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Drupal alternative

Hatamoto vs Drupal

Drupal can model almost anything, in any language, across any number of sites. That capability comes with PHP, Composer and a stack of contributed modules to keep patched. Hatamoto covers what a business site needs in one binary.

Install Hatamoto See the full comparison

36 lines compared

Updated 28 October 2026, against Drupal 11.4 core and the Drupal CMS 2 recipes.

Hatamoto ahead
15 Upkeep, plugin safety, built-in SEO and forms, AI agents
Drupal ahead
13 Languages, multisite, permissions, APIs and module range
About the same
8 Licence, caching, revisions and layouts

Line by line

The full comparison

36 lines in nine groups. Open a group to see each line. "Ahead" means better out of the box for a typical business website.

Hatamoto aheadDrupal aheadAbout the same

Platform and hostingHatamoto 1Drupal 4Even 2
Platform and hosting: Hatamoto vs Drupal
LineHatamotoDrupalAhead
What you runOne Go binary and a Postgres databasePHP 8.3 or later, Symfony components, Composer and a web serverHatamoto
LicenceApache-2.0, open sourceGPL-2.0 or later, open sourceEven
DatabasePostgres onlyMySQL, MariaDB, Postgres or SQLiteDrupal
HostingA VPS or container hostSelf-hosted, or managed hosts such as Pantheon from US$55 a monthDrupal
More than one languageNo, one language per siteCore modules translate content, the interface and configurationDrupal
Several sites from one installNo, one install per siteBuilt in, each site with its own databaseDrupal
Major upgradesPatch and minor releases install themselves. You apply majors by hand, following the release notesA major version roughly every two years. Drupal 12 is due in December 2026Even
Editing and contentDrupal 2Even 4
Editing and content: Hatamoto vs Drupal
LineHatamotoDrupalAhead
Writing postsRich text editor that pastes cleanly from Google Docs and WordCKEditor 5 in coreEven
Building pagesSection-based page builder with live previewLayout Builder in core, or Drupal Canvas in Drupal CMSEven
Custom content typesSet up in the adminSet up in the admin, with fields on any entityEven
Listings and queriesArchive and taxonomy pages from the themeViews builds any listing as a page, block, feed or JSONDrupal
RevisionsBuilt inBuilt inEven
Roles and permissionsOwner and editorUnlimited roles, with permissions set per moduleDrupal
SEO and AI searchHatamoto 5
SEO and AI search: Hatamoto vs Drupal
LineHatamotoDrupalAhead
SEO titles and descriptionsBuilt inMetatag module, added by Drupal CMSHatamoto
SitemapsBuilt inSimple XML Sitemap module, with hreflangHatamoto
Schema markup (JSON-LD)Built in for every content typeSchema Metatag module, installed separatelyHatamoto
RedirectsBuilt in, with a 404 logRedirect module, added by Drupal CMSHatamoto
AI crawler reports and llms.txtBuilt inNot in coreHatamoto
AI agents and developer toolsHatamoto 1Drupal 2Even 1
AI agents and developer tools: Hatamoto vs Drupal
LineHatamotoDrupalAhead
MCP serverBuilt inMCP Server module, still in betaHatamoto
AI in the adminNot includedOptional AI recipe for page generation, alt text and a site-building chatbotDrupal
APIREST API with scoped keysJSON:API in core, with no setupDrupal
Command linehatamoto CLIDrushEven
SpeedHatamoto 1Even 1
Speed: Hatamoto vs Drupal
LineHatamotoDrupalAhead
Page cachingIn memory, cleared on every editPage cache, dynamic page cache and BigPipe in coreEven
Moving parts per requestOne processPHP, a web server and many modulesHatamoto
Site featuresHatamoto 3
Site features: Hatamoto vs Drupal
LineHatamotoDrupalAhead
FormsBuilt in, with spam protection and CSV exportWebform module. The contact module in core is being removedHatamoto
Visitor analyticsBuilt in, no cookiesA module or an outside serviceHatamoto
WebhooksBuilt in and signedA contributed moduleHatamoto
Plugins and themesHatamoto 2Drupal 1
Plugins and themes: Hatamoto vs Drupal
LineHatamotoDrupalAhead
Plugin safetyEvery plugin runs in a WebAssembly sandboxModules are PHP with full access to the siteHatamoto
Range of extensionsA small, signed, first-party setTens of thousands of contributed modulesDrupal
Security advisories for add-onsFew plugins, each one sandboxedOver 100 contributed-module advisories in 2025Hatamoto
Security and dataHatamoto 1Drupal 2
Security and data: Hatamoto vs Drupal
LineHatamotoDrupalAhead
UpdatesSigned and automatic, with release channels and rollbackComposer updates, database updates and a deployHatamoto
Security teamA small core teamA long-standing volunteer security team with monthly release windowsDrupal
Configuration as codeSettings are stored in the databaseConfiguration export and sync between sitesDrupal
Track record and communityHatamoto 1Drupal 2
Track record and community: Hatamoto vs Drupal
LineHatamotoDrupalAhead
MaturityPre-1.0, runs hatamoto.devSince 2001, with more than 600,000 sites reporting inDrupal
CommunitySmall and growingMore than a million members, by drupal.org's countDrupal
Importing from WordPressBuilt in, with a URL auditWordPress Migrate module, in alphaHatamoto

Compared against Drupal 11.4 core and the Drupal CMS 2 recipes on 28 October 2026. Sources: Drupal licensing, Drupal 11.4 release notes, release schedule, Drupal CMS, security track record, MCP Server, JSON:API, Pantheon pricing. Found something out of date? Open an issue.

Six things to weigh before you choose Drupal

  • 01

    Most business sites don't need what Drupal is built for

    Governments and universities run Drupal for its many languages, many sites, Views and fine-grained permissions. A service business usually needs none of them.

    What Hatamoto leaves out
  • 02

    Someone has to keep the modules patched

    A typical Drupal CMS site runs a dozen contributed modules, and Drupal published over 100 contributed-module advisories in 2025. Hatamoto's extras ship in one signed binary.

    How updates work
  • 03

    A Drupal module has full access to your site

    A Drupal module is PHP that can touch anything. A Hatamoto plugin runs in a WebAssembly sandbox and gets only the permissions it declares.

    How plugins are sandboxed
  • 04

    Hatamoto's SEO needs no extra modules

    Hatamoto writes meta tags, JSON-LD and sitemaps and manages redirects from the core. Drupal relies on Metatag, Simple XML Sitemap, Redirect and Schema Metatag.

    SEO and AI search
  • 05

    The stack underneath needs upgrading too

    Drupal 12 is due in December 2026 and runs on PHP 8.5 only. Hatamoto is one Go binary, with no PHP, web server or Composer to upgrade alongside it.

    Upgrade rules and support
  • 06

    AI agents get a stable MCP server in Hatamoto

    Hatamoto's MCP server is built in and stable. Drupal's MCP Server module is in beta, and its AI features come from an optional recipe.

    Hatamoto's MCP server

What Drupal CMS adds on top

8 modules a Drupal business site relies on

Drupal CMS installs these through recipes. Each one is a separate project with its own releases and security advisories.

Drupal

Contributed modules

  • Meta tags: Metatag
  • Clean URLs: Pathauto
  • Redirects: Redirect
  • Sitemaps: Simple XML Sitemap
  • Schema markup: Schema Metatag
  • Forms: Webform
  • Form spam: Honeypot and Altcha
  • MCP: MCP Server

Hatamoto

Built into one binary

  • Titles, descriptions and canonical tags
  • URL patterns per content type
  • Redirects with a 404 log
  • XML sitemaps
  • JSON-LD for every content type
  • Forms with CSV export
  • Spam filtering on every form
  • A built-in MCP server

Being straight with you

When Drupal is the better choice

Choose Drupal if any of these describe your organisation.

  • You publish in many languages, including a translated interface and configuration.
  • You run a family of sites from one codebase.
  • You need permissions set per module, role and content type.
  • Your editors build complex listings with Views.
  • You need a JSON:API for apps alongside the website.
  • Your organisation already has Drupal developers or an agency.

Moving from Drupal

Moving from Drupal over JSON:API

Hatamoto has no Drupal importer. Drupal's JSON:API is in core and returns every entity, so a script or an AI agent can do the copying.

  1. 1

    Install Hatamoto

    Run it with Docker or as the single binary, next to a Postgres database. Getting started

  2. 2

    Pick what to keep

    Map each Drupal content type and vocabulary with public pages to a Hatamoto content type or taxonomy. Content types

  3. 3

    Copy nodes and files

    Read nodes, terms and files from JSON:API, then create them through Hatamoto's MCP server or CLI with the same path aliases. Connect an AI agent

  4. 4

    Carry the redirects

    Export your Redirect module entries, add them in Hatamoto, then switch the domain. Redirects

Questions people ask

Written by the Hatamoto team, from drupal.org documentation and release notes as of October 2026.

Is Hatamoto a Drupal alternative?

For a business website, yes. Hatamoto covers SEO, forms, redirects and AI agent support in one binary. For multilingual, multisite or permission-heavy projects, Drupal is the better tool.

Is Drupal free?

Yes. Drupal is GPL-2.0 or later, and drupal.org says there are no licence fees. The cost sits in development, hosting and upkeep. Managed Drupal hosting on Pantheon starts at US$55 a month.

What is the difference between Drupal and Drupal CMS?

Drupal is the core framework. Drupal CMS is a ready-made package on top of it, with recipes that add SEO, forms, the Canvas page builder and optional AI tools from contributed modules.

Does Drupal have built-in SEO?

Core gives you clean URLs and a robots.txt. Meta tags, sitemaps, redirects and schema come from contributed modules, and Drupal CMS installs most of them for you. Hatamoto has them in the core.

Do I have to upgrade to Drupal 12?

Eventually. Drupal 12 is scheduled for December 2026 and runs on PHP 8.5 only. Drupal 11.4 has security support until June 2027. Hatamoto has no PHP or module stack to move, and its patch and minor releases install themselves.

Can AI agents work with Drupal?

Through contributed modules. MCP Server is in beta, and the AI module powers the optional AI features in Drupal CMS. Hatamoto's MCP server is part of the core.

How do I move from Drupal to Hatamoto?

Map your content types, read nodes, terms and files from Drupal's JSON:API, and create them through Hatamoto's MCP server or CLI with the same paths. Copy your redirects across before you switch the domain.

Other comparisons

  • Hatamoto vs WordPress

    The plugin stack most business sites run on, against one binary with SEO, caching and forms built in.

    Read the comparison