GatsbyJS VS Ghost

Compare GatsbyJS VS Ghost and see what are their differences

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GatsbyJS

Blazing-fast static site generator for React

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.

Landing page //
2023-09-12

Landing page //
2022-10-10

GatsbyJS

Website: gatsbyjs.com
Pricing URL: Official GatsbyJS Pricing
$ Details

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Ghost

Website: ghost.org
Pricing URL: Official Ghost Pricing
$ Details: paid Free Trial $36.0 / Monthly (100k views/month, 2 users)

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GatsbyJS features and specs

Performance
GatsbyJS pre-builds your site into static files for fast load times and instantaneous page loads thanks to features like code splitting, PRPL pattern, and Asset Optimization.
SEO-Friendly
GatsbyJS generates static HTML, which helps search engines to index your site more effectively. Additionally, you have fine-grained control over metadata and other SEO optimizations.
Rich Plugin Ecosystem
GatsbyJS boasts an extensive plugin ecosystem that covers a wide array of functionalities such as sourcing data from CMSs, adding analytics, integrating with various APIs, and much more.
Strong Community Support
Gatsby has a robust and active community that provides ample documentation, tutorials, and support to help you get started and troubleshoot issues.
Secure and Scalable
Since Gatsby sites are static, they are inherently more secure against traditional web-based vulnerabilities and can be scaled easily by deploying to a CDN.

Possible disadvantages of GatsbyJS

Build Time
For larger sites, build times can become noticeably long as Gatsby rebuilds the entire site. This can be a bottleneck for frequent updates.
Less Suitable for Dynamic Content
Since Gatsby generates static pages, it's less suited for applications that require real-time data updates or dynamic content unless they are integrated with client-side JS or third-party services.
Initial Setup Complexity
Getting started with Gatsby can be complex for beginners unfamiliar with React and GraphQL, as it requires knowledge of these technologies.
GraphQL Learning Curve
A significant part of customizing and extending Gatsby sites involves GraphQL queries, which can be a barrier for developers who are not yet familiar with GraphQL.
Plugin Quality Variability
While Gatsby has a rich plugin ecosystem, the quality and maintenance of plugins can vary, requiring developers to vet the plugins they choose to integrate into their projects.

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.

GatsbyJS videos

+ Add

The Great Gatsby - Movie Review by Chris Stuckmann

Ghost videos

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Why I Moved My Blog From WordPress to Ghost

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GatsbyJS and Ghost)

Ghost

CMS

13 13%

CMS

87% 87

Blogging

12 12%

Blogging

88% 88

Developer Tools

100 100%

Developer Tools

0% 0

Blogging Platform

8 8%

Blogging Platform

92% 92

User comments

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

Reviews

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

Gatsby JS is a free, open-source, React-based framework that is used to create static websites. It has a great ecosystem of plugins that serve various needs like sourcing data from CMSs, integrating tools, managing images using lazy loading, and more.

Source: solguruz.com

Top 10 Next.js Alternatives You Can Try

Gatsby allows you to add plugins with versatile functions and customization to increase your efficiency when developing websites. Here, you can use multiple styling approaches like Sass and CSS-in-JS library solutions to build web pages more smoothly. Moreover, using Gatsby as an alternative to Next.Js provides you with a complete learning guide to enhance your developing...

Source: www.zegocloud.com

20 Next.js Alternatives Worth Considering

A React-based maestro, Gatsby transforms the way sites come to life by hooking into a rich set of data sources. Picture this: a web that’s blazing fast, where your creations go live almost before you hit ‘publish’. That’s Gatsby for you. Inside its engine, it’s got GraphQL superpowers, making data dancing across your pages a breeze.

Source: tms-outsource.com

10 Best Next.js Alternatives to Consider Today

A React-based framework, Gatsby excels in crafting static websites renowned for their exceptional performance. Leveraging GraphQL, Gatsby efficiently pulls data from diverse sources, empowering developers to build dynamic, data-driven websites effortlessly. Its expansive plugin ecosystem allows seamless integration with various data providers, content management systems...

Source: www.saffrontech.net

20 Best JavaScript Frameworks For 2023

Gatsby lets users pull data from any data source imaginable – CMS like WordPress, Drupal, Netlify, Contentful, etc., or APIs, databases, or simple markdown. Unlike Next.js, which we discussed above, Gatsby does not perform server-side rendering. Instead, it generates HTML content on the client side during build time. As a result, Gatsby delivers blazing-fast performance,...

Source: www.lambdatest.com

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 platform’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 don’t already have a website, Ghost may be an appealing option as a Patreon alternative. However, customizations are limited, and you’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 GatsbyJS. While we know about 187 links to Ghost, we've tracked only 16 mentions of GatsbyJS. 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.

GatsbyJS mentions (16)

React SEO: How to Build Search-Friendly Pages in React
The most famous frameworks for developing SSR applications are Gatsby and Next.js. Although there are differences between them, their main goal is similar: to allow next-generation web applications to remain blazing-fast. - Source: dev.to / 25 days ago
External content for GatsbyJS
If you enjoy React and want a standard-compliant and high performance web, you should look at GatsbyJS. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
Replatforming from Gatsby to Zola!
Since around 2019 I have used Gatsby as my static site generator. Its plugin system makes it super feature extensible. It uses React under the hood which makes components easy to write and has tons of community support. Once I had a Gatsby site styled and running, publishing blog posts is fairly trivial:. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
Build a Documentation Website with Gatsby in 10 Mins
Smooth DOC is a ready-to-use Gatsby theme to create a documentation website. Creating a pro-quality website like this one takes weeks. Smooth DOC saves you time and lets you focus on the content. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
Where to begin?
I'd start with learning HTML and CSS first, then Javascript after those. There are a lot of free online resources for learning those. For websites, I use jekyll which is a great way to start off because there are a lot of community website templates that you can customize, which is great for beginners and learning. Then I'd recommend learning/moving to React. The Gatsby website generator would be good for React... Source: over 2 years ago

Ghost mentions (187)

Indie Hacking with Open Source Tools: Innovating on a Budget
Modern publishing tools like Ghost accommodate sleek content presentation. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
Indie Hacking Success Stories with Open Source Licenses
Ghost: This open source blogging platform, available at Ghost, was kickstarted by a simple yet powerful idea—empowering writers with an elegant, customizable tool. The project’s MIT licensing has fostered a thriving community that collaborates to push the platform forward. Ghost’s journey demonstrates that when developers and users work together, innovation thrives. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
Learning in public
The other big option is to post blogs or notes. It's pretty simple to start a blog right here on Dev.to, or on Hashnode, two blogging platforms specifically for coding. There's also a great community platform on Codedex.io where you can write blog posts, although you do need to complete a few lessons to "unlock" the community features. In these cases, there's already an audience and community on the site, so it's... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
Using GitHub as a Free Content Management System
Under a lot of other circumstances, I’d have simply used a hosted solution like Ghost, but I really wanted to embrace the file-over-app philosophy, especially After the recent controversies surrounding certain software products suddenly ceasing support. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
WordPress Is in Trouble
There is Ghost at least: https://ghost.org/ https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost However, it has recently shifted to more limited audience. (payed subscription-based content with different tiers). - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago

What are some alternatives?

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

Jekyll - Jekyll is a simple, blog aware, static site generator.

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.

Hugo - Hugo is a general-purpose website framework for generating static web pages.

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

Hexo - A fast, simple & powerful blog framework, powered by Node.js

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.

Jekyll vs GatsbyJS

Jekyll vs Ghost

WordPress vs GatsbyJS