternatives to ExpressionEngine and Statamic

When comparing ExpressionEngine and Statamic, you can also consider the following products.