WordPress and Movable Type are the two most popular blogging software around. WordPress was the forte of enthusiasts and wily bloggers, whereas professionals and serious bloggers endorsed Movable Type. Times have changed, and WordPress is endorsed by bloggers worldwide, including professional bloggers.
Setup and Installation
WordPress is much easier to install. The trickiest part is setting up the MySQL database, and the instructions do a good job explaining that. Movable Type has a much better exporting system, which ironically makes it a lot easier to move from MT to WP than vice-versa.
Winner: WordPress
Speed and efficiency
Technically, there are significant differences between the two systems as well. WordPress generates pages dynamically(on-demand), allowing flexibility in design and maintenance, at the cost of a slight delay in page loading. Movable Type stores static pages that can be loaded very quickly. The downside to this approach is that pages can slow down when you make a change that ripples throughout the site. For example, when you make design changes, you would have to rebuild the cache, which takes more time and server resources. This is especially bad if you have theme-building addiction (like me!).
Winner: WordPress
Customization
WordPress is done in PHP, while Movable Type works mostly on Perl. You should choose according to your proficiency in the languages. And if you don’t feel like getting your hands dirty, the default installations of WordPress and MT are powerful, with truckloads of plug-ins.
In terms of design, tweaking in MT is quite hard, whereas themes for WordPress can be easier.
Winner: Joint Winners
Pricing
In terms of pricing and spirit, WordPress is “more free” than Movable Type. WordPress is open-source, and free. Movable Type is a company with the goal of making a profit. For a single user, the MT software costs $70. Both platforms have active support forums, but the basic documentation on Movable Type is better.
Winner: WordPress
Other Woes
In recent times, SixApart, the developers of MT, have been developing TypePad, and hence, less attention has been given to MT.
Corruption of the MySQL database in WordPress can be a problem. Once corrupted, they cannot be recovered easily. Of course, WordPress users would point out that this can be prevented by taking regular backups.
The Finale
It is easy to see why WordPress is gaining so much popularity, and hogging the limelight. In most of the head-to-head comparisons, WordPress surges ahead. Installation, customisation and maintenance is easier in WordPress. Add to it that WP is free, and has a large support forum, and tons of free templates up for grabs, and you truly have a winner in your hands.