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CMS comparison Ghost vs Joomla

Ghost vs Joomla

Ghost is an open-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Joomla is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 14.

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  • Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in
  • Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Ghost on 29 Sept 2026, Joomla 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 Joomla feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Ghost Traditional
Joomla Traditional
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).Open-source PHP CMS built around articles, custom fields, core multilingual support and group-based access control. Self-hosted.
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 Joomla 6.1, open source. Joomla 5.4 is still maintained. Version 6.1.3, released 18 Aug 2026
Vendor Ghost Foundation (non-profit) ghost.org Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla project) joomla.org
Licence Open source MIT Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Ghost(Pro) Starter allows only the default theme and no custom integrations. Self-hosting No vendor cloud The project's launch.joomla.org offers free hosted sites through a hosting partner.
Built with Node.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themesPHP
Database MySQLMySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL
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 Free and open source. Hosting and commercial extensions cost extra.
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. Not available Fields live in the database. A new content type means writing a component.
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Not available Limited Custom fields on articles, contacts, users and categories. No new content types. 5
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 Limited Modules placed in template positions. No page-level block editor in core. 4
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 Per-item language with multilingual associations. 7
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 Limited Manual crop and resize in Media. No generated sizes or URL transforms. 9
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Content API and Admin API. 12 Built in Web Services API with token authentication. 10
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available Not available
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 Not available None in core. Only small third-party extensions. 19
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. Built in Template system, with Cassiopeia as the default.
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 Limited Unpublished items only. Saving a published article updates it live. 8
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Scheduled publishing only. Built in Start and finish publishing dates. 8
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 Built in Compare and restore. Includes custom field values since 6.0. 34
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Limited Backend Preview shows the last saved version of an article. 8
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 Limited Front-end editing opens the article or module form on the site. 4
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 Built in Workflows component, off by default. Visual workflow editor since 6.1. 112
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 Joomla checks out and locks an item while someone edits it.
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 Built in User groups, access levels and ACL. 4
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Built in Per-field Edit Custom Field Value permission. 6
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 Plugin or add-on SAML or OIDC extensions from the JED. Core authenticates against LDAP only. 1314
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 Built in User Actions Log. 12
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Not available Not available One site per install. Third-party multisite extensions only. 15
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 Components, modules, plugins and custom field types.
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 Joomla Extensions Directory, the JED. 14
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Member signup forms only. Limited Contact forms accept custom fields. Core emails submissions and does not store them. 20
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 Built in Front-end registration and login. 4
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available Not available No first-party AI. Third-party extensions such as 4AI. 18
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 Not available Third-party only, e.g. Onepoint's MCP Server for Joomla. 16

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

Where they differ

Ghost and Joomla get a different status on 14 of the 28 features and the same status on 14. Ghost has 10 built in on its baseline edition, Joomla has 12. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Vendor cloud
Ghost has a vendor-run cloud. Joomla has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Ghost, a different answer on Joomla 4

  • Reusable blocks Ghost: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Image transformations Ghost: Built in. Joomla: Limited.
  • Webhooks Ghost: Built in. Joomla: Not available.
  • Preview Ghost: Built in. Joomla: Limited.

Built in on Joomla, a different answer on Ghost 6

  • Localization Ghost: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Approval workflows Ghost: Limited. Joomla: Built in.
  • Custom roles Ghost: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions Ghost: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Extensible admin UI Ghost: Not available. Joomla: Built in.
  • Plugin marketplace Ghost: Limited. Joomla: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

  • Content model in the UI Ghost: Not available. Joomla: Limited.
  • Visual editing Ghost: Not available. Joomla: Limited.
  • Single sign-on Ghost: Paid tier. Joomla: Plugin or add-on.
  • Form builder Ghost: Not available. Joomla: Limited.

More comparisons

Ghost against other platforms

Joomla against other platforms

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

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