Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Ghost VS You Don't Need WordPress

Compare Ghost VS You Don't Need WordPress 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.

You Don't Need WordPress logo You Don't Need WordPress

Create a blog with only Google Docs
  • Ghost Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-10
  • You Don't Need WordPress Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-01-21

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.

You Don't Need WordPress features and specs

  • Speed
    Static site generators typically produce faster-loading sites compared to dynamic ones like WordPress, as there is no need for database queries or server-side processing on each page load.
  • Security
    Static sites have a smaller attack surface because they don't run server-side code or rely on databases, making them less vulnerable to hacks and exploits.
  • Cost Efficiency
    Static sites can be hosted on low-cost or even free platforms like GitHub Pages, Netlify, or Vercel, reducing hosting expenses.
  • Simplified Maintenance
    Without the need for regular updates to plugins, themes, or core software, maintaining a static site can be significantly simpler and less time-consuming.
  • Version Control
    Static site generators easily integrate with version control systems like Git, allowing better control over changes, collaboration, and rollbacks.

Possible disadvantages of You Don't Need WordPress

  • Interactive Features
    Implementing interactive features like forms, comments, and user authentication can be more challenging on static sites as it often requires third-party services or additional serverless functions.
  • Learning Curve
    Using static site generators and setting up deployment pipelines can be complex and may require a developer skill set that non-technical users might not possess.
  • Content Management
    Unlike WordPress, which offers an easy-to-use CMS, managing content in static sites typically requires knowledge of markdown, code editors, or custom admin interfaces.
  • Scalability of Content
    For sites with large amounts of content, build times can become excessively long, making development and deployment slower.
  • Plugin Ecosystem
    WordPress has a vast ecosystem of plugins for almost every need; replicating this functionality often requires custom development or multiple third-party services in static site setups.

Ghost videos

Why I Moved My Blog From WordPress to Ghost

More videos:

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

You Don't Need WordPress videos

No You Don't Need WordPress videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Ghost and You Don't Need WordPress)
Blogging
96 96%
4% 4
CMS
95 95%
5% 5
Website Builder
83 83%
17% 17
Blogging Platform
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Ghost and You Don't Need WordPress

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

You Don't Need WordPress Reviews

We have no reviews of You Don't Need WordPress yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Ghost seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 187 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 (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
View more

You Don't Need WordPress mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of You Don't Need WordPress yet. Tracking of You Don't Need WordPress recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Ghost and You Don't Need WordPress, 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.

Pingendo - Create websites quickly and customize them with ease.

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

Unicorn Platform - Create stunning websites easily with Unicorn Platform's new AI version.

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.

Gramateria - Gramateria is a drag and drop website builder with materialize css / material design.