Ghost vs Strapi: CMS Showdown
Different Tools for Different Jobs
Ghost is a publishing platform. Strapi is a content API builder. Comparing them directly is misleading — they solve fundamentally different problems. If you’re starting a blog or newsletter, use Ghost. If you’re building a custom website or app that needs a content backend, use Strapi.
That said, they compete when someone asks “I need a self-hosted CMS” without specifying what for. Here’s how to decide.
What Each CMS Does
Ghost is an opinionated publishing platform for blogs, newsletters, and membership sites. It includes a polished editor (Lexical-based), built-in newsletter delivery, member management with free/paid tiers, native SEO tools, and a theme system. Ghost renders pages server-side — you get a complete website out of the box with no frontend to build. Think of it as a self-hosted Medium or Substack.
Strapi is a headless CMS — it provides a content management dashboard and a REST/GraphQL API, but no frontend. You define your own content types (blog posts, products, events — whatever), create content through the admin panel, then fetch it via API from any frontend (React, Vue, Next.js, Astro, mobile apps). Strapi is a backend tool; you build the presentation layer yourself.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Ghost 5.x | Strapi v5.x |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Full publishing platform | Headless CMS (API only) |
| Built-in frontend | Yes (server-rendered themes) | No — bring your own |
| Content editor | Rich editor (Lexical) | Rich text + custom fields |
| Content types | Posts, pages (fixed schema) | Fully custom (define any schema) |
| API | Content API (JSON) | REST + GraphQL |
| Newsletter | Built-in (email delivery) | No |
| Membership / payments | Built-in (Stripe integration) | No (build it yourself) |
| SEO tools | Built-in (meta, OG, sitemap, schema) | Manual (you implement SEO in frontend) |
| Themes | Yes (Handlebars templates) | N/A (headless) |
| User roles | Admin, Editor, Author, Contributor | Customizable roles and permissions |
| Media library | Basic | Yes (with upload providers) |
| i18n / localization | Limited (via themes) | Built-in (multi-locale content) |
| Webhooks | Yes | Yes |
| Custom plugins | Limited | Extensive plugin system |
| Database | MySQL | PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite |
| Language | Node.js | Node.js |
| License | MIT | MIT (Community), proprietary (Enterprise) |
Deployment Comparison
Ghost:
services:
ghost:
image: ghost:5.120.0
container_name: ghost
ports:
- "2368:2368"
environment:
url: https://your-domain.com
database__client: mysql
database__connection__host: ghost-db
database__connection__user: ghost
database__connection__password: change-this-password
database__connection__database: ghost
volumes:
- ghost-content:/var/lib/ghost/content
depends_on:
- ghost-db
restart: unless-stopped
ghost-db:
image: mysql:8.0
container_name: ghost-db
environment:
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: change-this-root-password
MYSQL_USER: ghost
MYSQL_PASSWORD: change-this-password
MYSQL_DATABASE: ghost
volumes:
- ghost-db-data:/var/lib/mysql
restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
ghost-content:
ghost-db-data:Deploy, visit the URL, create your admin account, pick a theme, and start writing. A full website is live in minutes.
Strapi:
services:
strapi:
image: strapi/strapi:v5.36.1
container_name: strapi
ports:
- "1337:1337"
environment:
DATABASE_CLIENT: postgres
DATABASE_HOST: strapi-db
DATABASE_PORT: 5432
DATABASE_NAME: strapi
DATABASE_USERNAME: strapi
DATABASE_PASSWORD: change-this-password
APP_KEYS: key1,key2,key3,key4
API_TOKEN_SALT: change-this-salt
ADMIN_JWT_SECRET: change-this-jwt-secret
TRANSFER_TOKEN_SALT: change-this-transfer-salt
JWT_SECRET: change-this-jwt-secret
volumes:
- strapi-data:/opt/app
depends_on:
- strapi-db
restart: unless-stopped
strapi-db:
image: postgres:16-alpine
container_name: strapi-db
environment:
POSTGRES_USER: strapi
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: change-this-password
POSTGRES_DB: strapi
volumes:
- strapi-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
strapi-data:
strapi-db-data:After deploying, you get an admin panel. But you still need to: define content types, build a frontend application, connect the frontend to Strapi’s API, and deploy the frontend separately. The CMS is only half the project.
Resource Usage
| Resource | Ghost | Strapi |
|---|---|---|
| RAM (app) | 200–400 MB | 300–600 MB |
| RAM (database) | 200–400 MB (MySQL) | 100–200 MB (PostgreSQL) |
| CPU | Low | Low–moderate (content builder is heavier) |
| Disk | ~200 MB + content | ~500 MB + content |
The Decision Framework
Answer this question: Do you need a website, or do you need a content API?
”I want to publish articles / run a blog / send newsletters”
Use Ghost. It does all of this out of the box with zero frontend development. The editor is excellent, SEO is built in, newsletter delivery works, and themes handle the presentation.
”I’m building a custom website/app and need content management”
Use Strapi. Define your content schema, manage it through the admin panel, and consume it via API in whatever frontend framework you’re using. Strapi doesn’t care if your frontend is React, Astro, Flutter, or a native mobile app.
”I want a blog but with a custom React frontend”
This is where it gets interesting. Ghost’s Content API can be used headlessly — ignore the themes, fetch content via the JSON API, and render it in React/Next.js. This gives you Ghost’s editor and SEO tools with a custom frontend. Strapi gives more schema flexibility but less publishing-specific tooling.
Choose Ghost If…
- You’re publishing content (blog, magazine, newsletter)
- You want a complete website with no frontend development
- Built-in newsletter and membership features matter
- You don’t need custom content types beyond posts and pages
- You want to be writing within 10 minutes of deployment
Choose Strapi If…
- You’re building a custom application that needs structured content
- You need custom content types (products, events, recipes, portfolios)
- Your frontend is a separate application (React, Vue, mobile)
- Localization/internationalization is a core requirement
- You need granular role-based permissions on content
FAQ
Can I use Ghost as a headless CMS?
Yes. Ghost has a Content API that returns JSON. You can build a custom frontend (Next.js, Astro, etc.) that fetches from Ghost’s API and ignores the built-in theme layer. You get Ghost’s editor and publishing features without its rendering.
Can Strapi send newsletters?
Not natively. You’d need to build a newsletter system yourself or integrate with a third-party service (Mailchimp, Listmonk, etc.) via webhooks or custom plugin.
Which is better for SEO?
Ghost, significantly. It generates sitemaps, structured data, canonical URLs, and social meta tags automatically. With Strapi, you implement all of that in your frontend — which gives more control but requires more work.
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