CMS comparison

TYPO3 vs WordPress

Two powerful CMS platforms, totally different use cases. TYPO3 for enterprise complexity, WordPress for speed and ease of use. Which one fits your project?

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TYPO3

Enterprise CMS

For complex, multilingual enterprise websites with strict security requirements and advanced workflows.

Extremely flexible and scalable
Best multisite/multilingual support
Enterprise security standards
Steep learning curve, expensive

WordPress

Popular CMS

For blogs, small to medium websites, portfolios and webshops where speed and ease of use matter.

Extremely user-friendly
60,000+ free plugins/themes
Fast setup, low costs
Security risks with bad plugins

Detailed comparison

Feature-by-feature TYPO3 vs WordPress

Aspect	TYPO3	WordPress
Ease of use	⭐⭐ Complex interface, steep learning curve. Not suitable for beginners.	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Extremely intuitive. You can build a website within an hour.
Setup time	⭐⭐ Days to weeks for first site. Requires technical knowledge.	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5-minute install. Immediately productive.
Flexibility	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Unlimited possibilities. Build literally anything.	⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very flexible with plugins, but core limitations.
Multisite management	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Best in market. 100+ sites in one installation.	⭐⭐⭐ WordPress Multisite works, but not as powerful.
Multilingual	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Native multilingual. 40+ languages out of the box.	⭐⭐⭐ Requires plugins (WPML, Polylang). Works well but not native.
Security	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Enterprise grade. Dedicated security team, monthly patches.	⭐⭐⭐ Core is secure, but plugins often weak link.
Performance (out of box)	⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fast when well configured. Powerful caching.	⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fast by default, but plugins often slow it down.
Scalability	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Porsche, Airbus use TYPO3. Millions of pages.	⭐⭐⭐⭐ Scalable with good hosting. TechCrunch, The New Yorker.
Developer friendly	⭐⭐⭐⭐ Modern architecture, Composer, Fluid templates.	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Massive developer community. Documentation everywhere.
Cost (development)	€5,000 - €50,000+ for enterprise projects. Expensive developers.	€500 - €5,000 for most projects. Cheaper developers.
Hosting costs	€15-100/month. Requires VPS or dedicated server.	€3-30/month. Shared hosting works fine for starters.
Marketplace	5,000+ extensions. Smaller community but higher quality.	60,000+ plugins. A solution for every problem.

When to choose what?

Practical scenarios and recommendations

Choose TYPO3 if you...

1

Have an enterprise website with complex requirements and workflows
2

Need to manage a multisite network (10+ websites from one backend)
3

Need multilingual content (5+ languages with complex translation workflow)
4

Have strict security requirements (government, financial, healthcare)
5

Need advanced permissions (granular user/group rights system)
6

Have budget for development (€10k+) and want maximum control
7

Are making a long-term investment (expect 10+ year lifecycle)

Typical TYPO3 clients:

Porsche, Airbus, Philips, university institutions, government organizations, international corporate sites.

Choose WordPress if you...

1

Want to be online quickly (within days, not months)
2

Have a blog or content site where regular posting is central
3

Have a limited budget (< €5,000 for development)
4

Want to manage it yourself without technical knowledge
5

Want to start a webshop (WooCommerce is unbeatable)
6

Have a small to medium site (< 1,000 pages)
7

Want many plugins/themes to choose from (60,000+ available)

Typical WordPress clients:

Bloggers, SMB companies, freelancers, webshops, portfolio sites, news sites, small to medium corporates.

Key differences in practice

Learning curve & onboarding

TYPO3

TYPO3 requires serious training. New editors need 2-3 days of training for basic tasks. Developers must learn TypoScript, Fluid templating, Extbase framework. Expect 2-4 weeks before a developer is productive.

Time investment: 40-80 hours for developers, 16-24 hours for editors

WordPress

WordPress is intuitive. New editors are productive within 2 hours. The admin interface resembles Word/Google Docs. Developers can build WordPress sites within days. Huge community means answers to every question within minutes via Google.

Time investment: 8-16 hours for developers, 2-4 hours for editors

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

TYPO3

Development: €5,000 - €50,000
Hosting (per year): €180 - €1,200
Maintenance (per year): €1,000 - €5,000
Training: €1,500 - €3,000
Year 1 total: €7,680 - €59,200

WordPress

Development: €500 - €5,000
Hosting (per year): €36 - €360
Plugins/themes: €0 - €500
Training: €0 - €500
Year 1 total: €536 - €6,360

Security & updates

TYPO3

Dedicated TYPO3 Security Team. Monthly security releases (usually second Tuesday of the month). Enterprise-grade security standards. Core is very secure, extensions are screened. LTS versions get 3 years of support.

Track record: Very few critical security issues. Ideal for high-security requirements.

WordPress

WordPress core is well secured and patched quickly. But: 90% of hacks come via third-party plugins/themes. Automatic updates help, but you need to actively monitor plugins. WPScan database shows thousands of vulnerabilities.

Note: Choose plugins carefully. Use security plugins (Wordfence, Sucuri). Check updates regularly.

Frequently asked questions about TYPO3 vs WordPress

Can I migrate from WordPress to TYPO3 (or vice versa)?

Yes, but it's not a simple click-and-done operation. Content can be migrated via database export/import or custom scripts. But templates, plugins/extensions and configuration must be completely rebuilt. Expect a significant project (€3k-10k) for professional migration. In practice, companies often choose a fresh start when switching platforms.

Which is better for SEO: TYPO3 or WordPress?

WordPress has a slight advantage through plugins like Yoast and Rank Math that guide you step-by-step. TYPO3 has good SEO features built-in since version 9 (speaking URLs, sitemaps, meta tags), but you have to configure more yourself. In practice: with good configuration, both CMS platforms rank well in Google. SEO depends more on your content and technical optimization than your CMS choice.

Is TYPO3 really free or are there hidden costs?

TYPO3 is 100% free open source software (GPL license). But: development costs are high due to complexity and scarcity of TYPO3 developers (€80-120/hour vs €50-80/hour for WordPress). Hosting costs more because TYPO3 requires VPS/dedicated servers. So the software is free, but your total project becomes more expensive than WordPress due to indirect costs.

Why do large companies use TYPO3 instead of WordPress?

Enterprise features: granular permissions (hundreds of editors with different rights), multisite (50+ websites in one backend), advanced workflows, compliance requirements (GDPR, accessibility), enterprise support contracts, long-term stability (LTS versions). WordPress can technically do this too, but TYPO3 was built for this from day 1. Plus: no dependency on thousands of third-party plugins means fewer security risks.

Can WordPress handle enterprise sites too?

Absolutely! TechCrunch, The New Yorker, Sony Music use WordPress enterprise. With WordPress VIP (managed enterprise hosting) and custom development, you can scale enormously. But: for complex multisite/multilingual setups, you have to build a lot custom that TYPO3 has out-of-the-box. WordPress enterprise works, but TYPO3 was specifically designed for that. Choice depends on your exact requirements.

Which has better performance: TYPO3 or WordPress?

Out-of-the-box, WordPress is slightly faster because it's simpler. But with good configuration (Redis cache, Varnish, CDN), TYPO3 can be extremely fast - Porsche.com runs on TYPO3 with sub-2 second load times. WordPress often slows down due to plugins. In practice: both can be blazing fast if you know what you're doing. Server configuration and caching strategy make more difference than CMS choice.

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