CMS comparison Ghost vs Liferay DXP

Ghost vs Liferay DXP

Ghost is an open-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Liferay DXP 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 16.

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Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in
Liferay DXP Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 26 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Ghost on 29 Sept 2026, Liferay DXP 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 Liferay DXP feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Ghost Traditional	Liferay DXP 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).	Java platform for websites, portals and commerce, with a new object-based CMS. Self-hosted or run by Liferay as PaaS or SaaS.
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	Liferay DXP 2026.Q3, Enterprise Subscription. The Free Tier replaced Liferay Portal CE from 2026.Q1. Version 2026.q3.5, released 25 Sept 2026
Vendor	Ghost Foundation (non-profit) ghost.org	Liferay, Inc. liferay.com
Licence	Open source MIT	Closed source Proprietary, under the Liferay EULA. Free Tier activation key at no cost
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Ghost(Pro) Starter allows only the default theme and no custom integrations.	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Free Tier suits smaller-scale use and gets no security patches, SAML or AI Hub.
Built with	Node.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themes	Java, OSGi, React
Database	MySQL	MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, IBM Db2
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 Tier at no cost for smaller-scale use. Enterprise Subscription per server instance, price 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.	Built in Definitions export to JSON and deploy from the repo as batch client extensions. 7
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 Objects and web content structures. 6
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 Fragments on content pages. 11
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
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 Adaptive Media generates set image resolutions. 8
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content.	Built in Content API and Admin API. 12	Built in Headless REST APIs. 9
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Not available	Built in 9
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. 4 2	Built in Object actions call a webhook on add, update or delete. 10
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
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
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Built in Scheduled publishing only.	Built in Display and expiration dates.
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
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing.	Built in	Built in
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 Inline editing in the content page editor. 11
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 Kaleo workflow, also included in the Free Tier. 3
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Not available	Built in Publications group changes and publish them together. 12
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 A page locks while one editor has it open. 13
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
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Not available	Not available Permissions apply per object, entry or asset. 14
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 SAML and OpenID Connect. The Free Tier lacks SAML. 3 15
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 Audit framework with search and export of events. 16
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users.	Not available	Built in
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 Client extensions. 7
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 Liferay Marketplace. 17
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Not available Member signup forms only.	Built in Liferay Forms.
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
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content.	Not available	Built in AI Hub writing tools in the new CMS. Not in the Free Tier. 4 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	Built in Built-in MCP server released in 2026.Q3, switched on by feature flag. 19

Ghost sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Ghost 6, self-hosted open source and Ghost(Pro).

Liferay DXP sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Liferay DXP 2026.Q3, Enterprise Subscription. The Free Tier replaced Liferay Portal CE from 2026.Q1..

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

Where they differ

Ghost and Liferay DXP get a different status on 16 of the 28 features and the same status on 12. Ghost has 10 built in on its baseline edition, Liferay DXP has 26. 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). Liferay DXP is closed source (Proprietary, under the Liferay EULA. Free Tier activation key at no cost).

Built in on Liferay DXP, a different answer on Ghost 16

Content model in code Ghost: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Content model in the UI Ghost: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Localization Ghost: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
GraphQL API Ghost: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Drafts Ghost: Limited. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Visual editing Ghost: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Approval workflows Ghost: Limited. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Content releases Ghost: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Custom roles Ghost: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Single sign-on Ghost: Paid tier. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Multiple sites Ghost: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Extensible admin UI Ghost: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Plugin marketplace Ghost: Limited. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Form builder Ghost: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
AI writing assistant Ghost: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.
Official MCP server Ghost: Not available. Liferay DXP: Built in.

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