Choosing the right platform for your website is critical for managing content efficiently. WordPress and Ghost are two leading options, each with strengths for publishing workflows. This post compares them across ease of use, content editing, customization, performance, pricing, and more to help you pick the best fit.
Overview: WordPress and Ghost
WordPress
A versatile CMS powering over 40% of the web. Great for blogs, portfolios, and complex sites, with robust content tools.
🔗 Explore WordPress
Ghost
A lightweight platform built for bloggers and publishers, offering a minimalist writing experience and fast performance.
🔗 Explore Ghost
1. Ease of Use
WordPress
The Gutenberg editor uses blocks for text, images, and multimedia. Full Site Editing (FSE) allows you to adjust templates visually. However, the dashboard can feel cluttered, and some features may require extra setup.
Pros: User-friendly block editor, visual template editing (FSE).
Cons: Cluttered UI, occasional technical steps.
Ghost
Ghost’s Markdown-based editor is clean and focused on writing. It’s perfect for fast publishing but limited for design or layout changes without code.
Pros: Distraction-free writing, quick publishing.
Cons: Minimal layout tools, limited visual editing.
🏆 Winner: WordPress for versatility; Ghost for simplicity.
2. Content Editing Capabilities
WordPress
Gutenberg offers reusable blocks, patterns, and plugins like Yoast for SEO. You can manage posts, pages, and custom layouts with precision.
Pros: Flexible editor, SEO plugins, layout control.
Cons: Learning curve, occasional plugin conflicts.
Ghost
Ghost supports Markdown with clean embeds. Ideal for blog posts and newsletters, but lacks advanced layout options or reusable components.
Pros: Fast, clean writing experience, built-in newsletter tools.
Cons: No block system, limited structure.
🏆 Winner: WordPress for advanced editing.
3. Customization for Publishers
WordPress
Thousands of themes and plugins can be adjusted through the Customizer or Full Site Editing. Page builders like Elementor give more control to content teams.
Pros: Flexible themes, editor-friendly tools.
Cons: Some customizations may still require a developer.
Ghost
Ghost themes are sleek and fast, but deeper changes usually require Handlebars.js and coding knowledge.
Pros: Sleek, optimized themes.
Cons: Limited customization without coding.
🏆 Winner: WordPress for editor-accessible customization.
4. Performance and Speed
WordPress
Performance depends on your hosting and plugin setup. Content teams can improve speed with optimized media and structure, but caching and CDNs are often handled at the admin level.
Pros: Scalable with optimization tools.
Cons: Plugin/theme bloat can slow sites down.
Ghost
Built on Node.js, Ghost is blazing fast by default. Content creators benefit from consistently fast publishing speeds with minimal setup.
Pros: Excellent speed, minimal upkeep.
Cons: Self-hosted performance depends on server setup.
🏆 Winner: Ghost for effortless speed.
5. Pricing Considerations
WordPress
- WordPress.org (self-hosted): Free core software. Hosting ($5–$50+/mo), domain, and premium tools cost extra.
- WordPress.com: Free to $45/month depending on features.
Pros: Flexible pricing, free entry point.
Cons: Premium features and plugins can increase cost.
Ghost
- Ghost(Pro): Starts at $9/month (billed annually), including hosting and support.
- Self-hosted: Free software; hosting costs apply.
Pros: Transparent pricing, includes support.
Cons: Higher starting price for hosted plans.
🏆 Winner: WordPress for budget flexibility.
6. SEO and Marketing Tools
WordPress
Plugins like Yoast and Rank Math provide SEO guidance, readability scores, and integration with marketing tools.
Pros: Robust SEO and marketing options.
Cons: Requires initial setup and plugin maintenance.
Ghost
Includes built-in SEO features (clean URLs, sitemaps, metadata) and integrates with analytics and newsletter tools.
Pros: SEO-ready by default, no plugin clutter.
Cons: Limited options for advanced marketing strategies.
🏆 Winner: WordPress for SEO/marketing control.
7. Support and Community Resources
WordPress
An enormous global community provides forums, tutorials, and plugin/theme support. Most hosts also offer dedicated WordPress help.
Pros: Abundant resources, wide support network.
Cons: No direct support for self-hosted users.
Ghost
Ghost’s community is smaller but focused. Ghost(Pro) users get email support; self-hosted users rely on forums and documentation.
Pros: Responsive Pro support, clean documentation.
Cons: Smaller user base, fewer tutorials.
🏆 Winner: WordPress for community support and resources.
8. Who Should Choose Which?
✅ Choose WordPress if:
- You manage varied content like blogs, pages, or portfolios.
- You want access to powerful tools like Gutenberg and FSE.
- You need full SEO and marketing control.
- You have a flexible budget or technical help.
✅ Choose Ghost if:
- You focus mainly on writing blog posts or newsletters.
- You prefer a clean, minimalist writing experience.
- Speed and simplicity matter more than deep customization.
- You’re using Ghost(Pro) or are comfortable with self-hosting.
Final Verdict
WordPress is ideal for publishers who need flexibility, powerful content tools, and SEO control—even if there’s a learning curve.
Ghost is perfect for those prioritizing fast, distraction-free publishing with minimal maintenance—at a higher starting price.