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CMS comparison Craft CMS vs Ghost

Craft CMS vs Ghost

Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS 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 17.

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  • Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Craft CMS 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
Craft CMS vs Ghost feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Craft CMS Traditional
Ghost Traditional
Overview
What it is Self-hosted PHP CMS with custom fields and Twig templates. Pixel & Tonic sells licences per project and runs Craft Cloud hosting.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. Craft CMS 5 in Solo, Team and Pro editions. Craft 6 is in alpha. Version 5.11.3, released 18 Sept 2026 Ghost 6, self-hosted open source and Ghost(Pro) Version 6.65.0, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com Ghost Foundation (non-profit) ghost.org
Licence Closed source Proprietary Craft License, source available Open source MIT
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Craft Cloud starts at $120 per month per project and includes a Team licence. Self-hosting Vendor cloud Ghost(Pro) Starter allows only the default theme and no custom integrations.
Built with PHP, Yii 2, TwigNode.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themes
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLMySQL
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Solo free for one user. Team $279, Pro $399 per project, then $99 per year for updates. 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. Built in Project config YAML records sections, entry types and fields for Git. 7 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 6 Not available
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Matrix fields with nested entry types. 8 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 Per-site and per-language field translation on every edition. 61 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 10 Built in Ghost generates theme-defined image sizes automatically. 5
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Element API plugin. 12 Built in Content API and Admin API. 12
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 111 Not available
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Webhooks plugin. 13 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. Built in Twig templates. 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 14 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 Post date and expiry date on entries. 15 Built in Scheduled publishing only.
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Editors can view and restore revisions. 14 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 1 Built in
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 14 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. Plugin or add-on Workflow plugin by Verbb, $49. 16 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. Not available 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. Paid tier Pro. Team allows one user group. Solo has one user. 51 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 Per-field Current User Condition. Rules by user group need Pro. 65 Not available
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier First-party SAML SSO on Enterprise. 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. Not available No core log. Craft 5 audit plugins exist but are niche. 20 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 Included on every edition. 19 Not available
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in 18 Not available The admin app has no extension points.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 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 Formie by Verbb, $99. Pricing page lists forms as plugin-only. 171 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. Paid tier Public registration needs Pro. 5 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. Not available No first-party AI feature. Not available
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Third-party Craft CMS MCP plugin by Stimmt Digital. 19 Not available Community MCP servers only. 11

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

Where they differ

Craft CMS and Ghost get a different status on 17 of the 28 features and the same status on 11. Craft CMS has 14 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
Craft CMS is closed source (Proprietary Craft License, source available). Ghost is open source (MIT).

Built in on Craft CMS, a different answer on Ghost 8

  • Content model in code Craft CMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
  • Content model in the UI Craft CMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
  • Localization Craft CMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
  • GraphQL API Craft CMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
  • Drafts Craft CMS: Built in. Ghost: Limited.
  • Multiple sites Craft CMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
  • Extensible admin UI Craft CMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
  • Plugin marketplace Craft CMS: Built in. Ghost: Limited.

Built in on Ghost, a different answer on Craft CMS 4

  • REST API Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Ghost: Built in.
  • Webhooks Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Ghost: Built in.
  • Audit log Craft CMS: Not available. Ghost: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Craft CMS: Paid tier. Ghost: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • Visual editing Craft CMS: Limited. Ghost: Not available.
  • Approval workflows Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Ghost: Limited.
  • Custom roles Craft CMS: Paid tier. Ghost: Not available.
  • Field-level permissions Craft CMS: Paid tier. Ghost: Not available.
  • Form builder Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Ghost: Not available.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Craft CMS vs Payload.

Craft CMS against other platforms

Ghost against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

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