The best MODX alternative for sites that do not come with a developer
MODX gives developers total control over markup and gives everyone else a blank page. There is no blog, no store and no newsletter in core. Grigora is a managed platform with all three already inside, from $12/mo.
Last updated August 2026
MODX is a developer's CMS in the purest sense: it imposes no markup, no theme structure and no opinions, which is exactly why the developers who love it love it. It is also why a MODX site does not exist until someone builds every template from nothing, and why core ships without a blog, comments, a store or a newsletter. Grigora is the opposite trade: no templating freedom, and a complete site with all four of those included on day one.
- A working site without writing a single template
- A blog, comments and directories that already exist
- A newsletter and subscriber list in the same subscription
- A store without evaluating third-party extras
- One predictable bill instead of hosting plus a build
- •Need byte-level control over the markup your CMS outputs
- •Have a developer who already works in MODX
- •Are building something genuinely bespoke rather than a website
MODX alternatives at a glance
How Grigora and the other main MODX alternatives compare on the essentials.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column
| Platform | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Sales commission | Export your site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grigora | All-in-one sites, fully managed | Yes | From $12/mo | 0% (processing only) | |
| MODX | Total templating control | Software is free | Pro Sites from $90/mo | 0% (processing only) | |
| WordPress | Maximum plugin choice | Software is free | Hosting + plugins | 0% (processing only) | |
| Drupal | Complex structured content | Software is free | Hosting + developers | 0% (processing only) | |
| Webflow | Designer-grade builds | Yes | From $15/mo | 0% (2% on Ecommerce Standard) | Partial |
| Umbraco | .NET shops and editor experience | Software is free | Cloud from €45/mo | 0% (processing only) |
List pricing (billed annually) as of August 2026. MODX software is free; Pro Sites is MODX's managed hosting product. Verify current pricing on each provider's site.
Why people switch from MODX to Grigora
The friction points MODX users hit most often, and how Grigora handles them.
The CMS starts empty
No templates, no theme, no starter content. That is the design, and it means nothing exists until a developer builds it, including the first page.
Core leaves out what most sites need
No blog, no comments, no store, no newsletter. Every one of those is an extra to evaluate, install, configure and template.
The developer pool is small
MODX has a devoted community and a small one. Replacing the person who built your site is genuinely harder than on any other platform in this comparison.
Managed hosting starts at $90
Pro Sites is a good product and a serious price for a small marketing site, before any of the missing pieces are added.
What MODX does well
- Total control over output markup, with no imposed theme structure
- Free, open-source software with full code and database ownership
- Template variables and PHP snippets make it genuinely flexible
- Pro Sites is a well-run managed hosting product with staging and CDN
Where MODX falls short
- Ships with no templates, so nothing exists until a developer builds it
- No blog, comments, store or newsletter in core
- A small community and a small, specialist developer pool
- Managed hosting starts at $90/mo billed annually
Grigora vs MODX at a glance
The differences that decide whether the site needs building or just filling in.
Developer CMS + hosting
All-in-one platform
Grigora vs MODX: feature by feature
A category-by-category breakdown, pricing, AI, design, e-commerce, email, SEO, performance, and support.
Pricing & value
Grigora winsMODX has two routes and both cost more than they look. Self-hosted, the software is free and you pay for hosting plus the developer who builds the templates. On MODX Pro Sites the entry tier is $90 a month billed annually.
| Feature | Grigora | MODX |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest managed plan | $12/mo | $90/mo (Pro Site Core) |
| Mid tier | $20/mo (Pro) | $145/mo (Pro Site Plus) |
| Top tier | $45/mo (Business) | $225/mo (Pro Site Max) |
| Free plan | Yes | Software is free, hosting is not |
| Newsletter in that price |
Takeaway: MODX's cheapest managed plan costs twice Grigora's most expensive one, before anyone has built a template.
Ease of use & setup
Grigora winsMODX ships with no templates, no theme and no starter content by design. Chunks, snippets, template variables and a tag syntax are the building materials, and until a developer assembles them there is nothing to edit. Grigora starts with a sentence and a finished draft.
| Feature | Grigora | MODX |
|---|---|---|
| Time to a first live draft | Minutes | Days to weeks |
| Starter templates | 131 included | None |
| AI site generation | ||
| Adding a new page type | Self-serve | Developer builds the template |
| Mobile editing | Limited |
Takeaway: MODX is deliberately empty. That is a feature for developers and a wall for everyone else.
Templating & markup control
MODX winsAn honest category, and MODX's entire reason for existing. Because the CMS imposes no markup at all, a developer gets exactly the HTML they wrote, with no wrapper divs, no theme conventions and no framework opinions. Grigora generates its own markup from blocks.
| Feature | Grigora | MODX |
|---|---|---|
| Control over output HTML | Block editor output | Total |
| Framework and front-end freedom | Limited | Anything you like |
| Custom fields on any page | Collections and directories | Template variables |
| Server-side logic | Snippets in PHP | |
| Headless and API delivery | Limited | Supported |
Takeaway: If pixel-exact markup matters and you have the developer to write it, MODX wins outright.
Blog, CMS & directories
Grigora winsMODX core does not include a blog. Posts, categories, archives and comments come from third-party extras such as Collections or Articles, each with its own configuration and its own maintenance risk. Grigora ships the editorial model finished.
| Feature | Grigora | MODX |
|---|---|---|
| Blog out of the box | Third-party extra | |
| Built-in comments and moderation | Included, with admin replies | Extra or third-party embed |
| Structured collections and directories | Built in | Built with template variables |
| AI blog writing | ||
| Time to a working blog | Immediate | Install, configure, template |
Takeaway: On MODX a blog is a project. On Grigora it is a tab.
Extras & ecosystem
Even matchMODX Extras cover a lot of ground and the community behind them is small. That cuts both ways: the extras that matter are well maintained by people who care, and the long tail carries real abandonment risk. Grigora has no ecosystem at all, only built-in features.
| Feature | Grigora | MODX |
|---|---|---|
| Add-on marketplace | Built-in features | MODX Extras |
| Ecosystem size | Not applicable | Small |
| Abandoned add-on risk | None | Real |
| Custom code access | Custom code injection | Full PHP snippets |
| Developer availability | Smaller pool | Small, specialist pool |
Takeaway: MODX extends further and from a much smaller pool of maintainers and developers.
E-commerce & online store
Grigora winsMODX has no store in core. Selling means a commerce extra, configured and templated by the same developer who built the rest of the site. Grigora's store is part of the platform on every plan.
| Feature | Grigora | MODX |
|---|---|---|
| Store included in the price | ||
| Catalog, variants and stock | Extra dependent | |
| Setup effort | Enabled in the dashboard | Install, configure, template |
| Digital and physical products | Extra dependent | |
| Platform commission | 0% | 0% (build cost applies) |
Takeaway: A MODX store is a second build. Grigora's is a toggle.
Newsletter & email
Grigora winsMODX has no newsletter. Campaigns mean an external platform integrated through forms, which the developer wires in. Grigora includes the list, the campaigns and the automations.
| Feature | Grigora | MODX |
|---|---|---|
| Email included | 2,500 to 25,000 subscribers | |
| Campaign builder | Included | External platform |
| Automation and segmentation | Included | External platform |
| Signup forms tied to the site | Form extra plus integration | |
| Professional inbox | From $5/mailbox | Separate provider |
Takeaway: Email on MODX is always another subscription and another integration.
Maintenance, security & uptime
Even matchMODX Pro Sites is a genuinely managed product with staging, a managed CDN and firewall, and proactive monitoring, which is much of what the $90 entry price buys. Self-hosted MODX puts all of that back on you.
| Feature | Grigora | MODX |
|---|---|---|
| Managed hosting and updates | Included | On Pro Sites |
| Self-hosted maintenance | Not applicable | Your responsibility |
| Staging environment | Not needed for edits | Included on Pro Sites |
| Backups | Automatic | Pro Sites or your host |
| Entry price for managed | $12/mo | $90/mo |
Takeaway: Both are managed if you pay for managed. The entry prices are not comparable.
SEO & site speed
Even matchA hand-built MODX site can be extremely fast and extremely clean, because nothing is added that the developer did not write. That advantage exists only if the developer did the work. Grigora ships the delivery layer and the SEO controls finished.
| Feature | Grigora | MODX |
|---|---|---|
| Meta, schema and sitemap controls | Built in | Extras or hand-built |
| Page speed out of the box | Managed delivery | Excellent if built well |
| IndexNow submission | Custom or extra | |
| Free SEO tools suite | 210 tools | |
| URL structure control | Total |
Takeaway: MODX has the higher ceiling and only reaches it with a good developer.
Ownership, export & support
MODX winsSelf-hosted MODX is fully yours: open-source code, your database, your server, and templates you wrote. Grigora exports your content but not the platform.
| Feature | Grigora | MODX |
|---|---|---|
| Export content | ||
| Full database and code access | ||
| Move to another host | Content only | Whole site |
| Support | Email, priority on higher plans | Community, or paid on Pro Sites |
Takeaway: MODX wins ownership. Grigora includes support at every price point.
Grigora vs MODX pricing
MODX software is free and MODX managed hosting is not. Both sides shown at their real entry points.
Website, newsletter & store in one plan
Annual rates shown. Hosting, CDN, SSL, backups, the CMS, the newsletter and the store are included on every plan, with 0% platform commission on any gateway.
Free CMS, paid managed hosting
MODX Pro Sites pricing as listed August 2026. MODX itself is free under the GPL. On either route the templates are built by a developer, and there is no blog, store or newsletter in core.
Grigora Starter at $12/mo covers hosting, the CMS, the newsletter and the store, with 131 templates included. MODX Pro Site Core is $90/mo and the site still has to be built.
The real cost: Grigora vs MODX
The software is free. Count the build and everything core leaves out.
| What you pay for | MODX | Grigora |
|---|---|---|
| Platform and hosting | $90 to $225/mo on Pro Sites | $12 to $45/mo (all-in) |
| Templates and theming | Built from scratch by a developer | 131 templates included |
| Blog and comments | Extras plus templating | Included |
| Store | Commerce extra plus build | Included |
| Email marketing | External platform plus integration | Included (2,500 to 25,000 subs) |
| SEO tooling | Extras or hand-built | 210 free tools |
| Professional email inbox | Separate provider | From $5/mailbox (optional) |
Grigora vs MODX, side by side
MODX starts empty by design. Grigora starts with a draft of your site.
Is Grigora the right MODX alternative for you?
Where Grigora is the strongest MODX alternative, by use case.
Best MODX alternative for small businesses
When the site is pages, a blog, a form and maybe a shop, starting from an empty CMS with no templates is the wrong starting point.
… for teams that inherited a MODX site
MODX developers are a small pool. If the person who built your templates is gone, the site cannot grow.
… for content-led sites
MODX core has no blog and no comments. If publishing is the point of your site, that is the wrong core.
… for agencies
Deliver the smaller client sites on a managed platform under your own brand, and keep MODX for builds that need exact markup.
Which one is right for you?
Choose Grigora if…
- Nobody on your team writes templates
- You want a blog, comments and a store that already exist
- One predictable bill beats $90/mo of hosting plus a build
- You need a newsletter without integrating another platform
- You are an agency that wants to resell under your own brand
Choose MODX if…
- •You need exact control over the markup the CMS outputs
- •You have a developer who already works in MODX
- •You are building something bespoke rather than a website
How to switch from MODX to Grigora
MODX resources and template variables can be exported, so the content moves. The templates are not transferred, which is usually the point of leaving.
- 1
Start your Grigora site
Describe your business in a sentence and the AI generates a first-draft site with pages, layout and copy.
- 2
Export your resources
Pull your MODX resources, template variable values and media out of the manager, then import the content into Grigora's CMS.
- 3
Rebuild the key pages
Home, services, about and contact are quick to reproduce in the block editor, with no templating step.
- 4
Move the list and the store
Import your subscribers into the built-in newsletter, and your products into Grigora Commerce if you sell.
- 5
Point your domain and redirect
Connect your domain and redirect old MODX URLs so existing rankings carry over, then cancel Pro Sites or the hosting account.
Why people look for a MODX alternative in 2026
MODX is a genuinely good piece of software aimed at a specific person: a developer who wants a content management system that gets out of the way completely. It imposes no markup, no theme structure and no assumptions, which is a rare and valuable thing. It is also a description of an empty room.
Nothing exists until someone builds it
A fresh MODX install has no templates and no starter content. Chunks, snippets and template variables are the raw materials, and until a developer assembles them into templates there is no page for anyone to edit. For a business that wanted a website this week, that is the wrong starting position.
Core leaves out most of a website
No blog, no comments, no store, no newsletter. Each arrives as a third-party extra that has to be evaluated, installed, configured and then templated by hand. On a platform with a large ecosystem that is tedious; on one with a small ecosystem it is also a risk.
The developer pool is the real constraint
MODX has a loyal community and a small one. If the person who built your templates moves on, finding a replacement who knows the platform is harder than for anything else in this comparison, and the site stops evolving in the meantime.
How Grigora compares
Grigora arrives finished. The AI generates a first-draft site from a description of your business, the block editor keeps every section editable without touching markup, and the CMS, newsletter and store are part of the same subscription rather than extras to source.
One bill instead of hosting plus a build
Starter at $12 a month billed annually includes hosting, 131 templates, the CMS with directories and moderated comments, a newsletter with 2,500 subscribers, and a store with no platform commission on your own gateway. MODX Pro Site Core is $90 a month and the templates are still yours to write.
Where MODX still wins
Markup control, and nothing else here comes close. If your project needs the CMS to output exactly the HTML a developer wrote, with no wrappers and no conventions, MODX is built for that and Grigora is not. The question is whether your website is that project, or whether it is a website.
Frequently asked questions
For businesses and teams that want a working site rather than a developer platform, Grigora is the strongest all-in-one MODX alternative: website, CMS, newsletter and store in one plan from $12/mo. If you need exact control over output markup and have a MODX developer, MODX remains the better fit.
The MODX Revolution software is free and open source under the GPL. MODX Pro Sites is the paid managed hosting product, listed at $90/mo for Pro Site Core, $145/mo for Pro Site Plus and $225/mo for Pro Site Max billed annually as of August 2026.
No. MODX core is a content management system with no blog engine, comments, store or newsletter. Blogging usually comes from an extra such as Collections or Articles, and commerce from a third-party extra, each of which then has to be templated. Grigora includes all of these.
In practice, yes. MODX ships with no templates by design, so someone has to build them before there is a site to edit, and adding a new kind of page means building another template.
Yes. Resources, template variable values and media can be exported from the MODX manager and imported into Grigora's CMS. Templates are rebuilt rather than transferred, which the AI builder makes fast, and old URLs should be redirected to preserve rankings.
Total control over output markup, PHP snippets and server-side logic, and full ownership of the code and database. Grigora covers the common ground natively, including blogging, comments, directories, forms, a newsletter and a store.
Compare Grigora with other platforms
Make the switch from MODX to Grigora
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