Ghost vs Pelican
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Ghost
Professional publishing platform for blogs and newsletters
VS
Pelican
Static site generator for Python and Markdown lovers
| Feature | Ghost | Pelican |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 54,707 | ★ 13,331 |
| First released | 2013 | 2010 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Substack, Medium | WordPress, Blogger |
Why pick each one
Choose Ghost if…
- Excellent for newsletters and memberships
- Clean, fast publishing experience
Frequently asked questions
Is Ghost or Pelican 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 Pelican free and open-source?
Yes. Ghost is licensed under MIT and Pelican under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ghost and Pelican with Docker?
Ghost: yes. Pelican: check the project docs for container support.