CMS comparison CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Ghost

CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Ghost

CoreMedia Content Cloud is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run 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 16.

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CoreMedia Content Cloud Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 18 of 28 built in
Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in

Sources checked: CoreMedia Content Cloud 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

CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Ghost feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	CoreMedia Content Cloud Enterprise DXP	Ghost Traditional
Overview
What it is	Java-based enterprise CMS with a Studio editor, a template engine and a GraphQL headless server. Runs on-premises or as CoreMedia's cloud service.	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.	CoreMedia Content Cloud v13, or CMCC 13 Version 2512.1.1, released 10 Aug 2026	Ghost 6, self-hosted open source and Ghost(Pro) Version 6.65.0, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor	CoreMedia GmbH coremedia.com	Ghost Foundation (non-profit) ghost.org
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Open source MIT
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Event Hub webhooks are an add-on for the CoreMedia cloud service only.	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Ghost(Pro) Starter allows only the default theme and no custom integrations.
Built with	Java, Spring Boot, TypeScript for Studio	Node.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themes
Database	Relational database: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server	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 XML files in the project workspace define content types. 3	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.	Not available Content type changes need a developer and a deployment. 3	Not available
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them.	Built in Page grid placements hold reusable content items. 4	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.	Limited Each locale is a derived site linked to a master site, with a translation workflow. 5	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 Named image variants and crops in the CAE and Headless Server. 6	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 REST endpoints mapped from persisted GraphQL queries. 7	Built in Content API and Admin API. 12
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in Headless Server. 7	Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Plugin or add-on Event Hub add-on service for cloud service subscribers. 8 9	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 Content Application Engine with FreeMarker templates. 1	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 Valid-from and valid-to dates plus a scheduled publication workflow. 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	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 In-preview editing in Studio, also for headless frontends. 10	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 Workflow Server with configurable publication workflows. 11 13	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.	Limited Projects group content. A publication set carries linked items along. 12 13	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.	Not available	Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Built in Rights rules per group, folder and content type. 14	Not available Fixed staff roles. 7
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Not available Rights apply per folder and content type. 14	Not available
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Built in Studio login runs on Spring Security. A project swaps in a redirect-based SSO provider. 15 16	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 Records who changed what and when; supports reversions. Retention, export and edition limits are not public: confirm in the contract. 16	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	Not available
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Built in Studio plugins.	Not available The admin app has no extension points.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in CoreMedia Marketplace. 17	Limited Theme marketplace only. Ghost has no plugin system. 2
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Plugin or add-on Formcentric for CoreMedia, a partner product from the Marketplace. 18	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.	Plugin or add-on Elastic Social module manages site users and comments. 19	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 KIO Co-Pilot needs a licence with KIO enabled. 20	Not available
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Not available None for content. The only official MCP server covers Engagement Cloud analytics. 20	Not available Community MCP servers only. 11

CoreMedia Content Cloud sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. CoreMedia Content Cloud v13, or CMCC 13.

Ghost sources

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

Considering more platforms? Compare CoreMedia Content Cloud and Ghost with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

CoreMedia Content Cloud and Ghost get a different status on 16 of the 28 features and the same status on 12. CoreMedia Content Cloud has 18 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: CoreMedia Content Cloud is closed source (Proprietary). Ghost is open source (MIT).
Free option: CoreMedia Content Cloud has no free option. Ghost has a free option.

Built in on CoreMedia Content Cloud, a different answer on Ghost 10

Content model in code CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
GraphQL API CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Drafts CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Ghost: Limited.
Visual editing CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Approval workflows CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Ghost: Limited.
Custom roles CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Single sign-on CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Ghost: Paid tier.
Multiple sites CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Extensible admin UI CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Plugin marketplace CoreMedia Content Cloud: Built in. Ghost: Limited.

Built in on Ghost, a different answer on CoreMedia Content Cloud 2

Webhooks CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. Ghost: Built in.
Site member accounts CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. Ghost: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

Localization CoreMedia Content Cloud: Limited. Ghost: Not available.
Content releases CoreMedia Content Cloud: Limited. Ghost: Not available.
Form builder CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. Ghost: Not available.
AI writing assistant CoreMedia Content Cloud: Plugin or add-on. Ghost: Not available.

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