TYPO3 vs WordPress: should your German company stay, switch or run both?

TYPO3 vs WordPress: what are you actually deciding?

You are deciding whether the strengths TYPO3 gives your organisation today are worth its costs over the next five years, compared with what WordPress would cost and give. For a new site the choice is open; for an existing TYPO3 site, switching has its own price.

In Germany the TYPO3 vs WordPress debate has a particular flavour. TYPO3 has deep roots in the DACH region, especially among universities, public bodies, associations and larger Mittelstand companies, and many of those sites were built a decade or more ago. WordPress dominates small-business and marketing sites. When a TYPO3 site reaches the end of its supported version, someone in the organisation inevitably asks whether it is time to move.

We work with both systems, which is why this page does not end with “therefore WordPress” or “therefore TYPO3”. It gives you the criteria, the costs and the risks, and suggests a decision rule for each. There is also a third option that rarely gets discussed: running both, each for what it does best.

• Stay: upgrade TYPO3 to a current LTS version and keep it maintained.
• Switch: rebuild on WordPress and redirect every old URL.
• Run both: keep TYPO3 for the complex core, use WordPress for simpler sites around it.

TYPO3 LTS and ELTS costs: what staying really means

Staying on TYPO3 means following its long-term-support cycle: upgrade to each new LTS version while yours is still supported, or pay for extended support once it is not. Both cost money, and the upgrade debt grows the longer you wait.

The official TYPO3 version page for v12 shows the pattern: community support ran from 25 April 2023 to 30 April 2026, and a paid Extended Long Term Support (ELTS) subscription extends security and compatibility updates until 30 April 2030. According to the TYPO3 roadmap, v13 reached LTS in October 2024, and v14 is the current LTS line. v11 left community support at the end of October 2024.

So the running cost of TYPO3 is not the licence, which is free, but developer time every few years to move between LTS versions, plus rework of custom extensions whose APIs changed. Sites with many old third-party extensions face the steepest bills, because each one needs an updated version, a replacement or a rewrite.

If your site is on v12 or older today, the TYPO3 vs WordPress decision has a deadline attached: either budget an upgrade, buy ELTS as a bridge, or plan the move away before ELTS becomes a permanent line item.

WordPress plugin risk: the cost of the big ecosystem

WordPress core is well maintained; the risk sits in plugins and themes written by thousands of different authors. A WordPress site is as secure as its weakest add-on and as current as its update routine.

The WordPress security page states that only the latest version is officially supported, while the security team backports fixes to older versions through automatic updates. Plugins and themes are the responsibility of their developers, supported by the plugin and theme review teams. That is the trade-off of a huge ecosystem: almost any feature exists as a plugin, but you inherit its author’s habits.

In practice, a well-run WordPress site keeps plugins few, chooses maintained ones with a visible update history, removes anything unused and updates weekly. A badly run one collects dozens of plugins, some abandoned. The difference is discipline, not the CMS.

When we compare TYPO3 vs WordPress for a client, we list every feature the current site uses and name the WordPress plugin or custom code that would replace it. If that list is long and full of niche plugins, WordPress may be the riskier path for that particular site.

Is TYPO3 more secure than WordPress?

Not inherently. TYPO3 is attacked less often because fewer sites run it, and its core has a strong security record, but an unpatched TYPO3 site is as exposed as an unpatched WordPress site. Security depends on updates, add-on choice and hosting.

What differs is the shape of the risk. On TYPO3, the typical exposure is an old version out of support or an extension nobody has updated for years. On WordPress, it is a vulnerable plugin, weak admin passwords or a hosting account shared with other forgotten sites. Both are solved the same way: a supported version, few well-chosen add-ons, two-factor login for editors, backups and monitoring.

For German organisations, security also means data protection. Both systems can run without external fonts, trackers or embeds loading before consent; both can also leak data through careless add-ons. We check that either way, as described on our GDPR-compliant website page.

TYPO3 vs WordPress for multisite and multilingual websites

TYPO3 handles many sites and many languages in one installation natively; WordPress handles multiple sites natively but needs a plugin for multilingual content. For estates with several brands and languages sharing content, TYPO3 still has a structural advantage.

TYPO3’s site handling, documented in its core API reference, defines several independent sites in one instance, each with its own base URL, languages and routing, stored in version-controlled configuration files. Translations are part of the core content model.

WordPress Multisite, according to the WordPress developer documentation, is built into core and lets one installation run several sites, as subdirectories or on separate domains or subdomains, with shared user accounts and separate content tables per site. Multilingual support is different: the WordPress roadmap still lists core multilingual as a future phase of the Gutenberg project, so today it comes from plugins.

Decision rule: two languages on one site works well on WordPress with a mature multilingual plugin. Five sites in four languages sharing product content and editor roles usually belongs on TYPO3, or a carefully planned headless set-up.

Which is easier for editors, TYPO3 or WordPress?

For occasional editors, WordPress’s block editor is usually quicker to learn. For large teams with strict roles and a deep page structure, TYPO3’s page tree and permission system often suit better once people are trained.

TYPO3 editors work in a backend organised around the page tree, with content elements placed in columns and fine-grained access rights by page, content type and language. That structure is excellent for a university faculty or an association with regional branches, and heavy for a marketing team that wants to publish a landing page by lunchtime.

WordPress editors work in the block editor, closer to a document: write, add blocks, preview, publish. Roles are simpler out of the box, and more granular rights need plugins or custom code.

We never settle this by opinion. Before recommending, we give two or three of your real editors a short task in a demo of each system (publish a news item, update a contact page, translate a paragraph) and ask which they would rather do weekly. Their answer often decides the TYPO3 vs WordPress question faster than any feature list.

TYPO3 developer scarcity and rates versus WordPress

There are far fewer TYPO3 developers than WordPress developers, so TYPO3 work tends to cost more per hour and takes longer to schedule. WordPress talent is plentiful, but quality varies widely.

German TYPO3 specialists are often busy with long-running institutional clients, and many organisations report waiting months for upgrade slots. That scarcity is a real cost: an upgrade you cannot schedule is a security problem that grows. We do not quote other providers’ rates, but quotes for the same TYPO3 job vary widely, and availability often matters more than the hourly figure.

WordPress has the opposite issue. Anyone can call themselves a WordPress developer, so vetting matters: ask for code samples, a plugin policy and how they handle updates. Our WordPress developer page lists what to check for a German site.

For the TYPO3 vs WordPress decision, the question is not just who is cheaper today, but who you can still hire in five years for the system you choose. A remote team that works in both removes some of that risk, because the same people can maintain what you keep and build what you move.

TYPO3 vs WordPress cost over five years

Over five years, a simple site usually costs less on WordPress, while a large multi-site, multilingual estate can cost less to keep on TYPO3 than to rebuild and re-plugin. The deciding factors are site complexity and the upgrade debt you carry today.

Count four things for each path. One-off work: a TYPO3 LTS upgrade, or a WordPress rebuild with migration. Upgrades: the next TYPO3 LTS move in a few years, versus WordPress’s rolling updates. Add-ons: premium plugin licences on WordPress, extension maintenance on TYPO3. Care: updates, backups and small edits, from US$120/mo with us on either system.

A WordPress rebuild with us starts at US$150 for up to 100 pages and US$300 for large sites of 299 pages or more. TYPO3 upgrades are scoped per site because extension counts vary so much. We put both paths next to each other in the decision review so management sees the full picture, not just this year’s invoice.

How does a TYPO3 to WordPress migration work?

A migration exports content, media and languages from TYPO3, rebuilds templates as a WordPress theme, imports the content into matching structures, and redirects every old URL to its new address. The redirect map is the part that protects your search traffic.

For the SEO side of any relaunch, our website relaunch SEO guide goes deeper into redirect planning.

Keeping rankings when you switch: redirects, SEO and AI search

Rankings survive a CMS switch when every URL with value is redirected, content stays equivalent, and technical signals such as titles, structured data and hreflang are carried over. They drop when redirects are forgotten or content is thinned out.

TYPO3 URLs often carry language prefixes, speaking URLs from extensions or old parameter-based paths from earlier versions. We collect all of them, including ones only found in backlinks or old sitemaps, and map each one. Redirect chains are avoided: an old URL points straight to its final address.

Speed usually improves after a move to a lean block theme, which helps Core Web Vitals. For AI search visibility, the same principles apply as for Google: clear headings, direct answers, structured data and stable URLs. Monthly SEO with us starts at US$150/mo; nobody can promise rankings through a migration, but a complete redirect map removes the most common cause of losses.

When does running TYPO3 and WordPress together make sense?

Running both makes sense when a complex, multilingual core site genuinely needs TYPO3, while campaign sites, blogs or small brand sites would be faster and cheaper on WordPress. It does not make sense when it only postpones a decision.

A typical pattern: a university or association keeps its main site and intranet-style sections on TYPO3 with fine-grained permissions, while a recruiting campaign, a conference microsite or a research blog runs on WordPress with a shared design system. Each team gets the tool that suits it.

The cost is two update routines, two sets of skills and a need for consistent design and privacy settings across both. We keep shared templates, a common consent approach and one care plan, so the split does not turn into two neglected sites.

Handling the TYPO3 vs WordPress project with a team in India

CMS work is remote-friendly: Git, staging servers and video calls. We are three and a half hours ahead of German summer time and four and a half in winter, which gives a daily overlap from your late morning to the end of your afternoon.

Ownership stays with you: domain, hosting, TYPO3 or WordPress installation, repository and any plugin licences are in your organisation’s name, and our access can be revoked at any time. We work in English; German page content is supplied or approved by your team, and we implement it exactly.

Quotes are in USD, payments by Wise or bank wire in USD or EUR, invoices from India. Your accountant advises on the tax side, and our terms plus the written quote define scope and changes.

The first two weeks of a decision review: kick-off call, read access to the TYPO3 backend and hosting, a crawl and extension inventory by day five, the editor test with your staff in week two, and a written stay/switch/both recommendation with costs at the end of it.

Worked example: a hypothetical association weighing TYPO3 vs WordPress

Take an invented professional association in Bonn: TYPO3 v11 in ELTS, a main site plus six regional sites, German and English, around 900 pages, and a small office team who update news weekly.

The review would find two custom extensions (a member directory and an events calendar), eight third-party extensions of which three have no v13-compatible release, and editors who find the backend slow for everyday news. The regional sites share contacts and events with the main site.

Option A, stay: upgrade to the current LTS in steps, rewrite the two custom extensions and replace the three orphans. Option B, switch: WordPress Multisite with a multilingual plugin, custom plugins for directory and events, and about 900 redirects, starting at US$300. Option C, both: keep TYPO3 for the members area and move news and regional pages to WordPress.

With shared content across seven sites and two languages, Option A might win on structure, while the editor test might favour C. The written review would put costs and risks side by side so the board can decide. This is an illustration, not a client story.

TYPO3 vs WordPress checklist: ten questions before you decide

Answer these with your web team, editors and management. If most answers point one way, the decision is usually clear.

• How many sites and languages do you run from one installation?
• Which TYPO3 version are you on, and when does its support end?
• How many custom and third-party extensions are active, and are they maintained?
• Do editors need fine-grained permissions by page, section or language?
• How often do non-technical staff publish, and what do they complain about?
• Which features would need WordPress plugins, and are those plugins maintained?
• Can you schedule TYPO3 developers when you need them?
• How many URLs carry search traffic or backlinks?
• What does management expect to spend on the site over five years?
• Who owns updates and security after launch, whichever system you pick?

Hosting, performance and technical fit: TYPO3 vs WordPress under the hood

Both systems run on PHP with a MySQL-compatible database, so most German hosting providers support either. The differences show up in caching, deployment habits and how much server knowledge each one expects from you.

TYPO3 projects are usually installed with Composer, versioned in Git and deployed through a pipeline, which suits organisations with an IT department and a staging server. Its built-in caching framework handles large page trees well when configured properly. WordPress can be run the same disciplined way, but many sites are still updated by clicking buttons in the admin area on live hosting, which is convenient until an update breaks something on a Friday afternoon.

For speed, the CMS matters less than the theme and add-ons. A lean WordPress block theme and a well-built TYPO3 Fluid template can both reach good Core Web Vitals; a page builder stacked with plugins, or a TYPO3 site full of old extensions loading their own scripts, will not.

Whichever way the TYPO3 vs WordPress decision goes, we set up Git-based deployment, a staging copy, automated backups and uptime monitoring on your hosting account. That routine, more than the logo on the login screen, is what keeps a site fast and safe for years.

Accessibility and privacy in both systems

Both TYPO3 and WordPress can produce accessible, privacy-friendly sites; neither does it automatically. Templates, add-ons and content decide the result, so check them whichever CMS you choose.

If you sell to consumers, the accessibility requirements behind the BFSG may apply to your site; our BFSG requirements page explains what that means technically. A migration is a good moment to fix headings, contrast, keyboard navigation and alt texts, because every template is being rebuilt anyway.

On privacy, we self-host fonts, keep embeds and analytics behind consent, and choose add-ons that do not send visitor data abroad without a reason. That applies to TYPO3 extensions and WordPress plugins alike. Your lawyer signs off the legal texts; we make the site behave as they describe.