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Next.js vs Drupal

Security & risk comparison · Updated October 2026

How does Next.js compare to Drupal on security, AI-readiness, and total cost of ownership? We scored both across 7 dimensions using NVD/NIST CVE data, GitHub metrics, and our census of the Tranco top 100,000.

Key finding

Next.js scores 81/100 overall versus Drupal's 41/100. Next.js has 25 total CVEs compared to Drupal's 1200, giving it a smaller vulnerability surface. (Source: WebPulse framework scoring, NIST NVD and CISA KEV, updated October 2026)

Who actually runs Next.js and Drupal

Share of sites with an identified platform, from WebPulse's scan of the Tranco top 100,000 and our Common Crawl census.

WhereNext.jsDrupal
Top 1,000 34.4% (74) 4.2% (9)
Top 10,000 31.1% (797) 7.5% (192)
Top 100,000 23.1% (6,413) 7.2% (1,994)
Wider web2.6%4.4%

Highest-ranked sites on Next.js

  1. yahoo.com#59
  2. vimeo.com#88
  3. f5.com#90
  4. nginx.com#95
  5. snapchat.com#127

Highest-ranked sites on Drupal

  1. europa.eu#114
  2. nist.gov#239
  3. un.org#363
  4. noaa.gov#530
  5. unesco.org#627

Detected from each homepage's HTML, headers and cookies in September 2026. Methodology

81
Next.js
Modern · JAVASCRIPT
vs
41
Drupal
Legacy · PHP
Dimension-by-dimension breakdown
security Next.js
82
35
Next.js
Drupal
performance Tie
65
65
Next.js
Drupal
ecosystem Next.js
90
40
Next.js
Drupal
ai readiness Next.js
88
40
Next.js
Drupal
developer experience Next.js
85
40
Next.js
Drupal
market trajectory Next.js
85
35
Next.js
Drupal
cost of ownership Next.js
75
35
Next.js
Drupal
Security details
Metric Next.js Drupal
Total CVEs 25 1200
Critical CVEs 2 89
Exploited (KEV) 0 8
CVEs last year 8 120
Avg CVSS 4.5 6.5
Security score 82/100 35/100
Recommended
Next.js

Next.js scores 81/100. Verdict: Recommended.

Caution
Drupal

Drupal scores 42/100. Consider migrating to: nextjs, django, laravel.

Alternatives: nextjs, django, laravel

Quick facts
Next.js
Category: Fullstack
Language: JAVASCRIPT
First release: 2016
Generation: Modern
Trend: Rising
Market share: 3.5%
Drupal
Category: Cms
Language: PHP
First release: 2001
Generation: Legacy
Trend: Stable
Market share: 1.5%
Related briefings
Next.js 16.4.1 and 15.5.28: two critical RCE flaws fixed
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Next.js 16.3.8 and 15.5.27: Seven Security Fixes Explained
October 1, 2026
Vinext 1.0: Cloudflare's AI-Maintained Next.js Alternative
September 29, 2026
PHP CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619: what to do
October 21, 2026
Drupal CVE-2026-108097, CVE-2026-108099 RCE patches
October 18, 2026
Drupal SA-CORE-2026-014: Field UI remote code execution
October 14, 2026
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Data sourced from NVD/NIST CVE database, GitHub API, and WebPulse framework scanner. Scores calculated using a 7-dimension model covering security, performance, ecosystem health, AI-readiness, developer experience, market trajectory, and cost of ownership. Updated October 2026.