Ghost vs Storyblok
Ghost is an open-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Storyblok 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.
- Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in
- Storyblok Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Ghost on 29 Sept 2026, Storyblok 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 CMS with a Visual Editor where editors compose pages from developer-defined blocks. Run by Storyblok GmbH. |
| 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 | Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans SaaS, continuously updated |
| Vendor | Ghost Foundation (non-profit) ghost.org | Storyblok GmbH storyblok.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 Spaces run in Storyblok's EU, US, Canada or Australia regions. |
| Built with | Node.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themes | SaaS, JavaScript SDKs and CLI |
| Database | MySQL | Managed by Storyblok |
| 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 Starter free. Growth $99, Growth Plus $349 per space per month. Premium and Elite 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 The CLI pulls and pushes JSON component schemas. Typed @storyblok/schema is in preview. 234 |
| 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 Nestable blocks inside stories. 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 Starter includes 2 locales. Growth adds locales at $20 each per month. 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 Service 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 Content Delivery API and Management API. 1 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Not available | Paid tier GraphQL Content Delivery API on Premium and Elite. 1 |
| 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 3 webhooks on Starter, 5 on Growth, 15 on Premium. 1 |
| 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. | Paid tier Single story scheduling from Growth. Growth allows 2 scheduled stories, Premium 100. 1 |
| 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 | Limited Starter keeps 1 day of versions. Growth 30 days, Premium 180, Elite unlimited. 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 Visual Editor on all plans. 1 |
| 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 and stages on Premium and Elite. Lower plans get fixed default stages. 1 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Not available | Paid tier 20 releases on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 1 |
| 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 Comments and content locking. No simultaneous editing of one story. 110 |
| 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 10 custom roles on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 15 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Not available | Paid tier Field permissions come with custom roles on Premium and Elite. 15 |
| 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 Premium and Elite. 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 | Limited Activity log on all plans. Starter keeps 1 day, Growth 30 days, Elite unlimited. 1 |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Not available | Built in One account can own many spaces, each on its own plan. 6 |
| 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 Field plugins on all plans. Tool and space plugins on Premium and Elite. 17 |
| 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 Storyblok App Directory. 8 |
| 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 content generation and translation on all plans, metered by AI credits. 1 |
| 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 server over the Management API. 9 |
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)
Storyblok sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans.
- Storyblok pricing and plan comparison
- Storyblok CLI documentation
- Sneak peek: type-safe schemas with @storyblok/schema (July 2026)
- Storyblok CLI: components push
- Storyblok roles manual
- Storyblok spaces concept
- Storyblok plugins introduction
- Storyblok App Directory
- Storyblok MCP server documentation
- Storyblok tutorial: building real-time collaboration with Tiptap and Yjs
Considering more platforms? Compare Ghost and Storyblok with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Ghost and Storyblok 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, Storyblok has 15. 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). Storyblok is closed source (Proprietary).
- Self-hosting
- Ghost can be self-hosted. Storyblok cannot be self-hosted.
Built in on Ghost, a different answer on Storyblok 5
- Renders the website Ghost: Built in. Storyblok: Not available.
- Scheduled publishing Ghost: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
- Version history Ghost: Built in. Storyblok: Limited.
- Audit log Ghost: Built in. Storyblok: Limited.
- Site member accounts Ghost: Built in. Storyblok: Not available.
Built in on Storyblok, a different answer on Ghost 10
- Content model in code Ghost: Not available. Storyblok: Built in.
- Content model in the UI Ghost: Not available. Storyblok: Built in.
- Localization Ghost: Not available. Storyblok: Built in.
- Drafts Ghost: Limited. Storyblok: Built in.
- Visual editing Ghost: Not available. Storyblok: Built in.
- Multiple sites Ghost: Not available. Storyblok: Built in.
- Extensible admin UI Ghost: Not available. Storyblok: Built in.
- Plugin marketplace Ghost: Limited. Storyblok: Built in.
- AI writing assistant Ghost: Not available. Storyblok: Built in.
- Official MCP server Ghost: Not available. Storyblok: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 5
- GraphQL API Ghost: Not available. Storyblok: Paid tier.
- Approval workflows Ghost: Limited. Storyblok: Paid tier.
- Content releases Ghost: Not available. Storyblok: Paid tier.
- Custom roles Ghost: Not available. Storyblok: Paid tier.
- Field-level permissions Ghost: Not available. Storyblok: Paid tier.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Storyblok vs Payload.
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Storyblok against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Storyblok
- Contentful vs Storyblok
- Contentstack vs Storyblok
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Storyblok
- Craft CMS vs Storyblok
- DatoCMS vs Storyblok
- Decap CMS vs Storyblok
- Directus vs Storyblok
- Drupal vs Storyblok
- EmDash vs Storyblok
- FirstSpirit vs Storyblok
- Framer vs Storyblok
- HubSpot CMS vs Storyblok
- Hygraph vs Storyblok
- Instatic vs Storyblok
- Joomla vs Storyblok
- Keystone vs Storyblok
- Kirby vs Storyblok
- Liferay DXP vs Storyblok
- Optimizely CMS vs Storyblok
- Storyblok vs Payload
- Prismic vs Storyblok
- Progress Sitefinity vs Storyblok
- Sanity vs Storyblok
- Sitecore vs Storyblok
- Squarespace vs Storyblok
- Statamic vs Storyblok
- Storyblok vs Strapi
- Storyblok vs TYPO3
- Storyblok vs Umbraco
- Storyblok vs Wagtail
- Storyblok vs Webflow
- Storyblok vs Wix
- Storyblok vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Storyblok
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