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WordPress Guide → Vs → Ghost
WordPress vs Ghost: Which platform is right for you?
If you’re launching a new blog or content-focused website, two platforms rise to the top: WordPress and Ghost. They both offer modern, user-friendly content management systems (CMSs), but they’re built for very different goals.
Let’s compare Ghost vs WordPress in detail, from features and ease of use to SEO, pricing, and ideal use cases.
Quick comparison: Which should you choose?
The choice between WordPress vs Ghost depends on your technical needs and business goals:
- Choose WordPress if: You need a highly customizable, all-in-one website with advanced SEO control, ecommerce (via WooCommerce), or a specific design layout powered by thousands of plugins and themes.
- Choose Ghost if: You are a professional publisher or blogger who wants a minimalist, high-speed writing environment with built-in newsletter tools, native memberships, and zero transaction fees.
The Verdict: WordPress is the industry standard for flexibility and scaling complex business sites, while Ghost is a specialized, modern alternative for pure content creators and subscription-based publications.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system. It powers over 40% of all websites and supports everything from personal blogs and portfolios to enterprise ecommerce and membership sites. It’s open-source, meaning you can install it on any web host and customize it as much as you like.
There are two versions of WordPress:
- WordPress.org: The self-hosted version with full control and flexibility.
- WordPress.com: A hosted version with built-in maintenance and limited flexibility unless you upgrade to higher tiers.
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What is Ghost?
Ghost is a Node.js–based CMS focused purely on publishing.
Ghost launched in 2013 with the goal of creating a fast, minimalist publishing platform built specifically for professional bloggers and online publications. Since then, it has evolved into a modern, open-source CMS focused on memberships, newsletters, and paid content, with a strong emphasis on performance, simplicity, and creator-led monetization.
Its core strengths are content creation, speed, and a clean user interface. Ghost also includes built-in support for newsletters and paid memberships.
Ghost is used for about 0.1% of websites, but adoption is steadily growing.
WordPress vs Ghost: Feature comparison table
Here’s a quick side-by-side view of the key differences between Ghost and WordPress.
| Feature | WordPress | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Primary use | Websites of any type | Blogging and publishing |
| Hosting model | Self-hosted (or WordPress.com) | Hosted SaaS (or self-hosted) |
| Ease of use | Moderate learning curve | Very user-friendly |
| Customization | Extensive (themes + plugins) | Limited (themes + built-in options) |
| Plugins & integrations | 60,000+ available | ~20 built-in integrations |
| Speed & performance | Depends on setup | Very fast by default |
| SEO features | Requires plugins | Built-in SEO optimizations |
| Community | Very large and active | Small and centralized |
| Pricing | Free (plus hosting/plugins) | Starts at $9/month (Ghost Pro) |
| Migrations | Supports a range of third-party tools | Built-in migration tool, may not be suitable for complex sites |
| Security | Core is secure but add-ons broaden the attack surface | Smaller attack surface improves security while limiting options |
1. Platform purpose and customization
The biggest difference comes down to flexibility versus focus.
WordPress is a highly flexible CMS that supports blogs, business sites, ecommerce stores, online courses, forums, and more. You can modify everything using themes, plugins, and custom code.
Ghost, by contrast, is built purely for writers and publishers. The admin interface is clean and minimal. You won’t find plugin clutter or advanced theme builders—just a distraction-free writing experience.
If you want a site that evolves into something more than a blog, WordPress has more room to grow.
2. Content creation experience
Ghost shines in the writing department. It uses a clean editor that supports Markdown by default and includes built-in tools for newsletters, email delivery, and paid memberships.
WordPress uses the Gutenberg block editor, which is powerful but may feel heavier than Ghost’s minimalist approach. For pure writing and publishing, Ghost feels faster and simpler.
WordPress offers more freedom for content types, while Ghost optimizes for blog posts and email-based content delivery.
3. SEO and discoverability
Ghost includes native SEO features like:
- Automatic meta tags and OG tags
- Clean URLs and canonical URLs
- Built-in XML sitemaps
- AMP support (optional)
WordPress requires SEO plugins for most of these features. Two of the most powerful options are:
- Yoast SEO
- Rank Math
While Ghost offers strong SEO out of the box, WordPress gives you more granular control and wider third-party SEO tools and tutorials.
4. Customization tools
WordPress leads in both plugins and themes.
- Over 60,000 free plugins
- Thousands of premium plugins for ecommerce, LMS, CRM, automation, and more
- Themes for every niche, from Kadence to Astra
Ghost offers a much smaller ecosystem:
- About 100 themes
- Built-in integrations with Stripe, Zapier, Unsplash, Slack, and a few others
For advanced customization or niche functionality, WordPress is the better platform. Ghost is best if you’re happy with simple templates and core features.
5. Performance and speed
Ghost is built with performance in mind. It runs on Node.js, uses lightweight front-end code, and doesn’t need additional caching plugins or CDNs to feel fast.
WordPress performance depends on how it’s hosted and optimized. On a good web server with caching, image optimization, and minimal plugin bloat, it can be just as fast. But many WordPress sites get bogged down without proper care.
If raw speed is your top concern, Ghost delivers faster performance by default.
6. Pricing and total cost of ownership
Ghost is available as a hosted service (Ghost Pro) with plans starting at $9/month. However, features like memberships and newsletters require the $25/month or $50/month tiers. You can also self-host Ghost, but that requires Node.js knowledge and a VPS or cloud server.
WordPress itself is free. You only need to pay for:
- Hosting (typically $5–$15/month for basic plans)
- Domain name
- Optional premium themes or plugins
While Ghost offers simplicity, WordPress gives you full ownership and control at a potentially lower long-term cost.
7. Newsletter and membership support
Ghost’s built-in support for email newsletters and paid subscriptions is a standout feature. You can create members-only content and send updates directly from your dashboard—without extra plugins.
WordPress supports all of this too, but it requires setup using plugins like:
- MemberPress
- Paid Memberships Pro
- FluentCRM
Ghost is faster to get started, but WordPress gives you more flexibility over content gating, checkout options, and audience segmentation.
8. Community and support
WordPress has a global community of developers, agencies, freelancers, and users. You’ll find:
- Thousands of free tutorials and videos
- Active forums and Slack groups
- Plugins with dedicated support teams
Ghost’s community is smaller and more centralized, with most support and development coming from the Ghost team or partner agencies.
For long-term scalability and troubleshooting, WordPress has broader community resources.
9. Migration considerations
Migration plays a big role when choosing between Ghost and WordPress, especially if you already run an established site.
Ghost offers built-in import tools for WordPress content, which makes it relatively straightforward to move posts, authors, and basic data into a Ghost site, but complex layouts, shortcodes, and plugin-based features usually need manual cleanup.
Moving from Ghost to WordPress tends to require more planning, since WordPress relies heavily on themes and plugins to recreate Ghost features like memberships, newsletters, and custom content flows. For sites with large archives, custom functionality, or ecommerce requirements, WordPress generally provides more migration flexibility and long-term scalability.
10. Learning curve and usability
Ghost focuses on a clean, distraction-free writing experience, which makes it easy for beginners to start publishing content almost immediately. Its admin interface stays minimal, with fewer settings and decisions to manage, but that simplicity can feel limiting once you want to go beyond publishing and memberships.
WordPress has a steeper learning curve at first, especially when themes, plugins, and settings come into play, but it rewards that effort with far more control over design, functionality, and site structure. For users willing to invest time learning the platform, WordPress offers significantly more room to grow without switching systems later.
When to choose WordPress or Ghost
Ghost works best for solo content creators, independent writers, and small teams who want a focused publishing platform with built-in tools for newsletters, memberships, and paid content, without relying on plugins or heavy customization.
WordPress makes more sense for businesses, agencies, ecommerce brands, and growing organizations that need maximum flexibility, advanced customization, and access to a massive ecosystem of themes, plugins, integrations, and developers.
Choose Ghost if:
- You want a clean, fast writing experience.
- You need built-in newsletter and subscription tools.
- You prefer minimalism and don’t want to manage plugins.
- You’re focused on publishing and content delivery only.
Choose WordPress if:
- You want full control over your site and data.
- You plan to scale your site with ecommerce, courses, or memberships.
- You need advanced SEO, plugin, or design options.
- You’re willing to spend time learning or configuring tools.
Ghost vs WordPress FAQs
Next steps for choosing between WordPress and Ghost
WordPress and Ghost both offer powerful CMS platforms, but they serve different goals. Ghost is perfect for minimalist blogging and publishing. WordPress is ideal if you want full control, customization, and long-term flexibility.
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