HubSpot vs. WordPress: Is WordPress Still Worth It in 2025?

Back in January, we asked an uncomfortable question: Is WordPress finally starting to show its age? We weren’t calling for a funeral. We just pointed out the obvious. Bloated plugin stacks, endless updates, and a developer-first roadmap that left marketers holding the bag. The cracks were showing.

Fast forward to today, and the numbers are in. WordPress still powers a ridiculous chunk of the internet (over 43%), but it’s no longer bulletproof. The CMS market in 2025 tells a different story. Small dips in WordPress dominance, growing traction for SaaS options, and a lot of businesses quietly asking the same thing: Is this still the right platform for growth?

This isn’t about bashing WordPress. It’s about giving decision-makers clarity in a space clouded by legacy habits and marketing fluff. If you’re choosing between HubSpot vs. WordPress, or if you’ve been burned by “free” platforms that turned out to be anything but, this is your straight-shooting guide. No buzzwords, no hand-holding. Just the facts you actually need to make the call.

Flashback: What We Said in January

Let’s rewind. In our January post, we didn’t declare WordPress dead. We said it was losing its grip. And the cracks were starting to widen.

Here’s what we flagged back then:

• Too many plugins, not enough progress. A “solution” for everything meant a Frankenstein stack that broke as often as it worked.
• Security and maintenance headaches. Updates weren’t optional. Skip them, and you risked vulnerabilities. Install them, and you risked breaking your site. Pick your poison.
• A slow pivot to modern tools. While other platforms baked in CRM, automation, and analytics, WordPress kept leaning on third parties to fill the gap.

The takeaway? WordPress wasn’t dying, but the warning lights were blinking. For businesses relying on speed, security, and marketing agility, the cost of “free” was already getting expensive.

What the 2025 Data Really Says

Here’s the reality check: WordPress still runs the internet—but the shine is wearing off.

According to W3Techs and other trackers, WordPress powers about 43.4% of all websites in 2025. That’s still miles ahead of Shopify (4.8%), Wix (4.0%), and Squarespace (2.4%). But when you zoom in on sites that actually use a CMS, WordPress has slipped from 63.7% in 2022 to about 61% in 2025. A small drop? Sure. But in a market this big, even a percentage point is millions of sites looking elsewhere.

And where are they going? Toward cloud-based website platforms and all-in-one marketing platforms like HubSpot CMS. Add in Webflow’s design-first push and the rise of headless CMS options for enterprise, and you’ve got momentum that WordPress can’t shrug off.

The point is, dominance doesn’t mean invincibility. WordPress is still massive, but the CMS market share in 2025 data shows cracks turning into slow leaks. Businesses aren’t abandoning it en masse, but they are testing alternatives. And once they see how much less duct tape those alternatives require, it’s hard to go back.

Technical and Business Headaches Are Adding Up

Numbers tell one story. Daily reality tells another. And for a lot of businesses, WordPress is becoming more pain than payoff.

Here’s what the data—and frustrated marketers—keep repeating:

• Bloated plugin stacks. Need e-commerce? Add a plugin. Need SEO? Another plugin. Forms? Security? Analytics? More plugins. Before long, you’re running a digital Jenga tower that topples every time someone sneezes on an update.
• Versioning nightmares. Between WordPress core, themes, and dozens of plugins, something is always out of sync. Developers love the puzzle. Marketers? Not so much.
• Missing native integrations. Want a CRM, automation, or real analytics without duct tape? Good luck. WordPress was built for developers, not modern marketing ops.

WordPress has lost ground because it still acts like a developer playground. And the plugin economy—70,000+ options—has become both its strength and its Achilles heel.

The bottom line: businesses don’t want to babysit a website. They want agility. They want an integrated CRM with a website builder that doesn’t break when a plugin developer takes a vacation.

So, What Are Smart Companies Doing?

Here’s the part that matters: what real businesses are actually doing about it. Spoiler—most aren’t waiting around for the next WordPress patch.

We’re seeing three clear moves:

1. Migrations to SaaS platforms. Companies are trading their plugin jungles for cloud-based website platforms like HubSpot CMS. Why? Fewer moving parts. Built-in SEO, security, automation, and CRM, without duct tape.
2. Hybrid approaches. Some stick with WordPress for basic sites but spin up SaaS or headless CMS for anything revenue-critical. It’s not either/or anymore. It’s about risk management.
3. Proof-of-concepts, not promises. Instead of “we’ll see how it goes,” smart teams are running pilots with new platforms. Faster launches, smoother integrations, and zero late-night plugin panics are proving the case.

In short, the businesses growing fastest are the ones cutting loose from technical babysitting and choosing platforms built for growth, not plugins.

What to Do Next: Strategic Advice for CMS Evaluation

So, where does this leave you? Stuck between the comfort of WordPress and the promise of something better. Here’s how to cut through the noise and actually decide:

1. Run a CMS audit. Take inventory. How many plugins are you relying on? How often are updates breaking things? What’s your true cost in developer hours? Write it down. Is it eye-opening?
2. Measure the real costs. “Free” open-source isn’t free. Add up hosting, security tools, maintenance, and the lost time fixing broken forms. Then compare it to all-in-one marketing platforms that bundle those headaches into one predictable subscription.
3. Test alternatives. Whether it’s HubSpot vs. WordPress, Webflow vs. WordPress, or a SaaS vs. open-source website platform head-to-head, the best way to know is to try. Set up a pilot. Compare speed, security, integrations, and scalability.
4. Think beyond the website. A content management system comparison isn’t just about publishing pages. It’s about website security and performance in 2025, built-in automation, and whether your CMS can actually fuel growth. If it can’t integrate with your CRM and marketing stack, you’re leaving money on the table.

The smartest move? Don’t wait for the next WordPress update to take down your site. Proactively evaluate. Stack the numbers side-by-side. And choose the platform that supports growth instead of draining resources.

Ready to Future-Proof Your Website?

Here’s the truth: WordPress isn’t dead, but it might not be right for what’s next. It still dominates the web, but cracks in the model are getting harder to ignore. Between bloated plugins, constant maintenance, and limited built-in marketing tools, the “free” CMS is starting to cost businesses more than they bargained for.

If growth is the goal, it’s time to think bigger. That means re-evaluating your CMS against today’s needs: security, performance, agility, and integration. Whether you’re weighing HubSpot vs. WordPress, testing alternatives to open-source CMS, or just trying to cut technical debt, the next move is clear. Don’t stick with the status quo out of habit.

Ready to future-proof your website? Contact ThinkFuel to evaluate your CMS strategy.