Ghost vs WBCE 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
WBCE CMS
Community-driven PHP CMS forked from WebsiteBaker
| Feature | Ghost | WBCE CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 54,707 | ★ 45 |
| First released | 2013 | 2015 |
| Replaces | WordPress, Substack, Medium | WordPress |
Why pick each one
Choose Ghost if…
- Excellent for newsletters and memberships
- Clean, fast publishing experience
Choose WBCE CMS if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Ghost or WBCE CMS better?
Neither is universally better. Ghost has the larger community, while WBCE CMS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ghost and WBCE CMS free and open-source?
Yes. Ghost is licensed under MIT and WBCE CMS under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ghost and WBCE CMS with Docker?
Ghost: yes. WBCE CMS: check the project docs for container support.