Craft 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.
| Feature | Craft CMS | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 100 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,608 | ★ 55,413 |
| First released | 2013 | 2013 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Sitecore | WordPress, Substack, Medium |
What are Craft CMS and Ghost?
Craft CMS
Craft CMS is a content management system focused on giving developers and designers complete control over content structure and markup. The core product is open source with optional commercial editions.
- Flexible content modeling
- Twig templating
- GraphQL API
- Plugin store
Ghost
Ghost is a powerful open-source publishing platform built on Node.js, designed for professional bloggers, publications, and creators. It includes native membership, subscription, and email newsletter features alongside a fast, modern editor.
- Built-in membership and paid subscriptions
- Native email newsletters
- Fast modern editor
- SEO-optimized by default
Craft CMS vs Ghost: key differences
Craft CMS is written in PHP, while Ghost is built with TypeScript. Craft CMS is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Ghost. Ghost has the considerably larger community, at 55,413 GitHub stars versus 3,608.
Why pick each one
Choose Craft CMS if…
- Excellent for bespoke sites
- Clean control panel
Watch out for
- Pro edition is paid
- Not ideal for non-developers
Choose Ghost if…
- Excellent for newsletters and memberships
- Clean, fast publishing experience
Watch out for
- Plugin ecosystem smaller than WordPress
- MySQL recommended for production
Frequently asked questions
Is Craft CMS or Ghost better?
Neither is universally better. Ghost has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Craft CMS and Ghost free and open-source?
Yes. Craft CMS is licensed under MIT and Ghost under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Craft CMS and Ghost with Docker?
Craft CMS: yes. Ghost: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Craft CMS or Ghost?
Craft CMS has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Ghost. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.