Anchor CMS vs Ghost
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Anchor CMS
Lightweight blogging-focused CMS
VS
Ghost
Professional publishing platform for blogs and newsletters
| Feature | Anchor CMS | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,298 | ★ 54,707 |
| First released | 2012 | 2013 |
| Replaces | WordPress | WordPress, Substack, Medium |
Why pick each one
Choose Ghost if…
- Excellent for newsletters and memberships
- Clean, fast publishing experience
Frequently asked questions
Is Anchor CMS or Ghost better?
Neither is universally better. Ghost has the larger community, while Anchor CMS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Anchor CMS and Ghost free and open-source?
Yes. Anchor CMS is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Ghost under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Anchor CMS and Ghost with Docker?
Anchor CMS: yes. Ghost: yes.