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Ghost VS Sidebar

Compare Ghost VS Sidebar and see what are their differences

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.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source Paid Free trial $36 / Monthly (100k views/month, 2 users)
Alternatives Is it good?
Sidebar

The five best design links of the day, freshly redesigned

Rating
0 reviews
Alternatives Is it good?
ScreenSnap Pro
Stop sharing plain, boring screenshots. Add stunning backgrounds, pro annotations, and instant cloud links — all in one click. Pay once, own it forever. sponsored
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Ghost seems to be a lot more popular than Sidebar. While we know about 196 links to Ghost, we've tracked only 5 mentions of Sidebar.

social mentions
196 vs 5
Blogging popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Ghost
Sidebar
Website ghost.org sidebar.io
Pricing
Open source Paid Free trial $36 / Monthly (100k views/month, 2 users) Official pricing
—
Company Startup from the United Kingdom —
Listed in
Blogging CMS Blogging Platform Website Builder +1
Design Tools Prototyping Design Collaboration Productivity +1

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Ghost 5 features
Sidebar 4 features
  • 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

  • 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.
  • Curated Content
    Sidebar offers a daily selection of high-quality design and development articles curated by industry professionals, saving time for users in finding valuable content.
  • Community Driven
    The curation is community-driven, allowing users to submit and vote on articles, which helps ensure that the content remains relevant and of high interest to the design community.
  • Simple and Clean Design
    Sidebar's minimalist design makes it easy to browse through content, focusing the user's attention on the articles without unnecessary distractions.
  • Email Newsletter
    Users can subscribe to a daily email newsletter, which conveniently delivers the top curated articles directly to their inbox.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Content Range
    The focus on design and development might limit the scope of content for users interested in a broader range of technology or creative topics.
  • Reliance on Community Submissions
    Since the content is largely community-driven, there might be variability in quality and frequency of articles submitted and approved.
  • Curation Bias
    The subjective nature of curation might lead to certain biases in the selection of topics covered, which may not reflect all users' interests.
  • No Personalization
    The curated content is the same for all users, lacking personalized recommendations based on individual preferences or past behavior.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Ghost
Sidebar

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

Overall verdict

  • Sidebar (sidebar.io) is widely regarded as a valuable resource for designers and creative professionals.

Why this product is good

  • Sidebar curates a daily list of the top five design-related links from around the internet, making it an efficient way for users to stay updated on design trends, best practices, and industry news without having to sift through a large volume of content. The links are typically selected by an experienced curator, ensuring a high quality of resources that are both informative and inspirational.

Recommended for

    Sidebar is particularly recommended for UI/UX designers, graphic designers, web designers, and other creative professionals who want to keep up with the latest developments in the design world, as well as those looking for inspiration and ongoing education in their field.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Ghost 2 videos + Add
Sidebar 2 videos + Add

Why I Moved My Blog From WordPress to Ghost

More videos

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

React Animated Sidebar Code Review

More videos

  • - Product Review: Universal sidebar mount

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Ghost
Sidebar
100% 100%
Blogging
0% 0%
0% 0%
Productivity
100% 100%
100% 100%
CMS
0% 0%
0% 0%
Design Tools
100% 100%

User comments

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

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Ghost no reviews yet
Sidebar no reviews yet
  • Comparing 9 WordPress alternatives & competitors in 2024
    webflow.com · Dec 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...

  • 19 Best WordPress Alternatives in 2025
    www.pixpa.com · Oct 2024

    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.

  • 7 Best Buy Me a Coffee Alternatives
    wpforms.com · Mar 2024

    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...

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

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Ghost 196 mentions
Sidebar 5 mentions
  • 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... - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Bye Bye Big Tech: How I Migrated to an Almost All-EU Stack (and Saved 500€/Year)
    Https://ghost.org — Open-source run by a non-profit headquartered in Singapore. - Source: Hacker News / 9 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... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago

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Alternatives to Ghost and Sidebar

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

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