Monday, December 01, 2008 Login    Register

 
  Search Blog  
  Blog Listing  
  Blog Archive  
SnowCovered Standard
  Content Management System (CMS) Comparison  
Location: BlogsThe Mighty Blog    
Posted by: Will Strohl 11/30/2007
A recent blog post on the DotNetNuke web site prompted me to investigate in a bit more detail...

There was a blog post I read today on the DotNetNuke (DNN) web site that showed a comparison of a handful of CMS products.  It was quite impressive.  However, it did not contain the more popular alternatives to DNN.  So, I did my own look-up at CMSMatrix.org. 

Please note that I do not know how reputable that site is as a source, but the results and comparisons are impressive.

Here are the results:

Last Updated 11/29/2007 11/22/2007 1/12/2007 4/25/2006 12/16/2006 6/15/2005 8/12/2007 2/7/2006 5/28/2004 12/20/2006
System Requirements DotNetNuke Drupal Ektron CMS400.net Joomla! Mambo Microsoft CMS Moodle PHP Nuke Rainbow Xoops
Application Server IIS PHP 4.3.3+ .NET Apache recommended, any server that supports PHP and MySQL PHP 4.1.2+ IIS + ASP.NET PHP 4.3.3+ mod_php Ms AspNET PHP 4 or 5, with XML support.
Approximate Cost Free Free $9650 $0 Free   0 Free   Free
Database MSSQL 2005/2000, MSSQL Express 2005, MSDE MySQL, Postgres Oracle, SQLserver, MSDE MySQL MySQL MSSQL MySQL, Oracle, MSSQL, Postgres MySQL, Postgres, mSQL, Interbase, Sybase SQL / Msde MySQL 4.23.xx or later
License BSD (Modified) GNU GPL per URL GNU GPL GNU GPL Commercial GNU GPL GNU GPL Open Source GNU GPL
Operating System Windows Any Windows, OS X Any Any Windows Any Any win 2000 srv Any
Programming Language ASP.NET 2.0, VB.NET, C# PHP ASP.NET, ASP, CFM, PHP, JSP PHP PHP .NET PHP 4.3 or later PHP C# PHP 4.1.0 or later
Root Access No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes   Yes
Shell Access No No No No Yes Yes No Yes   Yes
Web Server IIS 5.0 & IIS 6.0 & IIS 7.0 Apache, IIS IIS Apache Apache, IIS, any PHP enabled web server, but Apache Recommended IIS Any Apache, IIS IIS Apache, IIS
Security DotNetNuke Drupal Ektron CMS400.net Joomla! Mambo Microsoft CMS Moodle PHP Nuke Rainbow Xoops
Audit Trail Limited Yes Yes No No Free Add On Yes No Limited Limited
Captcha Yes Free Add On No Yes Yes No No No   Free Add On
Content Approval Limited Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No   Yes
Granular Privileges Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Limited Yes Yes
Kerberos Authentication Free Add On No No No No Yes Yes No No No
LDAP Authentication No Free Add On Yes Free Add On Yes Yes Yes No No Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes Free Add On Free Add On Yes No Yes Free Add On
NIS Authentication No No No No No No No No No No
NTLM Authentication Yes Free Add On No No No Yes Yes No No No
Pluggable Authentication Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Costs Extra No
Problem Notification Yes No Yes No No No Yes No Limited Limited
Sandbox Yes No Yes No No Limited Yes No Yes Yes
Session Management Yes Yes No Yes Limited No Yes No Limited Limited
SMB Authentication No No No No No No No No No No
SSL Compatible Yes Yes Yes No Free Add On Yes Yes No   Yes
SSL Logins Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No   Yes
SSL Pages Yes No Yes No Free Add On Yes Yes No   Yes
Versioning Limited Yes Yes Yes Limited Yes Yes No No Yes
Support DotNetNuke Drupal Ektron CMS400.net Joomla! Mambo Microsoft CMS Moodle PHP Nuke Rainbow Xoops
Certification Program Yes No Yes No No No Yes No Limited Yes
Code Skeletons Yes Yes Yes No No   Yes No   No
Commercial Manuals Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes
Commercial Support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Commercial Training Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
Developer Community Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Online Help Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Limited
Pluggable API Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Professional Hosting Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Professional Services Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Public Forum Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Public Mailing List Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Test Framework Yes Free Add On No No No   Yes No   No
Third-Party Developers Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Users Conference Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No   Yes
Ease of Use DotNetNuke Drupal Ektron CMS400.net Joomla! Mambo Microsoft CMS Moodle PHP Nuke Rainbow Xoops
Drag-N-Drop Content Yes Free Add On Yes No No No Yes No No Free Add On
Costs Extra Free Add On Yes Free Add On No No Yes No No No
Friendly URLs Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Limited Free Add On
Image Resizing Free Add On Free Add On Yes Yes No No Yes No   Free Add On
Macro Language Yes Free Add On Yes Yes Yes Free Add On No No No Limited
Mass Upload Yes Free Add On Yes No No Limited Yes No   Free Add On
Prototyping Yes Limited Yes Yes No No No No   No
Server Page Language Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Site Setup Wizard No Limited         No      
Spell Checker Free Add On Free Add On Yes No Yes Yes Free Add On No   No
Style Wizard Yes Limited Yes No No   Yes No   No
Subscriptions Yes Free Add On Yes No No No Yes No   Yes
Template Language Yes Limited Yes Yes Yes Free Add On No No No Yes
UI Levels Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No No Yes
Undo Limited Limited Yes No Yes Free Add On Yes No No Limited
WYSIWYG Editor Yes Free Add On Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Free Add On
Zip Archives Yes No Yes No No   Yes No   No
Performance DotNetNuke Drupal Ektron CMS400.net Joomla! Mambo Microsoft CMS Moodle PHP Nuke Rainbow Xoops
Advanced Caching Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
Database Replication No Limited Yes No No No Yes No   No
Load Balancing Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No Yes
Page Caching Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Static Content Export Yes No Yes No No Yes No No   No
Management DotNetNuke Drupal Ektron CMS400.net Joomla! Mambo Microsoft CMS Moodle PHP Nuke Rainbow Xoops
Advertising Management Yes Free Add On Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Costs Extra Yes
Asset Management Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Clipboard Limited No Yes No Yes No Yes No No Yes
Content Scheduling Yes Free Add On Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes
Content Staging Yes Free Add On Yes No No Yes Yes No Costs Extra Limited
Inline Administration Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Online Administration Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Limited Yes Yes Yes Yes
Package Deployment Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes
Sub-sites / Roots Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Free Add On
Themes / Skins Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Trash Yes No No Yes Yes Free Add On No No No No
Web Statistics Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Free Add On
Web-based Style/Template Management Yes Yes No Yes Yes Free Add On Yes Limited Yes Yes
Web-based Translation Management Yes Yes Yes Free Add On Yes No Yes No Limited Yes
Workflow Engine Free Add On Limited Yes No No Limited Yes No Limited No
Interoperability DotNetNuke Drupal Ektron CMS400.net Joomla! Mambo Microsoft CMS Moodle PHP Nuke Rainbow Xoops
Content Syndication (RSS) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Free Add On Yes No Yes Yes
FTP Support Yes Limited Yes Free Add On No No Yes No Yes Yes
iCal Yes Free Add On         Yes      
UTF-8 Support Yes Yes Yes Limited Yes Yes Yes No   Limited
WAI Compliant Limited Limited Yes No Limited Free Add On Yes No Limited No
WebDAV Support Costs Extra No No No No No Yes No No No
XHTML Compliant Yes Yes Yes No Yes Free Add On Yes No Yes No
Flexibility DotNetNuke Drupal Ektron CMS400.net Joomla! Mambo Microsoft CMS Moodle PHP Nuke Rainbow Xoops
CGI-mode Support No Yes No No No No Yes Yes No No
Content Reuse Yes Limited Yes Yes Limited Yes Yes No Yes Free Add On
Extensible User Profiles Yes Yes Yes Yes Free Add On Yes Yes No Costs Extra No
Interface Localization Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Metadata Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No   Free Add On
Multi-lingual Content Free Add On Yes Yes Free Add On Free Add On Free Add On Yes No   Free Add On
Multi-lingual Content Integration Free Add On Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No   Free Add On
Multi-Site Deployment Yes Yes Yes Free Add On Free Add On Yes Yes No   No
URL Rewriting Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes
Built-in Applications DotNetNuke Drupal Ektron CMS400.net Joomla! Mambo Microsoft CMS Moodle PHP Nuke Rainbow Xoops
Blog Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Free Add On
Chat Yes Free Add On No Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No No Free Add On
Classifieds Free Add On Free Add On No Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No No Free Add On
Contact Management Yes Free Add On Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes
Data Entry Yes Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No Limited Free Add On
Database Reports Yes No Yes Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No Yes Free Add On
Discussion / Forum Yes Yes Yes Free Add On Free Add On No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Document Management Yes Limited Yes Free Add On Free Add On Yes Yes No No Free Add On
Events Calendar Yes Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On Free Add On Yes No Yes Free Add On
Events Management Yes Free Add On Yes No No   Yes     Free Add On
Expense Reports Costs Extra No Yes Free Add On No No Yes No No No
FAQ Management Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
File Distribution Yes Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On Yes Yes Yes Yes Free Add On
Graphs and Charts Yes No No Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No   No
Groupware Free Add On Free Add On No Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No Limited No
Guest Book Yes Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No No Free Add On
Help Desk / Bug Reporting Costs Extra Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No Limited Free Add On
HTTP Proxy Free Add On No Yes No No No No No No Yes
In/Out Board Costs Extra No Yes No No No Yes No   No
Job Postings Free Add On Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No No Free Add On
Link Management Yes Free Add On Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mail Form Yes Free Add On Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes
Matrix No No No No No   No No   No
My Page / Dashboard Yes Free Add On Yes No Free Add On No Yes No No Yes
Yes Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No   Free Add On
Photo Gallery Yes Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No Yes Free Add On
Polls Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Product Management Yes Free Add On Yes Yes Free Add On No Yes No Yes Free Add On
Project Tracking Costs Extra Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No Yes Free Add On
Search Engine Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes
Site Map Yes Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On Free Add On No No   Free Add On
Stock Quotes Costs Extra Free Add On No No No   Free Add On No   Free Add On
Surveys Yes Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No Yes Yes
Syndicated Content (RSS) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Free Add On Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tests / Quizzes Costs Extra Free Add On Yes Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No Yes Free Add On
Time Tracking Costs Extra Free Add On No No No No Yes No No Free Add On
User Contributions Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Weather Free Add On Free Add On No No Free Add On   No No   Free Add On
Web Services Front End Free Add On No Yes Free Add On No No No No Yes Free Add On
Wiki Yes Free Add On Yes Free Add On Limited No Yes No   Free Add On
Commerce DotNetNuke Drupal Ektron CMS400.net Joomla! Mambo Microsoft CMS Moodle PHP Nuke Rainbow Xoops
Affiliate Tracking Yes Free Add On No Free Add On Free Add On No No No No Yes
Inventory Management Costs Extra Free Add On No Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No   Free Add On
Pluggable Payments Yes Free Add On No Free Add On Free Add On No Yes No   Free Add On
Pluggable Shipping Costs Extra Free Add On No Free Add On Free Add On No No No   Free Add On
Pluggable Tax Costs Extra Free Add On No Free Add On Free Add On No No No   Free Add On
Point of Sale Costs Extra No No Free Add On Free Add On No No No   No
Shopping Cart Yes Free Add On No Free Add On Free Add On No No No Yes Free Add On
Subscriptions Yes Free Add On No Free Add On Free Add On No No No   Free Add On
Wish Lists No Free Add On No Free Add On No No Yes No   Free Add O

We all have reasons for picking or not picking a product or service, and although I could go into great detail of why, please make your own decision for yourself.  (Unless you REALLY want to know...)
Copyright ©2007 Will Strohl
Permalink |  Trackback

Your name:
Title:
Comment:
Security Code
Enter the code shown above in the box below
Add Comment   Cancel 
© Copyright 2004-2008 by Will Strohl. All rights reserved.