Craft CMS vs ExpressionEngine

For a new custom business website, we prefer Craft CMS to ExpressionEngine. Craft gives us a more cohesive way to build reusable content, focused editing, and integrations, backed by an engaged specialist community. ExpressionEngine is still maintained. Keeping a healthy installation can be sensible; choosing it for a rebuild needs a clear reason.

Start a Craft CMS Health Check Plan a Craft project

Choose Craft CMS when:

You want reusable content and a clearer editorial interface.
A rebuild can retire fragile add-ons and inherited conventions.
You want an established Craft partner to support the next phase.

Choose ExpressionEngine when:

Your supported ExpressionEngine site already works well.
Critical add-ons and developer relationships remain dependable.
The value of migration does not yet justify its disruption.

Where each one wins

Priority points

92.5

Craft CMS

7.5

ExpressionEngine

Craft CMS leads for this brief.

100 points allocated by business priority. Ties split the points.

We score websites built and supported by an agency, with editors working inside an approved design system. These are our recommendations for that brief, not product quality ratings.

How we score

Publishing and brand controlWinner: Craft CMS20-point priorityCraft is our stronger starting point for reusable pages with clear editorial guardrails.

Both systems can offer tailored fields. Our Craft preference is the combination of Matrix fields, reusable entry types, and preview in a publishing system built for the client. The important test is whether a marketer can assemble and revise a page confidently, not whether both products list custom fields.

Content architectureWinner: Craft CMS15-point priorityCraft provides a cohesive model for content shared across a complex business website.

Craft entries and relationships let services, people, locations, and reusable sections work together. ExpressionEngine’s channels and fields can support substantial sites. We prefer Craft’s modeling conventions when rebuilding interconnected content rather than carrying forward an old channel-and-add-on design.

Custom implementationWinner: Craft CMS15-point priorityCraft’s configuration and extension workflow fit our current custom development practice.

Project Config, Composer dependencies, Twig, and custom modules give our team a consistent delivery process. ExpressionEngine remains extensible. An existing team with a clean implementation may be productive there, but a new build should account for who will support the code after the original developer leaves.

Security and supportTie15-point priorityBoth need application maintenance and a named support owner.

ExpressionEngine’s changelog includes current security maintenance; it is not abandoned. Craft can use Craft Cloud and Mostly Serious support. On either system, review versions, add-ons, backups, permissions, and restoration before treating hosting as a complete maintenance plan.

Lifetime valueWinner: Craft CMS10-point priorityFor a rebuild, a coherent publishing system matters more than a single-user free edition.

ExpressionEngine pricing and Craft pricing cover only part of the investment. Budget for several editors, migration, integrations, updates, and the time spent maintaining specialized add-ons. Craft is our preferred investment when the project can simplify the system; a working EE site does not need replacing merely to save a license fee.

Are Craft users unlimited on every paid edition?

No. Craft Team includes five user accounts; Pro includes unlimited accounts. Choose the edition that matches the required users and permissions.

Ecosystem confidenceWinner: Craft CMS10-point priorityCraft gives us greater confidence in finding and sustaining the specialist support this work needs.

ExpressionEngine has a very small measured market presence, but an agency’s September 2026 account describes continuing to choose it after two decades. We favor Craft for current delivery practice and support continuity. Neither a small installed base nor our preference proves abandonment. We have not verified comparable Craft growth or a quantified EE decline; critical add-on maintainers deserve individual review.

AI enablementWinner: Craft CMS15-point priorityCraft has a broader verified set of tools for governed AI work.

Craft CMS MCP (Pro for content writes) supports schema-aware development, diagnostics, and draft-based content changes; AI Assistant adds editorial assistance. ExpressionEngine has Prompt AI and Mason, whose read-only MCP exposes component schemas. We favor Craft’s current range for editorial and operational workflows, while recognizing both depend on selected third-party tools.

Planning a migration

Map channels, custom fields, relationships, categories, members, files, and multisite content. Templates and add-on behavior need deliberate replacements. Keep content migration separate from changes to information architecture so each can be tested.

Preserve useful URLs where possible. For changed paths, build and test a redirect map, transfer metadata, and monitor indexing and traffic after launch. Google's site-move guidance explains the process; search traffic can still fluctuate. Talk with us about planning a Craft project before committing.

Is a move to Craft a template conversion?

No. Content and template concepts overlap, but field structures, queries, add-ons, and preview behavior need a planned implementation.

Know what your Craft website needs next.

A Craft CMS Health Check reviews your site’s performance, accessibility, technical SEO, code, and maintenance risks. You get findings and a prioritized plan before committing to fixes.