Ghost vs Prismic
Ghost is an open-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Prismic 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 16.
- Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in
- Prismic Headless · Closed source · 16 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Ghost on 29 Sept 2026, Prismic 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 | Open-source Node.js publishing platform with built-in newsletters, memberships and paid subscriptions. Self-hosted or run on Ghost(Pro). | Hosted headless page builder where marketers compose pages from developer-built slices. Run by Prismic, with SDKs for Next.js, Nuxt and SvelteKit. |
| 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 | Prismic SaaS, Free to Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated |
| Vendor | Ghost Foundation (non-profit) ghost.org | Prismic prismic.io |
| 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 |
| Built with | Node.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themes | SaaS with SDKs for Next.js, Nuxt and SvelteKit |
| Database | MySQL | Managed by Prismic |
| 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 plan. Starter $10, Small $25, Medium $150, Platinum $675 per repository 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. | Not available Fixed model of posts, pages, tags and members. | Built in Model files live in the project. The Prismic CLI pushes and pulls them. 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 Type Builder in the web app. 3 |
| 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 Slices with variations. 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 2 locales on Free, 8 on Platinum, custom 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 Image optimization and processing on all plans. 1 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in Content API and Admin API. 12 | Built in Document API. 15 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Not available | Built in 15 |
| 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 6 |
| 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 |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Built in Scheduled publishing only. | Built in Scheduled through releases on every plan. 18 |
| 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 Full revision history on every plan. 1 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in | Built in Shareable previews on every plan. 17 |
| 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 shows live slice previews from your site next to the fields. 7 |
| 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 | Limited Writer and Publisher roles from Medium. No configurable review stages. 9 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Not available | Built in Up to 200 pages per release. 8 |
| 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 In progress with a waitlist. A status indicator shows who is editing. 10 |
| 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 | Limited Enterprise only. Fixed Read-only, Writer or Publisher levels set per locale. No role builder. 19 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Not available | Not available |
| 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. 19 |
| 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 | Not available Not documented publicly. |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Not available | Built in Each site is a repository on its own plan. Spaces group content inside one. 111 |
| 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. | Limited Integration fields load external catalog data into a picker. No custom UI code. 12 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Limited Theme marketplace only. Ghost has no plugin system. 2 | Not available Integration guides only. No installable marketplace. 13 |
| 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 | Limited Beta on request: AI translation and SEO metadata suggestions. 114 |
| 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 Hosted at mcp.prismic.io, activated per repository. 15 |
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)
Prismic sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Prismic SaaS, Free to Enterprise plans.
- Prismic pricing and plan comparison
- Prismic CLI
- Prismic Type Builder
- Prismic slices
- Prismic API references
- Prismic webhooks
- Prismic previews and live previews
- Prismic releases
- Prismic users and permissions
- Prismic update: real-time collaboration
- Prismic: organize pages with spaces
- Prismic integration field
- Prismic integrations
- Prismic AI (beta)
- Prismic MCP server
Considering more platforms? Compare Ghost and Prismic with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Ghost and Prismic 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, Prismic has 16. 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). Prismic is closed source (Proprietary).
- Self-hosting
- Ghost can be self-hosted. Prismic cannot be self-hosted.
Built in on Ghost, a different answer on Prismic 3
- Renders the website Ghost: Built in. Prismic: Not available.
- Audit log Ghost: Built in. Prismic: Not available.
- Site member accounts Ghost: Built in. Prismic: Not available.
Built in on Prismic, a different answer on Ghost 9
- Content model in code Ghost: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Content model in the UI Ghost: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Localization Ghost: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- GraphQL API Ghost: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Drafts Ghost: Limited. Prismic: Built in.
- Visual editing Ghost: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Content releases Ghost: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Multiple sites Ghost: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
- Official MCP server Ghost: Not available. Prismic: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 4
- Custom roles Ghost: Not available. Prismic: Limited.
- Extensible admin UI Ghost: Not available. Prismic: Limited.
- Plugin marketplace Ghost: Limited. Prismic: Not available.
- AI writing assistant Ghost: Not available. Prismic: Limited.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Prismic vs Payload.
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Prismic against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Prismic
- Contentful vs Prismic
- Contentstack vs Prismic
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Prismic
- Craft CMS vs Prismic
- DatoCMS vs Prismic
- Decap CMS vs Prismic
- Directus vs Prismic
- Drupal vs Prismic
- EmDash vs Prismic
- FirstSpirit vs Prismic
- Framer vs Prismic
- HubSpot CMS vs Prismic
- Hygraph vs Prismic
- Instatic vs Prismic
- Joomla vs Prismic
- Keystone vs Prismic
- Kirby vs Prismic
- Liferay DXP vs Prismic
- Optimizely CMS vs Prismic
- Prismic vs Payload
- Prismic vs Progress Sitefinity
- Prismic vs Sanity
- Prismic vs Sitecore
- Prismic vs Squarespace
- Prismic vs Statamic
- Prismic vs Storyblok
- Prismic vs Strapi
- Prismic vs TYPO3
- Prismic vs Umbraco
- Prismic vs Wagtail
- Prismic vs Webflow
- Prismic vs Wix
- Prismic vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Prismic
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