CMS comparison Adobe Experience Manager vs Ghost

Adobe Experience Manager vs Ghost

Adobe Experience Manager is a closed-source enterprise DXP that runs on the vendor's cloud. Ghost is an open-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 19.

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Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 25 of 28 built in
Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Adobe Experience Manager on 29 Sept 2026, Ghost on 29 Sept 2026. Plans and releases can change after those dates.

WAYF is an official Payload partner and top contributor. Every platform in the table is classified by the same published definitions, and each answer lists the vendor page it came from.

Feature comparison

Built inPaid tierPlugin or add-onLimitedNot available

Adobe Experience Manager vs Ghost feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Adobe Experience Manager Enterprise DXP	Ghost Traditional
Overview
What it is	Adobe's enterprise CMS for websites and headless content, run by Adobe as a cloud service with page, fragment and document-based authoring.	Open-source Node.js publishing platform with built-in newsletters, memberships and paid subscriptions. Self-hosted or run on Ghost(Pro).
Edition compared The product and release each column describes.	Adobe Experience Manager Sites as a Cloud Service Version 2026.9.0, released 24 Sept 2026	Ghost 6, self-hosted open source and Ghost(Pro) Version 6.65.0, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor	Adobe business.adobe.com	Ghost Foundation (non-profit) ghost.org
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Open source MIT
Hosting	No self-hosting Vendor cloud Cloud Service runs only on Adobe's cloud. AEM 6.5 LTS is the separate self-hosted edition.	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Ghost(Pro) Starter allows only the default theme and no custom integrations.
Built with	Java, Apache Sling, OSGi, HTL	Node.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themes
Database	Apache Jackrabbit Oak repository, managed by Adobe	MySQL
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Pricing on request.	Free to start Free to self-host. Ghost(Pro) Starter $18, Publisher $29, Business $199 per month, billed yearly.
Content modelling
Content model in code You define content types in files in your repository, review them like any other code and apply them from there. Imperative migration scripts alone count as limited.	Built in Components, dialogs and Universal Editor models live in the project repository. 2	Not available Fixed model of posts, pages, tags and members.
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code.	Built in Content Fragment Model editor. 3	Not available
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in 2 9	Built in Fixed set of editor cards plus reusable snippets. 10
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language.	Built in Language copies with translation projects and connectors. 4	Not available One content language per site.
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service.	Built in Web-optimized image delivery resizes, crops and converts DAM images to WebP. 5	Built in Ghost generates theme-defined image sizes automatically. 5
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in Content Fragment Delivery with OpenAPI. 6	Built in Content API and Admin API. 12
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in GraphQL for Content Fragments. 6	Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Built in AEM Eventing delivers events through Adobe I/O Events. 7	Built in Via custom integrations. Not available on Ghost(Pro) Starter. 4 2
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no.	Built in HTL page rendering or Edge Delivery Services. 10	Built in Handlebars themes.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then.	Built in Edits stay on the author tier until published. 11	Limited Edits to a published post go live on Update. No pending draft. 13
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Built in Publish later and unpublish later. 11	Built in Scheduled publishing only.
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them.	Built in	Built in Post history with one-click restore. 6
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in Separate preview tier.	Built in
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it.	Built in Universal Editor and Page Editor. 9	Not available The admin toolbar on the live site links to the editor. 9
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage.	Built in	Limited Contributors draft and Editors publish. No configurable stages. 7
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Built in Launches group changes across pages and promote them together. 8	Not available
Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live.	Limited Only with document authoring in Word or Google Docs. The Universal Editor has no co-editing. 10	Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Built in AEM groups with repository permissions. 12	Not available Fixed staff roles. 7
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Limited Repository ACL restrictions can target named properties. No per-field setting in the editors. 12	Not available
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Built in SAML or OIDC federation through Adobe Admin Console. 13	Paid tier Ghost(Pro) Custom plan only. Not in self-hosted Ghost. 2
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log.	Built in Page, replication and DAM audit logs. 14	Built in History log of staff actions. 8
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users.	Built in Multi Site Manager with live copies. 15	Not available
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Built in UI extensions built with App Builder. 16	Not available The admin app has no extension points.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in Extension Manager catalogue of Adobe and partner extensions. 16	Limited Theme marketplace only. Ghost has no plugin system. 2
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Built in Core Components form container emails, posts or stores submissions. 17	Not available Member signup forms only.
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Limited Publish-tier login via SAML or OIDC. Sign-up flows need custom code and user sync. 18 13	Built in Members with free and paid tiers. 3
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Built in Generate Variations needs AEM Cloud Service with Edge Delivery entitlement. Licence includes an action allowance; extra actions cost more. 19	Not available
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Built in AEM MCP Server for pages, fragments and assets. 20	Not available Community MCP servers only. 11

Adobe Experience Manager sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Adobe Experience Manager Sites as a Cloud Service.

Ghost sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Ghost 6, self-hosted open source and Ghost(Pro).

Considering more platforms? Compare Adobe Experience Manager and Ghost with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Adobe Experience Manager and Ghost get a different status on 19 of the 28 features and the same status on 9. Adobe Experience Manager has 25 built in on its baseline edition, Ghost has 10. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Licence: Adobe Experience Manager is closed source (Proprietary). Ghost is open source (MIT).
Self-hosting: Adobe Experience Manager cannot be self-hosted. Ghost can be self-hosted.
Free option: Adobe Experience Manager has no free option. Ghost has a free option.

Built in on Adobe Experience Manager, a different answer on Ghost 16

Content model in code Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Content model in the UI Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Localization Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
GraphQL API Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Drafts Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Limited.
Visual editing Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Approval workflows Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Limited.
Content releases Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Custom roles Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Single sign-on Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Paid tier.
Multiple sites Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Extensible admin UI Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Plugin marketplace Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Limited.
Form builder Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
AI writing assistant Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Official MCP server Adobe Experience Manager: Built in. Ghost: Not available.

Built in on Ghost, a different answer on Adobe Experience Manager 1

Site member accounts Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Ghost: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 2

Real-time co-editing Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Ghost: Not available.
Field-level permissions Adobe Experience Manager: Limited. Ghost: Not available.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Adobe Experience Manager vs Payload.

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