WordPress vs Ghost: Which CMS Should You Choose in 2025?

WordPress and Ghost are both excellent content management systems, but they serve different audiences with different priorities. WordPress is a general-purpose CMS that powers everything from blogs to e-commerce stores. Ghost is a focused publishing platform built for writers and content creators.

This guide helps you choose the right one based on what you actually need—not marketing hype.

Quick Comparison

Choose WordPress If...

You Need an Online Store

WordPress with WooCommerce is the go-to for e-commerce. You can sell physical products, digital downloads, subscriptions, and services. Ghost has no e-commerce capability—it's strictly content and memberships.

You Need Plugin Extensibility

Need a booking system? Contact forms? SEO tools? Advanced analytics? Image optimization? Multilingual support? WordPress has a plugin for virtually anything. Ghost's approach is deliberately minimal—it does publishing well and leaves everything else to external tools via APIs.

You Want Maximum Design Flexibility

WordPress page builders (Elementor, Bricks, Divi) let you design pixel-perfect layouts without code. Ghost themes are clean and elegant, but you're working within a more constrained design system. If you need a highly custom homepage with complex sections, WordPress gives you more tools.

You Need Multi-Author Workflows

WordPress has granular roles (Admin, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) and supports editorial workflows with draft review, scheduling, and approval chains. Ghost has simpler roles that work well for small teams but lack the depth for larger editorial operations.

You're Building a Non-Blog Website

Corporate sites, directories, forums, LMS platforms, portfolios with complex galleries—WordPress handles these with the right plugins. Ghost is purpose-built for long-form content and isn't designed for these use cases.

Choose Ghost If...

Writing is Your Primary Activity

Ghost's editor is purpose-built for writers. It's a clean, distraction-free interface where you write in Markdown with rich content cards. There's no admin sidebar cluttering the screen, no plugin notifications, no dashboard widgets—just your content.

You Want Built-In Newsletters

Ghost sends email newsletters natively. Write a post, select your audience segment, and publish as both a web page and an email. No Mailchimp, no ConvertKit, no third-party integration to maintain. Open rates and click tracking are built into the dashboard.

For WordPress, you'd need:

• An email marketing plugin (Mailchimp, Newsletter, MailPoet)
• A separate email service provider
• Configuration to connect everything
• Ongoing maintenance of the integration

You're Building a Membership/Subscription Business

Ghost integrates with Stripe natively. Set up membership tiers, create gated content, and accept payments—all without plugins. This is Ghost's core value proposition for professional publishers.

Compare that to WordPress memberships:

• MemberPress: $179-399/year
• Restrict Content Pro: $99-249/year
• WooCommerce Memberships: $199/year
• Plus a payment gateway plugin

You Want Speed Without Optimization

Ghost sites are fast out of the box. The Node.js runtime is efficient, themes are minimal, and there's no plugin bloat. A typical Ghost page loads in under 1 second without any optimization effort.

WordPress can be fast, but requires work: caching plugins, image optimization, database cleanup, CDN configuration, and careful plugin selection. Without these, a typical WordPress page can take 3-5 seconds to load.

You Value Security Through Simplicity

Most WordPress security incidents come from vulnerable plugins. Ghost has no plugin system, which dramatically reduces the attack surface. There's less to patch, less to monitor, and less that can go wrong.

Content Editor Comparison

WordPress (Gutenberg Block Editor)

• Block-based: Paragraph, heading, image, gallery, columns, etc.
• Extensive block library with third-party blocks
• Full site editing (FSE) for theme customization
• Can be overwhelming for simple blog posts
• Powerful but complex

Ghost (Card-Based Editor)

• Markdown-first with rich content cards
• Clean, distraction-free interface
• Cards for images, galleries, embeds, code, bookmarks
• Content hierarchy is clear and simple
• Focused but limited

If you're primarily writing articles and blog posts, Ghost's editor is a better experience. If you're building complex page layouts with mixed media, WordPress offers more flexibility.

Performance

Ghost wins on out-of-the-box performance. WordPress can match Ghost with proper optimization, but it requires effort and expertise.

SEO Capabilities

Ghost (Built-In)

• Structured data (JSON-LD) generated automatically
• XML sitemaps without plugins
• Custom meta titles and descriptions per post
• Open Graph and Twitter Cards
• Canonical URLs
• Clean URL structure

WordPress (Plugin-Powered)

• Yoast SEO or Rank Math for meta tags and structured data
• XML sitemaps via plugin
• Advanced features: schema types, breadcrumbs, redirects
• Content analysis and readability scoring
• More granular control over every SEO element

Ghost covers the SEO essentials out of the box. WordPress with a good SEO plugin offers more advanced capabilities—but the basics are equivalent.

Cost Comparison on DanubeData

Both platforms include their respective databases (MariaDB for WordPress, MySQL for Ghost), automated backups, HTTPS, custom domains, and real-time metrics. WordPress also includes Redis for object caching.

Migration Paths

WordPress to Ghost

1. Export content from WordPress as WXR file
2. Use Ghost's import tool to convert and import
3. Re-create custom pages manually
4. Set up redirects for changed URLs

Difficulty: Moderate. Content migrates well, but custom pages, shortcodes, and plugin-dependent features need manual recreation.

Ghost to WordPress

1. Export content from Ghost as JSON
2. Use a converter tool or import plugin
3. Re-create membership/newsletter setup with plugins
4. Set up redirects

Difficulty: Moderate. Post content transfers cleanly, but membership data and newsletter subscribers need separate migration.

The Bottom Line

WordPress is the right choice when you need a versatile platform that can become anything: blog, store, directory, membership site, or corporate website. Its plugin ecosystem is unmatched, and its flexibility means you'll rarely hit a wall.

Ghost is the right choice when publishing is your core activity. If you're a writer, newsletter creator, or content-focused business, Ghost's streamlined experience lets you focus on what matters—your words—without the overhead of managing plugins and optimizing performance.

Both are available as managed apps on DanubeData, running on European infrastructure with automated backups and one-click deployment.

Try both and see which fits your workflow.