Movable Type vs. WordPress

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Movable Type
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Movable Type is a Perl-based content management system from Six Apart, featuring the capability to host multiple weblogs and standalone content pages, manage files and user roles, templates, tags, categories, and trackback links.N/A
WordPress
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
Wordpress is an open-source publishing platform popular with bloggers, and a content management system, known for its simplicity and modifiability. Websites may host their own blogging communities, controlling and moderating content from a single dashboard.
$3
per month 6 GB storage
Pricing
Movable TypeWordPress
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Personal
$4
per month 6 GB storage
Premium
$8
per month 13 GB storage
Business
$25
per month 50 GB storage
Commerce
$45
per month 50 GB storage
Enterprise
Contact for pricing
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Movable TypeWordPress
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPricing for Business and Commerce plans vary on number of GB.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Movable TypeWordPress
Considered Both Products
Movable Type
Chose Movable Type
I believe that these two product are interchangeable for my purposes. I believe WordPress is slightly more complicated and prone to accidents to someone dealing solely with writing like myself; however, this seems to be the hot product right now, and Moveable Type may need to …
Chose Movable Type
WordPress and Movable Type are the go to CMS for a reason - they are by far the easiest to navigate, learn, and use for daily blogging/content management. And now with more plug-ins available, these CMS products are getting more responsive and are offering capabilities (even …
Chose Movable Type
Movable Type is better than Wordpress because it generates static sites that cannot be broken by losing your database connection. The custom fields in MT are superior to Wordpress because of the way the fields are presented in the new content form. You need to get paid plugins …
Chose Movable Type
I'd say Wordpress is better because it's free, but MT is better than Drupal,Joombla and Concrete5.
Chose Movable Type
Compared to other content management systems that I have used, Movable Type is certainly a top-of-the-line platform. It is my primary choice when building large and intense user-based websites. If I'm building something simple, like a client portfolio website, I may stick with …
Chose Movable Type
Movable Type is outdated and out of style with current blog design trends.
WordPress
Chose WordPress
There are plenty of other open-source content management systems out there.

Why did we go with WordPress?
Features
Movable TypeWordPress
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Movable Type
5.0
1 Ratings
49% below category average
WordPress
8.2
159 Ratings
0% below category average
Role-based user permissions5.01 Ratings8.2159 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Movable Type
6.0
1 Ratings
25% below category average
WordPress
7.9
134 Ratings
2% above category average
API6.01 Ratings7.9124 Ratings
Internationalization / multi-language00 Ratings7.9103 Ratings
Web Content Creation
Comparison of Web Content Creation features of Product A and Product B
Movable Type
6.4
1 Ratings
19% below category average
WordPress
8.1
166 Ratings
4% above category average
WYSIWYG editor9.01 Ratings7.9151 Ratings
Code quality / cleanliness6.01 Ratings7.3152 Ratings
Admin section8.01 Ratings8.3164 Ratings
Page templates5.01 Ratings8.7160 Ratings
Library of website themes3.01 Ratings8.5162 Ratings
Mobile optimization / responsive design8.01 Ratings8.6161 Ratings
Publishing workflow9.01 Ratings8.2154 Ratings
Form generator3.01 Ratings7.2131 Ratings
Web Content Management
Comparison of Web Content Management features of Product A and Product B
Movable Type
5.6
1 Ratings
28% below category average
WordPress
8.2
164 Ratings
10% above category average
Content taxonomy9.01 Ratings8.2142 Ratings
SEO support6.01 Ratings7.9148 Ratings
Bulk management3.01 Ratings7.5125 Ratings
Availability / breadth of extensions3.01 Ratings9.2152 Ratings
Community / comment management7.01 Ratings8.3152 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Movable TypeWordPress
Small Businesses
ManageWP
ManageWP
Score 10.0 out of 10
ManageWP
ManageWP
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
RWS Tridion Sites
RWS Tridion Sites
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Movable TypeWordPress
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(10 ratings)
8.6
(203 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
5.4
(9 ratings)
5.6
(38 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.1
(50 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(3 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(11 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(10 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Movable TypeWordPress
Likelihood to Recommend
Six Apart
Is your business an enterprise level business that has more than a half dozen different content types? If so, then you might want to use a dedicated CMS rather than Movable Type. Movable Type is best used on small / medium sized businesses and is not the best solution for a full-fledged CMS. If you're using your content for something other than just displaying a website, then it's probably not for you. Movable Type works great for news/blogging sites. In fact, Daring Fireball, one of the most popular Apple-centric blogs is using Movable Type as its publishing platform.
Read full review
Automattic
Wordpress is a great solution for a website of nearly any type. It may not be as suitable if a fully custom solution or app is needed, and it does have some limitations when it comes to connecting it to external products (especially if the product doesn't have any support from a native system), and it does require a lot of testing. Multiple plugins in one install are common but also increase the risk of conflicts, and when those do occur, it can be exceptionally time-consuming and tedious to identify what is causing the issue. As third parties create many plugins, you're also at risk with each potential security breach, which needs to be kept in mind. I would be cautious to use WordPress to store any sort of sensitive PPI. That said, it's a wonderful, easily customizable solution for many, many different types of websites and can allow even inexperienced client users with low-tech knowledge to update basics.
Read full review
Pros
Six Apart
  • Easy to use straight out of the box, very user friendly with an intuitive interface.
  • Great for team use where there are multiple editors and writers fixing and editing each other's works. It's easy to track who last made the latest edits.
  • Stellar support team and system. I've found that Moveable Type's support system is generally more responsive and helpful than WordPress.
Read full review
Automattic
  • Easy to use User Interface
  • Coding / Plugin Implementation is awesome
  • There's always a solution available for the platform
  • Security is easy to use and robust
  • Implementation with 3rd party platforms, such as Google's variety of tools
  • Can download and host on your own server or use their hosted servers
Read full review
Cons
Six Apart
  • Especially on the older versions, the limited number of well-developed third-party plugins is problematic for efficiently developing a well-functioning website.
  • Versions of movable type which didn't allow pages to be constructed were difficult to create continuity in design and easily editable pages for our editors.
  • The installation process could be simplified to make it easier for those new to a CMS to install.
Read full review
Automattic
  • WordPress breaks often so you need to have someone who understands how to troubleshoot, which can take time and money.
  • Some plugins are easier to customize than others, for example, some don't require any coding knowledge while others do. This can limit your project if you are not a coder.
  • WordPress can be easily hacked, so you also need someone who can ensure your sites are secure.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Six Apart
I think there are still improvements to be made. I haven't tapped in to the full functionality of the CMS yet but the rating I give it now is only based on what I've been able to use it for
Read full review
Automattic
The complications we have and the lack of support. Every plugin has a differente team of support in charge and make one plugin work with the other one always affects the website performance. It's a thousand times better to have only one provider with all functionalities included unless you are an expert web developer or have a team dedicated to it
Read full review
Usability
Six Apart
No answers on this topic
Automattic
Extremely easy to use and train users. It took very little time to get everyone trained and onboarded to start using WordPress. Anytime we had any issues, we were able to find an article or video to help out or we were able to contact support. The menu options are well laid out so it is easy to find what you are looking for.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Six Apart
No answers on this topic
Automattic
Anyone can visit WordPress.org and download a fully functional copy of WordPress free of charge. Additionally, WordPress is offered to users as open-source software, which means that anyone can customize the code to create new applications and make these available to other WordPress users.
Read full review
Performance
Six Apart
No answers on this topic
Automattic
Mostly, any performance issues have to do with using too many plugins and these can sometimes slow down the overall performance of your site. It is very tempting to start adding lots of plugins to your WordPress site, however, as there are thousands of great plugins to choose from and so many of them help you do amazing things on your site. If you begin to notice performance issues with your WordPress site (e.g. pages being slow to load), there are ways to optimize the performance of your site, but this requires learning the process. WordPress users can learn how to optimize their WordPress sites by downloading the WPTrainMe WordPress training plugin (WPTrainMe.com) and going through the detailed step-by-step WordPress optimization tutorials.
Read full review
Support Rating
Six Apart
No answers on this topic
Automattic
I give this rating, which I believe to be a great rating for a community based support system that's surrounding it. Most platforms and products have their own, and as WordPress does have their own team that help here and there, a lot of it's handled by community involvement with dedicated users who are experts with the system who love to help people.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Six Apart
No answers on this topic
Automattic
Varies by the person providing training. High marks as it's incredibly easy to find experienced individuals in your community to provide training on any aspect of WordPress from content marketing, SEO, plugin development, theme design, etc. Less than 10 though as the training is community based and expectations for a session you find may fall short.
Read full review
Online Training
Six Apart
No answers on this topic
Automattic
It is very easy to find online resources to learn how to do just about anything with WordPress.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Six Apart
No answers on this topic
Automattic
WordPress is not a great solution if you have: 1) A larger site with performance / availability requirements. 2) Multiple types of content you want to share - each with its own underlying data structure. 3) Multiple sites you need to manage. For very small sites where these needs are not paramount, WordPress is a decent solution
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Six Apart
Movable Type can be compared to WordPress. It's easy to use, and I would say Movable Type is actually more user-friendly.
Read full review
Automattic
WordPress isn't as pretty or easy to use as certain competitors like Jimdo, Squarespace or HubSpot, but it makes up for it with its affordability, familiarity and the ability to find quality outside help easily. The same can't be said for certain competitors, as you might need to find an expert and it could get costly.
Read full review
Scalability
Six Apart
No answers on this topic
Automattic
WordPress is completely scalable. You can get started immediately with a very simple "out-of-the box" WordPress installation and then add whatever functionality you need as and when you need it, and continue expanding. Often we will create various WordPress sites on the same domain to handle different aspects of our strategy (e.g. one site for the sales pages, product information and/or a marketing blog, another for delivering products securely through a private membership site, and another for running an affiliate program or other application), and then ties all of these sites together using a common theme and links on each of the site's menus. Additionally, WordPress offers a multisite function that allows organizations and institutions to manage networks of sites managed by separate individual site owners, but centrally administered by the parent organization. You can also expand WordPress into a social networking or community site, forums, etc. The same scalability applies to web design. You can start with a simple design and then scale things up to display sites with amazing visual features, including animations and video effects, sliding images and animated product image galleries, elements that appear and fade from visitor browsers, etc. The scaling possibilities of WordPress are truly endless.
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Return on Investment
Six Apart
  • Provided a blogging platform when we needed one.
  • Helped us compare other blogging platforms as a baseline for what minimums we require and what we don't want.
  • Users often refused to use Movable Type and would go around our official system in order to use my more friendly software.
Read full review
Automattic
  • Allowed us to being all websites under a single umbrella, saving costs on similar products.
  • It's increased our website turn time and made us faster and more efficient at launching websites.
  • Edits and tweaks happen much faster as we have a customized environment.
Read full review
ScreenShots