Ghost vs Orchard Core
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Ghost | Orchard Core |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | TypeScript | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 55,413 | ★ 8,187 |
| First released | 2013 | 2018 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Substack, Medium | Sitecore, WordPress |
What are Ghost and Orchard Core?
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
Orchard Core
Orchard Core is an open-source, modular, and multi-tenant application framework and CMS built on ASP.NET Core. It enables building content-driven sites and SaaS-style multi-site setups.
- Multi-tenant by design
- Modular architecture
- GraphQL API
- Decoupled and headless modes
Ghost vs Orchard Core: key differences
Ghost is written in TypeScript, while Orchard Core is built with C#. Licensing differs — MIT for Ghost versus BSD-3-Clause for Orchard Core. Ghost is the more established project (first released 2013), while Orchard Core arrived in 2018. Ghost has the considerably larger community, at 55,413 GitHub stars versus 8,187.
Why pick each one
Choose Ghost if…
- Excellent for newsletters and memberships
- Clean, fast publishing experience
Watch out for
- Plugin ecosystem smaller than WordPress
- MySQL recommended for production
Choose Orchard Core if…
- Powerful multi-tenancy
- Modern .NET architecture
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Smaller ecosystem than Umbraco
Frequently asked questions
Is Ghost or Orchard Core better?
Ghost is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Orchard Core if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Ghost and Orchard Core free and open-source?
Yes. Ghost is licensed under MIT and Orchard Core under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ghost and Orchard Core with Docker?
Ghost: yes. Orchard Core: yes.