Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Approximated VS Ghost

Compare Approximated VS Ghost and see what are their differences

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Approximated logo Approximated

Reliably automate custom domains at scale with SSL for SAAS, marketplaces, platform, and web apps

Ghost logo Ghost

Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.
  • Approximated Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-11-26

Easy to setup, simple to automate

Approximated treats convenience and simplicity as a first class citizen, going the extra mile to make every step as easy as possible to integrate.

How it works

Approximated creates a dedicated cluster just for you, with edge servers in regions all over the world. These proxy traffic for custom domains to your app at any scale with incredibly low latency.

  1. Create your dedicated cluster Approximated spins up a dedicated cluster, with nodes distributed globally. Traffic is automatically routed through the region nearest users for lightning fast response times. All you need to do is name it.

  2. Call the API, or use the dashboard Connecting a custom domain takes one API call to Approximated. Or, use the dashboard to do the same thing any time. The dashboard will even show you what that would look like as an API call.

  3. Point the domain(s) All that's needed is one DNS A record pointed at your cluster's dedicated IP address. Approximated will automatically create and manage SSL certificates for every domain.

Managed & maintained for you

Convenience isn't enough when it comes to handling custom domains in production - everything needs to be rock solid and reliable.

Approximated has constant monitoring, globally distributed servers, and automatically self-healing clusters so that it's ultra reliable.

Sophisticated monitoring at every level

Approximated is always monitoring the SSL status, DNS resolution, proxy hit status, and more for every domain. No external monitoring or infrastucture required - Approximated includes this for free.

Self-healing clusters with intelligent routing

Frequent health checks for every region of your cluster allow Approximated to find and heal any potentials issues before you or your users run into them. Traffic is automatically be routed to the nearest working region during any repairs to avoid any downtime.

  • Ghost Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-10

Approximated

$ Details
paid Free Trial $20.0 / Monthly ($20 minimum, 20 cents per custom domain, volume discounts)
Release Date
2021 March

Ghost

Website
ghost.org
$ Details
paid Free Trial $36.0 / Monthly (100k views/month, 2 users)
Release Date
-
Startup details
Country
United Kingdom

Approximated features and specs

  • Dedicated clusters
  • Dedicated IPv4 per cluster
  • Globally distributed cluster nodes for low latency
  • Automatic SSL certificate provisioning/renewal
  • Automatic monitoring
  • Unlimited custom domains
  • Unlimited target hosts/servers/origins

Ghost features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Ghost offers a clean and intuitive interface that makes content management straightforward, even for those without technical expertise.
  • Speed and Performance
    Ghost is built on modern technology like Node.js which makes it faster and more efficient compared to some traditional CMS platforms.
  • SEO Optimized
    Ghost comes built-in with SEO features like clean URLs, meta tags, and sitemaps which help in improving search engine rankings.
  • Customizable Themes
    Ghost supports a variety of themes that can be easily customized to fit the branding and functionality needs of a website.
  • Markdown Support
    Content creation in Ghost is made easy with Markdown support, allowing writers to focus on text rather than formatting.

Possible disadvantages of Ghost

  • Limited Plugin Ecosystem
    Compared to WordPress, Ghost has a more limited selection of plugins, which might restrict some functionalities users are looking for.
  • Higher Hosting Costs
    Ghost's official hosting is relatively expensive, making it less suitable for users on a tight budget.
  • Technical Knowledge Requirement
    While Ghost is user-friendly, setting it up on a custom server can require a higher level of technical knowledge compared to some other platforms.
  • Less Community Support
    The user community for Ghost is smaller compared to more established platforms like WordPress, which can make it harder to find support and resources.
  • Limited Ecommerce Capabilities
    Ghost is primarily a publishing platform and lacks the more advanced eCommerce functionalities that other CMS platforms might offer out of the box.

Analysis of Ghost

Overall verdict

  • Ghost is a highly regarded platform for serious bloggers and publishers who want a minimalistic yet powerful content management system. It is especially beneficial for those who prefer a distraction-free writing environment with the capability to scale and customize as their needs grow.

Why this product is good

  • Ghost is a popular open-source platform designed for professional bloggers and publishers. It is known for its clean design, speed, and ease of use. Ghost offers robust features for content creation, management, and distribution while focusing on providing an optimal writing experience. Additionally, Ghost is built on modern technology stacks and offers flexibility through themes and integrations. It also supports membership and subscription models, making it ideal for those looking to monetize their content.

Recommended for

  • Professional bloggers
  • Content creators looking for a minimalist interface
  • Publishers seeking to monetize their content
  • Developers looking for an open-source platform
  • Organizations that require a fast and reliable CMS
  • Writers who value a focused writing experience

Approximated videos

No Approximated videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Ghost videos

Why I Moved My Blog From WordPress to Ghost

More videos:

  • Review - Ghost review - CMS for creators to build a membership

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Approximated and Ghost)
SSL Certificates
100 100%
0% 0
Blogging
0 0%
100% 100
API
100 100%
0% 0
CMS
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Approximated and Ghost.

What makes your product unique?

Approximated's answer

Approximated makes it extremely easy to add a custom domains feature to any web app, SAAS, marketplace, or platform.

Often, companies can be integrated and live within a few days or less. It's very cost effective, making use of economies of scale and expertise to offer a complete solution at a tiny fraction of the cost to build the same features in house.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Approximated's answer

Approximated is both easier to integrate, and more cost effective than competitors.

It offers all of the features you care about without building in the cost of those that you don't:

  • Hours or days to integrate, instead of weeks or months
  • You can start small, at a very low price
  • You can scale up to any size without any extra steps
  • You get automatic volume discounts as you scale up, instead of being forced into various enterprise agreements
  • Talk to real developers on staff instead of sales people, if you want
  • Your cluster is dedicated only to you, instead of shared with everyone else like competitors

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Approximated's answer

Startups, Scale-ups, dev teams, and devops teams who want to get a custom domains feature launched this week, with rock solid reliability and genuine developer support.

User comments

Share your experience with using Approximated and Ghost. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Approximated and Ghost

Approximated Reviews

We have no reviews of Approximated yet.
Be the first one to post

Ghost Reviews

Comparing 9 WordPress alternatives & competitors in 2024
Ghost specializes in creating a monetized blogging platform. Based on their subscription status, readers can create user profiles, sign up for newsletters, and browse your entire blogging calendar. The platformโ€™s singular focus on blogging makes it great for individuals and small teams, but it lacks features like real-time collaboration that are necessary for larger companies.
Source: webflow.com
19 Best WordPress Alternatives in 2025
Ghost is known for its simplicity and focus on content creation. It's a great option for writers and creators who want a clean and distraction-free environment to publish their work.
Source: www.pixpa.com
7 Best Buy Me a Coffee Alternatives
If you donโ€™t already have a website, Ghost may be an appealing option as a Patreon alternative. However, customizations are limited, and youโ€™ll need to choose a pre-built design from the theme library. There are a few themes available, but most are priced from around $80 to $150. The Ghost API also gives you a way to publish content you create on the platform to another...
Source: wpforms.com
Top 10 Web Content Management Systems
Ghost is here as one of the first entries that can be classified as a pure headless CMS. Ghost is not only one of the best headless CMS options, but it also does so while being focused primarily on the blogger community. So if you have or are thinking about starting a large blogging operation featuring many different presentation layers, then Ghost is definitely for you....
Source: cloudzy.com
25+ Medium Alternative Platforms for Publishing Articles
Ghost open-source blogging and the indirect medium alternative platform. Its interface makes blogging easy for users, but also offers SEO tools and other plugins that are built into the platform. This makes it simple for users to publish high-quality content without technical difficulties.
Source: forgefusion.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Ghost seems to be a lot more popular than Approximated. While we know about 196 links to Ghost, we've tracked only 3 mentions of Approximated. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Approximated mentions (3)

  • Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (March 2026)
    Https://approximated.app It makes connecting user domains to your app easy and reliable at any scale. Each Approximated user gets the own globally distributed, managed cluster of servers with its own dedicated IPv4 address. Includes (unlimited) edge rule features, DDoS protection, webhooks, and more. Make a simple API call, tell the user to point an A record at the IP, and itโ€™s connected to your app with its own... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Ask HN: What are you working on (September 2024)?
    Https://approximated.app - reliably automating custom domains and their SSL certs at scale. For SaaS, marketplaces, platforms, outbound services, etc. Who have a lot of customers that want to connect their own domains. Currently working on: - Further improving the embeddable DNS widget (to help/automate users updating their DNS records) that launched last month - Rolling out the new hybrid self hosted version that... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • How to support user custom domains with Next.js
    It's why we built Approximated - so that you don't have to. And at a price you can afford, starting at $20/month instead of thousands. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago

Ghost mentions (196)

  • Local Journalism Is How Democracy Shows Up Close to Home
    Digital production has lowered the cost, and the Ghost platform in particular is a great value for small publishers, bundling together the blog, newsletter and subscriptions in one package, even now including ActivityPub federation. And Ghost themselves a non-profit org that doesn't mark up the Stripe transaction fees! One local news outlet recently switched to that, saving about %5 on Patreon fees and a second is... - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Bye Bye Big Tech: How I Migrated to an Almost All-EU Stack (and Saved 500โ‚ฌ/Year)
    Https://ghost.org โ€” Open-source run by a non-profit headquartered in Singapore. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Ask HN: Looking for Headless CMS Recommendation
    If you're hell-bent on headless, I can personally recommend 11ty (https://www.11ty.dev/) and hugo (https://gohugo.io/). That said, for non-technical admins, you probably want a user interface. For that, Ghost (https://ghost.org/) and Grav (https://getgrav.org/). Or Wordpress! - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Typepad Is Shutting Down
    They should provide an option to move to https://ghost.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Build an analytics agent to analyze your Ghost blog traffic with the Vercel AI SDK and Tinybird
    In this post, I'll show you how to build an agent with sufficient contextual understanding of underlying analytics data - and the tools to query it - so that you can have a chat with your data (any data!). Specifically, I'll build a simple analytics agent for a blog - hosted on the open-source publishing platform Ghost. The agent will tell us which content is performing the best, and why. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Approximated and Ghost, you can also consider the following products

Entri - Entri is the API for custom domains. We make it easy for your application to connect, secure, sell, and power custom domains.

WordPress - WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

CloudFlare - Cloudflare is a global network designed to make everything you connect to the Internet secure, private, fast, and reliable.

Medium - Welcome to Medium, a place to read, write, and interact with the stories that matter most to you.

SaaS Custom Domains - The easiest solution for offering branded custom domains and white-labelling to your customers. Secure, reliable, and scalable.

Drupal - Drupal - the leading open-source CMS for ambitious digital experiences that reach your audience across multiple channels. Because we all have different needs, Drupal allows you to create a unique space in a world of cookie-cutter solutions.