Ghost vs Subrion CMS
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
Subrion CMS
Open-source PHP content management system
| Feature | Ghost | Subrion CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 54,707 | ★ 283 |
| First released | 2013 | 2011 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Substack, Medium | WordPress, Joomla |
Why pick each one
Choose Ghost if…
- Excellent for newsletters and memberships
- Clean, fast publishing experience
Choose Subrion CMS if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Ghost or Subrion CMS 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 Subrion CMS free and open-source?
Yes. Ghost is licensed under MIT and Subrion CMS under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ghost and Subrion CMS with Docker?
Ghost: yes. Subrion CMS: check the project docs for container support.