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 Xperience by Kentico

Ghost vs Xperience by Kentico

Ghost is an open-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Xperience by Kentico is a closed-source enterprise DXP 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 19.

Book a call
  • Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in
  • Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Ghost on 29 Sept 2026, Xperience by Kentico 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 Xperience by Kentico feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Ghost Traditional
Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP
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).Kentico's .NET digital experience platform for websites, email and headless channels, sold as Kentico-hosted SaaS or a private-cloud licence.
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 Xperience by Kentico Version 31.9.0, released 24 Sept 2026
Vendor Ghost Foundation (non-profit) ghost.org Kentico kentico.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. Self-hosting Vendor cloud
Built with Node.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themes.NET, ASP.NET Core
Database MySQLMicrosoft SQL Server
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. No free option Pricing on request. Licensed per channel in Standard and Advanced tiers, plus AIRA credit packages.
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. Built in Continuous Integration serializes content types to files in the repository. 3
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 Field editor in the Content types application.
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 Page Builder widgets and sections, plus reusable content items.
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 Language variants per page and content item.
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 Image variants with configured crops and sizes. 4
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in Content API and Admin API. 12 Limited The Management REST API is for local development only. Headless delivery is GraphQL. 56
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available Paid tier Headless channels need the Advanced tier. 6
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 No outgoing webhooks. Content events need custom handler code. 7
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 ASP.NET Core website channels.
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 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 Schedule publish and unpublish. 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 View and restore previously published versions. 9
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in Built in Preview mode and shareable preview URLs.
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 Page Builder.
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 Custom workflow steps with role permissions. 10
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Limited Cascade publishing sends linked items with the parent. No standalone release bundles. 11
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 Content locking lets one user edit an item at a time. 12
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 Roles with application, workspace and page permissions. 13
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Not available Not available Permissions stop at application, workspace and page level. 13
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 Built in OpenID Connect for the administration, for example Microsoft Entra ID. 14
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 Limited Event log records system events. Version history shows who changed versioned items. 159
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Not available Paid tier Several main website channels need the Advanced tier. Standard adds only microchannels. 2
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 Custom React UI pages and form components. 16
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 Integrations directory on the Kentico Community portal. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Member signup forms only. Built in Form Builder.
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 Members with registration, login and member roles. 18
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available Built in AIRA text generation and translation on both tiers. Licences include 200,000 credits a year. 219
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 Limited Management MCP server works on local development instances only. 205

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

Where they differ

Ghost and Xperience by Kentico get a different status on 19 of the 28 features and the same status on 9. Ghost has 10 built in on its baseline edition, Xperience by Kentico has 19. 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). Xperience by Kentico is closed source (Proprietary).
Free option
Ghost has a free option. Xperience by Kentico has no free option.

Built in on Ghost, a different answer on Xperience by Kentico 3

  • REST API Ghost: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.
  • Webhooks Ghost: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Not available.
  • Audit log Ghost: Built in. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.

Built in on Xperience by Kentico, a different answer on Ghost 12

  • Content model in code Ghost: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Content model in the UI Ghost: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Localization Ghost: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Drafts Ghost: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Visual editing Ghost: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Approval workflows Ghost: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Custom roles Ghost: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Single sign-on Ghost: Paid tier. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Extensible admin UI Ghost: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Plugin marketplace Ghost: Limited. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • Form builder Ghost: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Ghost: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

  • GraphQL API Ghost: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Ghost: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.
  • Multiple sites Ghost: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier.
  • Official MCP server Ghost: Not available. Xperience by Kentico: Limited.

More comparisons

Ghost against other platforms

Xperience by Kentico 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