Why this comparison matters more than ever in 2026
WordPress powers 43% of all websites worldwide. Yet its lead is shrinking: Next.js and other Jamstack frameworks are growing by 30%+ annually. The reason? Businesses are noticing that load times, security and SEO performance are increasingly difficult to optimise with WordPress.
Performance comparison
| Metric | WordPress (optimised) | Next.js (standard) |
|---|---|---|
| LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | 2.5–4.0 s | 0.5–1.2 s |
| TTFB (Time to First Byte) | 0.8–2.0 s | < 0.1 s (Edge) |
| CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | 0.1–0.3 | < 0.05 |
| PageSpeed score (mobile) | 50–75 | 90–100 |
| Bundle size (typical) | 500 KB–2 MB | 80–150 KB |
Google confirms: every 100 ms faster load time increases the conversion rate by an average of 1.11% (Google/Deloitte, 2023).
Security
WordPress is the most-attacked CMS in the world — not because it is insecure, but because it is the largest target. 90% of hacked CMS websites run on WordPress (Sucuri Report 2024). The main causes: outdated plugins, weak passwords and unsecured admin panels.
Next.js does not have these problems: static pages cannot be "hacked" because no server-side code is executed. The attack surface is minimal.
Cost comparison
| Item | WordPress | Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | €10–50/month (managed) | €0–20/month (Vercel/Netlify) |
| Development (standard website) | €3,000–8,000 | €5,000–15,000 |
| Maintenance (annual) | €1,000–3,000 (updates, security) | €200–500 (minimal) |
| Plugins/licences | €500–2,000/year | €0 (open source) |
| 5-year total cost | €15,000–30,000 | €6,000–18,000 |
Despite higher initial costs, the 5-year total cost of Next.js is often lower — thanks to minimal maintenance and free hosting.
When WordPress is the right choice
- ▸You need a website quickly (< 2 weeks implementation).
- ▸Content editors need to manage content without developer help.
- ▸You use specific WordPress plugins (WooCommerce, WPML).
- ▸The budget for initial development is under €5,000.
When Next.js is the right choice
- ▸Performance and load times are business-critical (e-commerce, lead gen).
- ▸You want low long-term operating costs.
- ▸Security and data privacy are top priorities.
- ▸The website needs to scale with custom features (dashboards, APIs).
- ▸SEO performance is a central growth lever.
Our approach at smugo
We develop 80% of our client projects with Next.js and use WordPress selectively where it makes sense — for example as a headless CMS (content backend) that supplies Next.js with content. This way we combine the best editorial experience of WordPress with the performance of Next.js.