DatoCMS vs Ghost
DatoCMS 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 18.
- DatoCMS Headless · Closed source · 16 of 28 built in
- Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in
Sources checked: DatoCMS 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 DatoCMS. It delivers content over a GraphQL API, with a REST API for content management. | 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. | DatoCMS SaaS, Free, Professional and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated | Ghost 6, self-hosted open source and Ghost(Pro) Version 6.65.0, released 22 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | DatoCMS datocms.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 GraphQL delivery and REST management APIs, TypeScript client | Node.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themes |
| Database | Managed by DatoCMS | MySQL |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Free plan. Professional €149 per month billed annually, or €199 monthly. 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 DatoCMS CLI, auto-generated from environment diffs. 12 | 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 Block library used in modular content and Structured Text fields. 1 | 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 Field-level locales, 5 included and up to 10 with paid add-ons. 1 | 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 Images API with imgix URL parameters. 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 REST Content Management API reads records. Delivery is GraphQL. 111 | Built in Content API and Admin API. 12 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Built in 1 | Not available |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Built in 1 | 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 1 | 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 1 | Built in Scheduled publishing only. |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Limited History kept 3 days on Free, 60 days on Professional. 1 | 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 17 | 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 Click-to-edit overlays on the site in draft mode. 17 | 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 Editorial workflows with stage permissions on Enterprise. 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. | Limited Publishing a record can also publish its linked records. No standalone releases. 1 | 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 Presence and live updates, but a record locks while one editor edits it. 4 | Not available |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Built in Projects include Admin and Editor roles and can create additional roles. The Free plan is limited to 2 editor seats. 15 | 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 Rules apply per model, creator, locale and workflow stage. Locale rules need Enterprise. 5 | Not available |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Paid tier Enterprise, with SCIM provisioning. 1 | 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. | Paid tier Enterprise. 1 | 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 projects per site. 3 on Free, extra projects €39 a month on Professional. 1 | Not available |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in Plugin SDK for field editors, sidebars and custom pages. 1 | Not available The admin app has no extension points. |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in DatoCMS Marketplace. 19 | 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 Translations plugin with your own OpenAI, Gemini, Claude or DeepL key. 89 | Not available |
| Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. | Built in Remote MCP server at mcp.datocms.com. 10 | Not available Community MCP servers only. 11 |
DatoCMS sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. DatoCMS SaaS, Free, Professional and Enterprise plans.
- DatoCMS pricing
- DatoCMS docs: Write and test migration scripts
- DatoCMS docs: Images API
- DatoCMS docs: Record-level collaboration, presence and locking
- DatoCMS docs: Project collaborators, roles and permissions
- DatoCMS docs: Workflows
- DatoCMS docs: Visual Editing
- DatoCMS docs: Translating content with AI
- DatoCMS Marketplace: AI Translations plugin
- DatoCMS docs: MCP Server
- DatoCMS Content Management API: Record
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 DatoCMS and Ghost with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
DatoCMS and Ghost get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. DatoCMS has 16 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
- DatoCMS is closed source (Proprietary). Ghost is open source (MIT).
- Self-hosting
- DatoCMS cannot be self-hosted. Ghost can be self-hosted.
Built in on DatoCMS, a different answer on Ghost 10
- Content model in the UI DatoCMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- Localization DatoCMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- GraphQL API DatoCMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- Drafts DatoCMS: Built in. Ghost: Limited.
- Visual editing DatoCMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- Custom roles DatoCMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- Multiple sites DatoCMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- Extensible admin UI DatoCMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
- Plugin marketplace DatoCMS: Built in. Ghost: Limited.
- Official MCP server DatoCMS: Built in. Ghost: Not available.
Built in on Ghost, a different answer on DatoCMS 4
- Renders the website DatoCMS: Not available. Ghost: Built in.
- Version history DatoCMS: Limited. Ghost: Built in.
- Audit log DatoCMS: Paid tier. Ghost: Built in.
- Site member accounts DatoCMS: Not available. Ghost: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 4
- Content model in code DatoCMS: Limited. Ghost: Not available.
- Approval workflows DatoCMS: Paid tier. Ghost: Limited.
- Content releases DatoCMS: Limited. Ghost: Not available.
- AI writing assistant DatoCMS: Plugin or add-on. Ghost: Not available.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: DatoCMS vs Payload.
DatoCMS against other platforms
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- DatoCMS vs HubSpot CMS
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- DatoCMS vs Joomla
- DatoCMS vs Keystone
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- DatoCMS vs Squarespace
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- DatoCMS vs TYPO3
- DatoCMS vs Umbraco
- DatoCMS vs Wagtail
- DatoCMS vs Webflow
- DatoCMS vs Wix
- DatoCMS vs WordPress
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Ghost against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Ghost
- Contentful vs Ghost
- Contentstack vs Ghost
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Ghost
- Craft CMS 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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