Choose Ghost if you want a focused platform for a blog, a newsletter and paid memberships in one place, either self-hosted or on Ghost(Pro), its official managed hosting. Choose WordPress if you want a general-purpose site builder where thousands of plugins let you add a shop, a directory or almost anything else. Ghost has an unusual safeguard worth knowing: it's run as a non-profit organisation whose legal constitution means the company can never be bought or sold.
This site runs on WordPress, so I know that side well, but I wanted both platforms in their own words, so I read Ghost's about, licence, hosting and Ghost(Pro) plans pages, and WordPress.org's about, licence, features and requirements pages.
Ghost and WordPress compared
| Ghost | WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Blogs, newsletters and paid memberships | Any kind of website |
| Who's behind it | A non-profit organisation founded in 2013 | An open source project started in 2003 |
| Licence | MIT License | GPLv2 or later |
| Hosting | Self-host on a server, or Ghost(Pro) | Self-host on any PHP host |
| Extending it | Themes and 8,000+ integrations on Publisher | Thousands of plugins and themes |
| Server needs | Set out in its hosting docs | PHP 8.3+, MariaDB 10.11+ or MySQL 8.0+, HTTPS |
| Free option (as of October 2026) | The open source software; Ghost(Pro) has a free trial | Yes, the open source software |
Who's behind each platform
This is the difference people rarely mention. Ghost's about page says it was founded in 2013 by John O'Nolan and Hannah Wolfe and was set up as a non-profit foundation so it would stay true to its users rather than shareholders or investors. Its constitution means the company can never be bought or sold, all revenue is reinvested in the product and the community, and it publishes its live company metrics for anyone to see. Ghost says it's had more than 100 million installs.
WordPress started in 2003, when Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg created a fork of b2/cafelog, and today it's built on PHP and MariaDB and released under the GPLv2. It's an open source project with a large community of contributors, and it's the platform behind millions of sites across the web.
Newsletters and paid members
Ghost was designed around publishing to an audience. Its Ghost(Pro) plans start with a Starter plan for solo blogs and newsletters, with your own website, a custom domain and an email newsletter, and the Publisher plan adds paid subscriptions, custom themes, advanced analytics and 8,000+ integrations, with Business and Custom plans above that. On WordPress, newsletters and memberships come from plugins you choose and set up yourself, which gives you more freedom and more to maintain.
Hosting: run it yourself or let them
Ghost's hosting docs say it's open source and can be installed on just about any VPS, and that its official platform, Ghost(Pro), gives you a fully managed instance in a couple of clicks, with all its revenue funding Ghost's development. The product features are identical on both. WordPress recommends a host with PHP 8.3 or greater, MariaDB 10.11 or MySQL 8.0 or greater and HTTPS support, with Apache or Nginx as the web server.
Licences in plain English
Ghost is released under the MIT License, which its docs say means you can do pretty much anything you want with it. WordPress uses the GPLv2 or later, and WordPress.org says it considers plugins and themes to be derivative works that inherit the GPL. For most site owners neither licence changes anything day to day; it matters if you build and sell themes or plugins.
How to decide
- Is the site mainly a blog and newsletter, perhaps with paid members? Ghost fits that shape.
- Do you need a shop, a booking system or a directory? WordPress plugins cover it.
- Would you rather not manage hosting at all? Ghost(Pro) is the official managed route.
- Do you want the widest choice of themes, plugins and developers? WordPress.
- Does project ownership worry you? Ghost's constitution says it can never be sold.
If you're still weighing builders, see my comparison of Wix vs WordPress for a small business website, and if a newsletter is the goal, here's how newsletters make money.
My advice on Ghost or WordPress
If your plan is to write, grow a list and charge for premium posts, Ghost is a clean, focused choice and Ghost(Pro) takes the server work off your hands. If your site needs to do lots of different jobs now or later, I'd stay with WordPress, because the plugin range means you won't have to move platforms when your business changes. Whichever you pick, own your domain and export your subscriber list regularly.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Ghost free?
Ghost is open source software under the MIT License, so you can self-host it for free. Ghost(Pro), its official managed hosting, offers a free trial.
Who owns Ghost?
Ghost is run as a non-profit organisation. Its about page says its legal constitution means the company can never be bought or sold.
Is WordPress free?
Yes. WordPress is open source software released under the GPLv2 or later, and you're free to use and modify the code.
Can Ghost take paid subscriptions?
Yes. Ghost(Pro)'s Publisher plan includes paid subscriptions, along with custom themes and 8,000+ integrations.
What does WordPress need to run?
WordPress.org recommends PHP 8.3 or greater, MariaDB 10.11 or MySQL 8.0 or greater, and HTTPS support.
