Contentstack vs Ghost
Contentstack is a closed-source headless CMS 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 20.
- Contentstack Headless · Closed source · 17 of 28 built in
- Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Contentstack 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
| Platform |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| What it is | Hosted headless CMS run by Contentstack, sold alongside its AI agent and customer data products. It delivers content over REST and GraphQL APIs. | 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. | Contentstack Content Cloud headless CMS, Free, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated | Ghost 6, self-hosted open source and Ghost(Pro) Version 6.65.0, released 22 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Contentstack contentstack.com | Ghost Foundation (non-profit) ghost.org |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary | Open source MIT |
| Hosting | No self-hosting Vendor cloud | Self-hosting Vendor cloud Ghost(Pro) Starter allows only the default theme and no custom integrations. |
| Built with | Hosted SaaS with REST and GraphQL APIs, CLI and SDKs | Node.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themes |
| Database | Managed by Contentstack | MySQL |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Free plan. Growth $299 per month, extra users $25 per user per month. Enterprise 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. | Limited Migration scripts run by the Contentstack CLI. No declarative schema files. 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 1 | Not available |
| Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. | Built in Modular Blocks fields, plus the Visual Editor for page layout. 12 | 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 Entry-level localization in over 200 languages. 15 | 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 Image Delivery API resizes, crops and converts by URL parameter. 3 | 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 5 | Built in Content API and Admin API. 12 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Built in 4 | Not available |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Built in | Built in Via custom integrations. Not available on Ghost(Pro) Starter. 42 |
| Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. | Not available | 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 | 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 6 | 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 12 | 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 Visual Editor on every plan. 112 | 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. | Paid tier Custom workflows on Growth and Enterprise. 17 | 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 Releases deploy grouped entries and assets to an environment. 6 | 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 Field-level locks and presence. Rolling out in phases with Drafts and Auto Save. 8 | Not available |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Paid tier 2 custom roles on Growth, 500 on Enterprise. None on Free. 1 | Not available Fixed staff roles. 7 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Paid tier Field rules inside custom roles, from Growth. 19 | Not available |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Limited SAML 2.0 documented; baseline availability unconfirmed. Eligible tiers are not public. Confirm access in the contract. 10 | 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. | Limited Stack and organization logs documented; baseline availability unconfirmed. Confirm access and retention in the contract. 11 | 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 Separate stacks in one organization. Scaling stacks is a Growth and Enterprise option. 1 | Not available |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in Developer Hub apps in field, sidebar and dashboard UI locations. 13 | Not available The admin app has no extension points. |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Contentstack Marketplace. 13 | Limited Theme marketplace only. Ghost has no plugin system. 2 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Not available | 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. | Not available | 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. | Plugin or add-on Official AI Assistant app with Contentstack-managed or your own model keys. 113 | Not available |
| Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. | Built in Official server run locally with npx @contentstack/mcp. 14 | Not available Community MCP servers only. 11 |
Contentstack sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Contentstack Content Cloud headless CMS, Free, Growth and Enterprise plans.
- Contentstack pricing
- Contentstack docs: Migrate content using the CLI migration command
- Contentstack docs: Image Delivery API
- Contentstack docs: GraphQL Content Delivery API
- Contentstack docs: Content Delivery API
- Contentstack docs: About Releases
- Contentstack docs: About Workflows
- Contentstack docs: Real-Time Collaboration in the Entry Editor
- Contentstack docs: Examples to create custom roles
- Contentstack docs: About Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Contentstack docs: Monitor stack activities in Audit Log
- Contentstack docs: About Visual Editor
- Contentstack docs: AI Assistant app
- Contentstack docs: Contentstack MCP Server
- Contentstack docs: About Languages
Ghost sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Ghost 6, self-hosted open source and Ghost(Pro).
- Ghost releases on GitHub
- Ghost(Pro) pricing
- Ghost 6.0 changelog
- Webhooks (Ghost docs)
- Theme assets and responsive images (Ghost docs)
- Post history (changelog)
- Staff users (Ghost docs)
- History log (Ghost help)
- Your new admin toolbar (changelog)
- Intro to the editor (Ghost help)
- MFYDev/ghost-mcp on GitHub
- A new Ghost Admin API (changelog)
- Add option to save changes in published posts (Ghost Forum)
Considering more platforms? Compare Contentstack and Ghost with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Contentstack and Ghost get a different status on 20 of the 28 features and the same status on 8. Contentstack has 17 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
- Contentstack is closed source (Proprietary). Ghost is open source (MIT).
- Self-hosting
- Contentstack cannot be self-hosted. Ghost can be self-hosted.
Built in on Contentstack, a different answer on Ghost 10
- Content model in the UI Contentstack: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- Localization Contentstack: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- GraphQL API Contentstack: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- Drafts Contentstack: Built in. Ghost: Limited.
- Visual editing Contentstack: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- Content releases Contentstack: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- Multiple sites Contentstack: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- Extensible admin UI Contentstack: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- Plugin marketplace Contentstack: Built in. Ghost: Limited.
- Official MCP server Contentstack: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Built in on Ghost, a different answer on Contentstack 3
- Renders the website Contentstack: Not available. Ghost: Built in.
- Audit log Contentstack: Limited. Ghost: Built in.
- Site member accounts Contentstack: Not available. Ghost: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 7
- Content model in code Contentstack: Limited. Ghost: Not available.
- Approval workflows Contentstack: Paid tier. Ghost: Limited.
- Real-time co-editing Contentstack: Limited. Ghost: Not available.
- Custom roles Contentstack: Paid tier. Ghost: Not available.
- Field-level permissions Contentstack: Paid tier. Ghost: Not available.
- Single sign-on Contentstack: Limited. Ghost: Paid tier.
- AI writing assistant Contentstack: Plugin or add-on. Ghost: Not available.
More comparisons
Contentstack against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Contentstack
- Contentful vs Contentstack
- Contentstack vs CoreMedia Content Cloud
- Contentstack vs Craft CMS
- Contentstack vs DatoCMS
- Contentstack vs Decap CMS
- Contentstack vs Directus
- Contentstack vs Drupal
- Contentstack vs EmDash
- Contentstack vs FirstSpirit
- Contentstack vs Framer
- Contentstack vs HubSpot CMS
- Contentstack vs Hygraph
- Contentstack vs Instatic
- Contentstack vs Joomla
- Contentstack vs Keystone
- Contentstack vs Kirby
- Contentstack vs Liferay DXP
- Contentstack vs Optimizely CMS
- Contentstack vs Payload
- Contentstack vs Prismic
- Contentstack vs Progress Sitefinity
- Contentstack vs Sanity
- Contentstack vs Sitecore
- Contentstack vs Squarespace
- Contentstack vs Statamic
- Contentstack vs Storyblok
- Contentstack vs Strapi
- Contentstack vs TYPO3
- Contentstack vs Umbraco
- Contentstack vs Wagtail
- Contentstack vs Webflow
- Contentstack vs Wix
- Contentstack vs WordPress
- Contentstack vs Xperience by Kentico
Ghost against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Ghost
- Contentful vs Ghost
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Ghost
- Craft CMS vs Ghost
- DatoCMS vs Ghost
- Decap CMS vs Ghost
- Directus vs Ghost
- Drupal vs Ghost
- EmDash vs Ghost
- FirstSpirit vs Ghost
- Framer vs Ghost
- Ghost vs HubSpot CMS
- Ghost vs Hygraph
- Ghost vs Instatic
- Ghost vs Joomla
- Ghost vs Keystone
- Ghost vs Kirby
- Ghost vs Liferay DXP
- Ghost vs Optimizely CMS
- Ghost vs Payload
- Ghost vs Prismic
- Ghost vs Progress Sitefinity
- Ghost vs Sanity
- Ghost vs Sitecore
- Ghost vs Squarespace
- Ghost vs Statamic
- Ghost vs Storyblok
- Ghost vs Strapi
- Ghost vs TYPO3
- Ghost vs Umbraco
- Ghost vs Wagtail
- Ghost vs Webflow
- Ghost vs Wix
- Ghost vs WordPress
- Ghost vs Xperience by Kentico
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