Docsify 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?
FeatureDocsifyGhost
CategoryContent Management SystemsContent Management Systems
LicenseMITMIT
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM50 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 31,442★ 54,707
First released20242013
ReplacesWordPress, Substack, Medium

Why pick each one

Choose Docsify if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Mature project with 31.4k GitHub stars
  • Written in JavaScript
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Docsify details

Choose Ghost if…

  • Excellent for newsletters and memberships
  • Clean, fast publishing experience
Ghost details

Frequently asked questions

Is Docsify 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 Docsify and Ghost free and open-source?

Yes. Docsify is licensed under MIT and Ghost under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Docsify and Ghost with Docker?

Docsify: check the project docs for container support. Ghost: yes.

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