Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Ghost VS Shopify

Compare Ghost VS Shopify and see what are their differences

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.

Shopify logo Shopify

Shopify is a powerful ecommerce platform that includes everything you need to create an online store and sell online. Try it free for 14 days.
  • Ghost Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-10
  • Shopify Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-09-04

Ghost

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

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.

Shopify features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Shopify offers a very intuitive and easy-to-use interface, which makes it accessible even for those with minimal tech skills. Store setup and management can be performed with little technical knowledge.
  • Extensive App Ecosystem
    Shopify's App Store features thousands of apps and integrations, allowing users to extend the functionality of their online stores. From marketing tools to inventory management, there's likely an app for almost any need.
  • Customizable Themes
    Shopify offers a wide range of professionally designed themes that are easily customizable. This allows businesses to create unique and visually appealing online stores without needing a designer.
  • Secure and Reliable
    Shopify provides robust security features and ensures your website's uptime. This means you don't have to worry about your store's security or dealing with downtime issues.
  • Comprehensive Customer Support
    Shopify offers 24/7 customer support through various channels, including live chat, email, and phone. This ensures that help is available whenever you need it.
  • Mobile Responsiveness
    All of Shopify's themes are mobile-responsive, ensuring a seamless shopping experience for customers regardless of the device they use.
  • Built-in SEO Features
    Shopify provides built-in SEO features and analytics tools that help with search engine rankings and tracking the performance of your store.

Possible disadvantages of Shopify

  • Transaction Fees
    Although Shopify offers its own payment gateway, Shopify Payments, it charges additional transaction fees if you choose to use an external payment gateway.
  • Customization Limitations
    While Shopify does offer a lot of customization options, it can be restrictive for businesses with very specific needs or those that require deep customization capabilities. Advanced customizations often require knowledge of Shopify's proprietary coding language, Liquid.
  • Cost
    Shopify's monthly subscription fees can add up, especially for advanced plans or when additional paid apps are used. This can be a significant cost for small businesses.
  • Content Management Limitations
    Shopify is primarily an e-commerce platform, and it may lack some of the advanced content management features (like blogging capabilities) found in platforms specifically designed for content management such as WordPress.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic store setup is straightforward, mastering Shopify's more advanced features can take time and may require additional training or hiring a professional.
  • Limited Internationalization
    Shopify's multi-language and multi-currency capabilities are somewhat limited compared to other platforms dedicated to global e-commerce.

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

Analysis of Shopify

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Shopify is a highly regarded and reliable e-commerce platform, especially suited for users who prioritize ease of use and a comprehensive feature set for online storefronts.

Why this product is good

  • Features
    It offers a wide range of features, including various payment gateways, customizable themes, and an app store with numerous plugins to extend functionality.
  • Community
    Shopify has a strong community and a wealth of online resources, including tutorials, forums, and user groups, which can be very helpful for new and experienced users alike.
  • Scalability
    Shopify provides scalability for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, with different pricing plans and advanced features available at higher tiers.
  • User friendly
    Shopify is known for its user-friendly interface, making it easy for store owners to set up and manage their online stores without needing technical expertise.
  • Customer support
    The platform offers 24/7 customer support, ensuring that users can get help whenever they encounter issues or have questions.

Recommended for

    {"entrepreneurs" => "With its flexibility and expanding app ecosystem, entrepreneurs can tailor their stores to meet unique business needs and test new ideas rapidly.", "growing_brands" => "Businesses experiencing growth can benefit from Shopify's robust infrastructure and scalability options, ensuring that the platform can grow alongside their business.", "small_businesses" => "Shopify is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses that need an easy and effective way to start selling online quickly."}

Ghost videos

Why I Moved My Blog From WordPress to Ghost

More videos:

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

Shopify videos

Shopify Review 2020 - Is it still worth it in 2020?

More videos:

  • Review - SHOPIFY REVIEW MID 2019 - Is Shopify Worth It For The Money? Pros & Cons
  • Review - THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE USING SHOPIFY (IN 2019)
  • Review - Shopify Review 2025 - Is It Right For You? Pros And Cons
  • Review - Shopify Review: Is It the Best eCommerce Platform for Your Store?
  • Review - Shopify Review 2025 - Is It Right For You? All Features Explained!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Ghost and Shopify)
Blogging
100 100%
0% 0
eCommerce
0 0%
100% 100
CMS
100 100%
0% 0
eCommerce Platform
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Ghost and Shopify. 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 Ghost and Shopify

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

Shopify Reviews

  1. Shopify - the best no code platform.

    Creating my online store for small dog products on Shopify was a remarkably smooth and rewarding experience. Shopify's user-friendly platform guided me through each step of the setup process, making it easy even for someone without prior experience. Their range of customizable templates gave my store a professional and appealing look, and the analytics tools provided have been invaluable for tracking my store's performance and customer trends. Additionally, Shopify's 24/7 customer support was always ready to assist whenever I encountered any roadblocks. Overall, launching my business on Shopify has been a positive experience, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to start their own online store.

    🏁 Competitors: Tilda, WooCommerce
  2. Lori Appleman
    · Founder at Redline Minds ·
    Strong Option for New DIY Stores Serving Consumers

    Shopify is a powerful marketing machine that has driven incredible growth. It's an excellent choice for the store owner who needs to do it themselves, on a shoestring budget, who does not sell complex products and who does not plan to run a hybrid - a store that serves multiple customer bases such as retail and wholesale.

    Due to its sheer market share, there is a robust marketplace of apps that can be added to shape the store to fit most needs. There is an equally robust selection of themes and developers who can assist with any size project. They have a terrific knowledge base which I strongly recommend store owners use as it teaches the basics for e-commerce in general and online marketing. This learning should be done prior to developing a plan for your site. That will help root your project for success.

    Unfortunately, it's also oversold based on name recognition even when the platform is a poor choice for a specific business. There are both policy and technical limitations that impact suitability.

    Shopify stores require many apps, which adds monthly costs and can greatly slow your store down. While ALL online stores end up with some app use, because this allows you to choose the features you want and need, much of what is native in other carts like their most direct competitor, BigCommerce, is not. So you'll spend more money each month and it can be harder to get a fast site.

    Among the stores that should probably NOT use Shopify: - Sells items that are generally prohibited on the platform which includes weapons, weapon-related items, sex objects, tobacco (for some odd reason Vape is currently on the platform but for how long is anyone's guess), alcohol.
    - Sells items allowed but that don't qualify for Shopify Payments which expands the above list to include supplements, CBD, vape products and other items. - Just as above, any store that can't qualify for Shopify Payments or who has good reasons to use another payment gateway. Why? Because if you don't use their payment gateway which they profit from, they will take 1/2-2% of your gross revenues soley because you are using another gateway. For small merchants, this isn't much, for big ones it's a significant cost. - Stores with multiple price structures or catalogs - such as those who offer VIP tiers or wholesale clients. Why not? Because you can't create true customer groups which on other platforms let you segment the catalog and content for each customer group. Groups are really important for B2B. To accomplish multiple audiences on Shopify requires either a separate app (at an added cost) or multiple storefronts, or ShopifyPlus (which is still creating multiple sites). This can greatly increase your operational costs and work efforts. - Stores with complex products - these are items with many options, also known as configurable or customizable products. While Shopify does offer the ability to offer up to 3 options per product with a maximum of 100 skus per product, this limit is very easy to exceed. There is also no native path to add modifiers such as those one would use for personalized products (like custom embroidery. While these issues can be overcome with apps, that adds both load time and costs.

    🏁 Competitors: BigCommerce, Magento, Miva, WooCommerce, Workflow
    👍 Pros:    Easy to use|Low price|Flexible|Large developer base|Great documentation|Reliable|Low maintenance
    👎 Cons:    Limited features|No customer groups for wholesale|Some product types forbidden|Must use their gateway or pay extra fees|Limited api calls|Limited capabilities for products with options

WordPress vs. Proprietary Site Builders: What to Know Before Starting a Website Development Project
Shopify: Shopify does not natively offer a backup option for user data. Although product data, orders, and customer details are stored, full-site backups must be managed manually or with paid third-party apps. Restoration options are limited, requiring users to rely on Shopify support or third-party solutions if data is lost.
Comparing 9 WordPress alternatives & competitors in 2024
Shopify specializes in ecommerce sites, managing customer data, payments, and content without the need for plugins. Store themes allow you to customize pages and create a consistent branded look. Shopify lets brands focus on global, local, and B2B sales right from their website's dashboard, with metrics like total sales and average order value.
Source: webflow.com
19 Best WordPress Alternatives in 2025
Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform that offers a wide range of features for online businesses. From setting up an online store to managing inventory and marketing, Shopify provides a comprehensive solution.
Source: www.pixpa.com
Top 5 Headless Ecommerce Platform For B2B Business (2024 Reviews)
Known for its stability and security, Shopify Plus provides businesses with a robust platform and extensive app store, along with complete control over design and functionality. With enterprise-level features and a flexible app-based system, Shopify Plus allows companies to expand their operations according to their unique needs. It enables API-driven experiences by smoothly...
Top 10 Shopify Alternatives for Ecommerce in 2024
When running an e-commerce business, choosing the right platform can make a significant difference in your success. While Shopify is a popular choice, there are several other e-commerce platforms that might better suit your business needs. Let's explore the top Shopify alternatives that cater to a variety of users, from small startups to large enterprises.
Source: www.attrac.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Ghost should be more popular than Shopify. It has been mentiond 189 times since March 2021. 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.

Ghost mentions (189)

  • Project of the Week: Ghost 👻
    Ghost is a leading open-source publishing platform designed for modern creators, journalists, and businesses. Founded in 2013 as a non-profit organization, Ghost has grown to become a powerful alternative to traditional blogging platforms, with over 49,000 GitHub stars and a thriving ecosystem of themes and integrations. The platform focuses on providing beautiful, fast, and professional publishing tools, enabling... - Source: dev.to / 5 days ago
  • Save Hours Managing Ghost with These Python Scripts
    I run the blog at Developer-Service.blog with a self-hosted Ghost instance. - Source: dev.to / 29 days ago
  • Indie Hacking with Open Source Tools: Innovating on a Budget
    Modern publishing tools like Ghost accommodate sleek content presentation. - Source: dev.to / 3 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 / 3 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 / 4 months ago
View more

Shopify mentions (44)

  • Material 3 Expressive: Better, Easier, Emotional UX
    I don’t think is ugly, it is just that it feels like every trendy company webpage copied and pasted the same design: http://shopify.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 21 days ago
  • 11 real-life PWA examples you can learn from in 2025
    Shopify is one of the easiest platforms for selling products online, and turning your store into a PWA with installation and push notifications takes just a click, thanks to the Shopify app store. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • shopify.com vs store.link, what do you think is better one?
    Shopify.com vs store.link which one is better? Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Forget Shopify Why MedusaJS Is the Future of Headless Ecommerce
    With a traditional e-commerce platform like Shopify, you're locked into their ecosystem. You have to use their templates, checkout, and backend. Headless platforms like MedusaJS give you the freedom to build the front end however you want, using any framework or library. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Allow Rules not given priority over block?
    For example, if you want to load firewalla.com, just allowing "firewalla.com" will not work, you will have allow shopify.com and few other stuff ... You can see what sites loaded using chrome dev mode. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

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.

WooCommerce - A freely available eCommerce plugin that enables shop facilities on your WordPress website. Functionality enabling extensions & beautiful themes available.

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

Magento - Magento is the eCommerce software and platform trusted by the world's leading brands. Grow your online business with Magento.

SquareSpace - Squarespace is the easiest way for anyone to create an exceptional website. Pages, galleries, blogs, e-commerce, domains, hosting, analytics, 24/7 support - all included.

BigCommerce - BigCommerce provides ecommerce software solutions and shopping cart software for online businesses. Try it free and start selling your products online today!