Ghost

About Ghost

Modern publishing platform purpose-built for professional creators, bloggers, and publishers. Powers 404 Media, Platformer, The Lever, and brands like Y Combinator and Kickstarter. Ghost 6.0 (2024) added ActivityPub/Social Web integration and native analytics. Built-in membership system with Stripe integration for paid subscriptions. Node.js-based with beautiful editor, native newsletters, and 0% platform fees on payments. Non-profit Ghost Foundation, 100% user-funded. **Webstudio Integration:** Content API (REST) returns JSON with posts, pages, tags, authors. Rich text returns HTML with full formatting. Supports images in rich text. Webhooks available for content updates. Can be used fully headless or with native themes. **Open Source:** Yes — MIT license. Fully open source, self-hostable. Ghost(Pro) is the official managed hosting. **Style:** Creator/publisher-focused with clean, distraction-free editor. Non-technical for content creation; technical setup required only for self-hosting or headless use. **Strengths:** - Purpose-built for publishing (blogs, newsletters, memberships) - Native paid subscriptions with 0% platform fee - Excellent editor and writing experience - Built-in newsletters and member management - Fast, SEO-optimized out of the box - ActivityPub/Social Web support (Ghost 6) **Weaknesses:** - Limited flexibility (blogging-focused, not general CMS) - No customizable content models (fixed post/page structure) - Self-hosting requires technical expertise - Fewer plugins/extensions than WordPress - Ghost(Pro) pricing scales with members **Pricing:** - **Self-hosted:** Free (open source) + hosting costs (\~$5–20/month VPS) - **Ghost(Pro) Starter:** \~$9/month (billed annually) - **Ghost(Pro) Creator:** \~$25/month (billed annually) - **Ghost(Pro) Business:** \~$199/month (higher member limits, team features) - Third-party managed hosting: $6–19/month (Magic Pages, Midnight, etc.)