Now booking enterprise content platform builds for 2026. Contact us

Join us
Contact us

What we build

Who it's for

How we engage

Case studies

Industries

Partnerships

About

Writing

Tools

For startups Join us
Contact us
CMS comparison Ghost vs Hygraph

Ghost vs Hygraph

Ghost is an open-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Hygraph is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 20.

Book a call
  • Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in
  • Hygraph Headless · Closed source · 13 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Ghost on 29 Sept 2026, Hygraph 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
Ghost vs Hygraph feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Ghost Traditional
Hygraph Headless
Overview
What it is Open-source Node.js publishing platform with built-in newsletters, memberships and paid subscriptions. Self-hosted or run on Ghost(Pro).Hosted headless CMS run by Hygraph, formerly GraphCMS. Serves content over a GraphQL API and can pull in data from remote REST and GraphQL sources.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Ghost 6, self-hosted open source and Ghost(Pro) Version 6.65.0, released 22 Sept 2026 Hygraph SaaS, Hobby, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Ghost Foundation (non-profit) ghost.org Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) hygraph.com
Licence Open source MIT Closed source Proprietary
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Ghost(Pro) Starter allows only the default theme and no custom integrations. No self-hosting Vendor cloud Shared regions on every plan. Dedicated clusters on Enterprise.
Built with Node.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themesHosted SaaS with a GraphQL Content API
Database MySQLManaged by Hygraph
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free to self-host. Ghost(Pro) Starter $18, Publisher $29, Business $199 per month, billed yearly. Free to start Hobby free. Growth from $199 per month. Enterprise on request.
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. Not available Fixed model of posts, pages, tags and members. Limited Management SDK applies schema changes from code. No declarative schema files. 2
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Not available Built in 1
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Fixed set of editor cards plus reusable snippets. 10 Built in Components in modular fields: 10 on Hobby, 20 on Growth. 1
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Not available One content language per site. Built in Field-level locales: 2 on Hobby, 3 on Growth, up to 80 on Enterprise. 1
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in Ghost generates theme-defined image sizes automatically. 5 Built in Resize, crop and format conversion by URL or GraphQL argument. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Content API and Admin API. 12 Not available Content API is GraphQL only. 3
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available Built in 3
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in Via custom integrations. Not available on Ghost(Pro) Starter. 42 Built in 5 on Hobby, 10 on Growth. 15
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Built in Handlebars themes. Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Limited Edits to a published post go live on Update. No pending draft. 13 Built in DRAFT and PUBLISHED stages on every plan. 1
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Scheduled publishing only. Paid tier Scheduled publishing on Enterprise. 17
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Post history with one-click restore. 6 Paid tier 14 days on Growth, up to 365 on Enterprise. None on Hobby. 1
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Built in 1
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Not available The admin toolbar on the live site links to the editor. 9 Built in Click to Edit via the Hygraph Preview SDK opens the field in Studio. 6
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Limited Contributors draft and Editors publish. No configurable stages. 7 Paid tier Custom Workflows, up to 10, on Enterprise. 113
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Paid tier Releases on Enterprise. 7
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 Collaborator View shows who else is in an entry. 9
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Not available Fixed staff roles. 7 Paid tier Up to 30 custom roles on Enterprise. Hobby has 2 standard roles, Growth 4. 1
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Not available Permissions scope by model, locale, stage, environment and condition. 8
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier Ghost(Pro) Custom plan only. Not in self-hosted Ghost. 2 Paid tier Enterprise. 1
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Built in History log of staff actions. 8 Paid tier Enterprise, 90-day retention. 1
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Not available Paid tier Multitenancy on Enterprise. 1
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Not available The admin app has no extension points. Built in App Framework for custom fields, sidebars and pages. 12
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Limited Theme marketplace only. Ghost has no plugin system. 2 Built in Hygraph Marketplace. 12
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Member signup forms only. Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Built in Members with free and paid tiers. 3 Not available
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available Built in AI Assist on every plan, with a monthly AI token allowance. 110
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Community MCP servers only. 11 Built in Global endpoint at mcp.hygraph.com and per-project endpoints. Also a Claude connector. 111415

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

Where they differ

Ghost and Hygraph get a different status on 20 of the 28 features and the same status on 8. Ghost has 10 built in on its baseline edition, Hygraph has 13. 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
Ghost is open source (MIT). Hygraph is closed source (Proprietary).
Self-hosting
Ghost can be self-hosted. Hygraph cannot be self-hosted.

Built in on Ghost, a different answer on Hygraph 6

  • REST API Ghost: Built in. Hygraph: Not available.
  • Renders the website Ghost: Built in. Hygraph: Not available.
  • Scheduled publishing Ghost: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Version history Ghost: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Audit log Ghost: Built in. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Site member accounts Ghost: Built in. Hygraph: Not available.

Built in on Hygraph, a different answer on Ghost 9

  • Content model in the UI Ghost: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Localization Ghost: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
  • GraphQL API Ghost: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Drafts Ghost: Limited. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Visual editing Ghost: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Extensible admin UI Ghost: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Plugin marketplace Ghost: Limited. Hygraph: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Ghost: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Ghost: Not available. Hygraph: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 5

  • Content model in code Ghost: Not available. Hygraph: Limited.
  • Approval workflows Ghost: Limited. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Ghost: Not available. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Custom roles Ghost: Not available. Hygraph: Paid tier.
  • Multiple sites Ghost: Not available. Hygraph: Paid tier.

More comparisons

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

Ghost against other platforms

Hygraph against other platforms

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

We're booking content platform
engagements for 2026.

Twenty-five minutes to walk through the work and decide if we're the right team for it. Scoping and a fixed price come after.

Book a 25-min call Or email us instead