SHSelfHostIndex

Ghost vs MODX Revolution

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?
GH Ghost Professional publishing platform for blogs and newsletters VS MO MODX Revolution CMS and application framework with creative freedom
FeatureGhostMODX Revolution
CategoryContent Management SystemsContent Management Systems
LicenseMITGPL-2.0
LanguageJavaScriptPHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 54,707★ 1,403
First released20132005
ReplacesWordPress, Substack, MediumWordPress, Drupal

Why pick each one

Choose Ghost if…

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

Choose MODX Revolution if…

  • No markup constraints
  • Good for custom builds
MODX Revolution details

Frequently asked questions

Is Ghost or MODX Revolution 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 Ghost and MODX Revolution free and open-source?

Yes. Ghost is licensed under MIT and MODX Revolution under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Ghost and MODX Revolution with Docker?

Ghost: yes. MODX Revolution: yes.

Related comparisons