Ghost vs Publii
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
Publii
Desktop CMS for building static blogs and sites
| Feature | Ghost | Publii |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 54,707 | ★ 7,282 |
| First released | 2013 | 2017 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Substack, Medium | WordPress, Squarespace |
Why pick each one
Choose Ghost if…
- Excellent for newsletters and memberships
- Clean, fast publishing experience
Frequently asked questions
Is Ghost or Publii better?
Neither is universally better. Ghost has the larger community, while Publii is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ghost and Publii free and open-source?
Yes. Ghost is licensed under MIT and Publii under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ghost and Publii with Docker?
Ghost: yes. Publii: check the project docs for container support.