GraffitiCMS claims it is an alternative to WordPress. Charles Stricklin mentioned it his blog. So did Matt. The question is, Is GraffitiCMS really better than WordPress? Let’s take a closer look.
Comparison Chart
| ✓ WordPress | GraffityCMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Product | ✓ Since 2003, now version 2.3.2 | Private Beta 1 |
| Development | ✓ Open Source (Free) | Proprietary |
| Platform | ✓ PHP, Linux (Free) | ASP.NET |
| Database | ✓ MySQL (Free) | VistaDB, SQL Server |
| User Base | ✓ Millions of users | A handful of users |
| Themes | ✓ Thousands of (Free) themes | A handful of themes |
| Installation | 5 steps, 5 minutes | ✓ 3 steps, 2 minutes |
| Price | ✓ $0 (Free) | $199, $99 |
It looks like WordPress wins hands-down. Graffiti claims the installation is faster than WordPress. Ok, I’ll give them that, although I know WordPress is by far one of the easiest software I’ve ever installed. By looking at the installation steps, the steps seem to be identical, perhaps GraffitiCMS even omitting certain steps to appear easier. I’m not about to pay $99 or $199 just to find out if the installation process is really faster than WordPress.
What is interesting is the word Free seems to crop up everywhere in the comparison chart. That’s the bottom line for me.