CouchCMS 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?
CouchCMS
CMS that adds editable regions to plain HTML sites
VS
Ghost
Professional publishing platform for blogs and newsletters
| Feature | CouchCMS | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 375 | ★ 54,707 |
| First released | 2009 | 2013 |
| Replaces | WordPress | WordPress, Substack, Medium |
Why pick each one
Choose CouchCMS if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Ghost if…
- Excellent for newsletters and memberships
- Clean, fast publishing experience
Frequently asked questions
Is CouchCMS or Ghost better?
Neither is universally better. Ghost has the larger community, while CouchCMS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are CouchCMS and Ghost free and open-source?
Yes. CouchCMS is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Ghost under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CouchCMS and Ghost with Docker?
CouchCMS: check the project docs for container support. Ghost: yes.