Ghost vs Wix
Ghost is an open-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Wix is a closed-source site builder that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 18.
- Ghost Traditional · Open source · 10 of 28 built in
- Wix Site builder · Closed source · 21 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Ghost on 29 Sept 2026, Wix 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 website builder with a CMS, business apps and hosting, run by Wix.com Ltd. Wix Studio adds an editor and workspace for agencies. |
| 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 | Wix website builder with Wix CMS, in Wix Editor and Wix Studio SaaS, continuously updated |
| Vendor | Ghost Foundation (non-profit) ghost.org | Wix.com Ltd. wix.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 Wix Headless serves the same content to a frontend you host. |
| Built with | Node.js, JavaScript, Handlebars themes | Hosted SaaS, JavaScript through the Wix IDE, CLI and SDK |
| Database | MySQL | Wix CMS collections, managed by Wix |
| 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. Light $17, Core $29, Business $39, Business Elite $159 per month billed yearly in the US. |
| 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. | Limited Only Wix CLI apps and headless projects define collections in TypeScript files. 13 |
| 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 20 |
| 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 Editors add and reorder sections and saved components on the canvas. |
| 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 Wix Multilingual, with manual or automatic translation. 14 |
| 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 Resize and crop through image URL parameters. 15 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in Content API and Admin API. 12 | Built in Data Items REST API. 3 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Not available | Built in GraphQL endpoint over the same data as the REST API. 4 |
| 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 App webhooks, or an HTTP request step in Wix Automations. 16 |
| 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 Draft status on CMS items, on by default for new collections. 11 |
| 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 status changes on CMS items. 11 |
| 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 CMS keeps weekly and manual collection backups. Restores replace whole collections. 9 |
| 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 |
| 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 Approvals for site changes in the Wix Studio enterprise solution. 8 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Not available | Limited Release Manager publishes whole site versions and test sites. No grouped item releases. 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 | Built in Built into the Studio Editor. 7 |
| 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 Not every permission is available to custom roles. 619 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Not available | Not available CMS permissions apply per collection. 20 |
| 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 OpenID Connect only, with the Wix Studio enterprise solution. 10 |
| 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 One account or Studio workspace manages many sites, each on its own plan. |
| 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 Dashboard extensions add custom pages and widgets. 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 Wix App Market. |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Not available Member signup forms only. | Built in Wix 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 Members Area handles sign-up and login. |
| AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. | Not available | Built in AI text creator in the Wix and Studio editors. 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 Wix MCP for docs, code and site API calls. 5 |
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)
Wix sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Wix website builder with Wix CMS, in Wix Editor and Wix Studio.
- Wix plans and pricing
- Wix blog: Wix Premium plans (May 2026)
- Wix Data Items API
- The Wix GraphQL API
- The Wix MCP
- Wix Help: creating custom roles for collaborators
- Wix Help: Studio Editor collaborating on a site
- Wix Help: enterprise approvals for site changes
- Wix Help: restoring CMS collections with backups
- Wix Help: SSO login for your organization
- Wix Help: managing collection item statuses
- Wix Help: Release Manager
- Wix CLI: data collections extension files
- Wix Help: Wix Multilingual overview
- Wix Media: URL image transformation
- Wix Developers: about webhooks
- Wix Developers: about dashboard extensions
- Wix Help: Studio Editor AI text creator
- Wix Help: inviting collaborators
- Wix Help: CMS overview
Considering more platforms? Compare Ghost and Wix with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Ghost and Wix get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. Ghost has 10 built in on its baseline edition, Wix has 21. 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). Wix is closed source (Proprietary).
- Self-hosting
- Ghost can be self-hosted. Wix cannot be self-hosted.
Built in on Ghost, a different answer on Wix 2
- Version history Ghost: Built in. Wix: Limited.
- Audit log Ghost: Built in. Wix: Not available.
Built in on Wix, a different answer on Ghost 13
- Content model in the UI Ghost: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Localization Ghost: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- GraphQL API Ghost: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Drafts Ghost: Limited. Wix: Built in.
- Visual editing Ghost: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Real-time co-editing Ghost: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Custom roles Ghost: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Multiple sites Ghost: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Extensible admin UI Ghost: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Plugin marketplace Ghost: Limited. Wix: Built in.
- Form builder Ghost: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- AI writing assistant Ghost: Not available. Wix: Built in.
- Official MCP server Ghost: Not available. Wix: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 3
- Content model in code Ghost: Not available. Wix: Limited.
- Approval workflows Ghost: Limited. Wix: Paid tier.
- Content releases Ghost: Not available. Wix: Limited.
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Wix against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Wix
- Contentful vs Wix
- Contentstack vs Wix
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Wix
- Craft CMS vs Wix
- DatoCMS vs Wix
- Decap CMS vs Wix
- Directus vs Wix
- Drupal vs Wix
- EmDash vs Wix
- FirstSpirit vs Wix
- Framer vs Wix
- HubSpot CMS vs Wix
- Hygraph vs Wix
- Instatic vs Wix
- Joomla vs Wix
- Keystone vs Wix
- Kirby vs Wix
- Liferay DXP vs Wix
- Optimizely CMS vs Wix
- Wix vs Payload
- Prismic vs Wix
- Progress Sitefinity vs Wix
- Sanity vs Wix
- Sitecore vs Wix
- Squarespace vs Wix
- Statamic vs Wix
- Storyblok vs Wix
- Strapi vs Wix
- TYPO3 vs Wix
- Umbraco vs Wix
- Wagtail vs Wix
- Webflow vs Wix
- Wix vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Wix
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