Ghost vs Pico
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?
Ghost
Professional publishing platform for blogs and newsletters
VS
Pico
Stupidly simple flat-file CMS
| Feature | Ghost | Pico |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 54,707 | ★ 3,904 |
| First released | 2013 | 2012 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Substack, Medium | WordPress |
Why pick each one
Choose Ghost if…
- Excellent for newsletters and memberships
- Clean, fast publishing experience
Frequently asked questions
Is Ghost or Pico better?
Neither is universally better. Ghost has the larger community, while Pico is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ghost and Pico free and open-source?
Yes. Ghost is licensed under MIT and Pico under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ghost and Pico with Docker?
Ghost: yes. Pico: yes.