Ghost vs WordPress
| Feature | Ghost | WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Web & CMS | Web & CMS |
| Sub-category | CMS | CMS |
| Maturity | stable | mature |
| Complexity | intermediate | beginner |
| Performance tier | medium | medium |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| License type | permissive | copyleft |
| Pricing | fully free | fully free |
| GitHub stars | 48.0K | 0 |
| Contributors | 0 | 0 |
| Commit frequency | weekly | weekly |
| Plugin ecosystem | none | massive |
| Docs quality | good | good |
| Backing org | Ghost Foundation | Automattic |
| Funding model | foundation | open_core |
| Min RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Min CPU cores | 1 | 1 |
| Scaling pattern | single_node | single_node |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| K8s native | No | No |
| Offline capable | No | No |
| Vendor lock-in | none | none |
| Languages | Node.js | PHP |
| API type | REST | REST |
| Protocols | HTTP | HTTP |
| Deployment | docker, npm | docker, apt |
| SDK languages | — | — |
| Team size fit | solo, small, medium, enterprise | solo, small, medium, enterprise |
| First release | 2020 | 2020 |
| Latest version | — | — |
When to use Ghost
- ✓ Primary: content-publishing
- ✓ Primary: newsletter-management
- ✓ Primary: membership-sites
When to use WordPress
- ✓ Business websites with custom themes
- ✓ E-commerce with WooCommerce
- ✓ Blog and content publishing
- ✓ Membership and online course sites
Ghost anti-patterns
WordPress anti-patterns
- ✕ Security vulnerabilities if not maintained
- ✕ Plugin conflicts common
- ✕ Performance degrades with many plugins
- ✕ PHP-based — less modern than headless options