Ghost vs Pagekit
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 | Pagekit |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 55,413 | ★ 5,454 |
| First released | 2013 | 2014 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Substack, Medium | WordPress |
What are Ghost and Pagekit?
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
Pagekit
Pagekit is a modular, open-source content management system with a clean, modern interface built on Symfony components and Vue.js. It includes a blog and a marketplace for extensions.
- Modern Vue.js interface
- Modular architecture
- Built-in blog
- Marketplace for extensions
Ghost vs Pagekit: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Pagekit's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Ghost is actively maintained. Ghost is written in TypeScript, while Pagekit is built with PHP. Pagekit is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Ghost. Ghost has the considerably larger community, at 55,413 GitHub stars versus 5,454.
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 Pagekit if…
- Clean, modern admin
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Development has stalled
- Limited active maintenance
Frequently asked questions
Is Ghost or Pagekit better?
Neither is universally better. Ghost has the larger community, while Pagekit is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ghost and Pagekit free and open-source?
Yes. Ghost is licensed under MIT and Pagekit under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ghost and Pagekit with Docker?
Ghost: yes. Pagekit: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Ghost or Pagekit?
Pagekit has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Ghost. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.