# Ghost Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Ghost the right Blog solution for you? Explore 53 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/151947/Ghost/reviews --- Ghost 4.7 (53) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/151947/Ghost/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of Ghost Ease of use 4.5 Customer Service 4.3 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews Gabby W FounderE-Learning, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “I especially like that it combines blogging, email newsletters, memberships, and SEO tools in one place, without needing lots of plugins.“ April 9, 2026 Gabby W FounderE-Learning, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “Not the best choice if you need a full e-commerce site or a highly customized website“ April 9, 2026 Gabby W FounderE-Learning, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “The editor is minimal and distraction-free, which makes it easier to focus on creating content.“ April 9, 2026 Skyler R Freelance Social Media SpecialistMarketing and Advertising, Self-employedUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “It doesn't support a wide range of functionality and plugins like WordPress.“ November 9, 2024 Gabby W FounderE-Learning, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “Fast-loading websites with strong built-in SEO features“ April 9, 2026 Dennis B Software EngineerInformation Technology and Services, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Most of all the admin interface lags in functionality.“ September 18, 2024 Gabby W FounderE-Learning, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “Very clean and easy-to-use writing interface“ April 9, 2026 Dennis B Software EngineerInformation Technology and Services, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Upgrading a major ghost version is too difficult.“ September 18, 2024 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 53 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Gabby W. Founder E-Learning Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Simplifies website and newsletter creation" April 9, 2026 5.0 I’ve had a very positive experience with Ghost overall. It is a clean, fast platform that makes writing, publishing, and managing a newsletter much simpler than more complicated website builders. I especially like that it combines blogging, email newsletters, memberships, and SEO tools in one place, without needing lots of plugins. The editor is minimal and distraction-free, which makes it easier to focus on creating content. Overall, I would recommend Ghost to anyone who wants a streamlined platform for publishing content and building a newsletter or membership business. It is especially good if your main goal is writing and growing an audience, rather than building a very complex website. Pros Pros: Very clean and easy-to-use writing interface Fast-loading websites with strong built-in SEO features Includes memberships, paid subscriptions, and email newsletters Fewer plugins and technical issues compared to other platforms Great option for bloggers, writers, and content-focused businesses who want a simple, modern publishing platform Cons Cons: Fewer themes, plugins, and design options than platforms like WordPress More advanced customization may require coding knowledge Self-hosting can be more technical and requires extra setup and maintenance Not the best choice if you need a full e-commerce site or a highly customized website Review Source BJ Bark J. Editor Media Production Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Ghost managed hosting combined with Ghost 4.0 is a towering achievement" March 30, 2021 5.0 Ghost gives me the tools to present our content and brand to viewers with confidence. They look at our site and know that quality content will be presented. This allows us to stand out from the crowd. Pros Ghost managed hosting is more than just a blogging platform following the release of 4.0 in March 2021. It is a membership site that helps our websites and blogs gain memberships that fund important projects for our journalists. The best thing about Ghost is that they do not take a portion of your income. Other popular options both take a percentage of revenue but Ghost managed hosting only charges a low monthly fee. The unique thing about managed hosting with Ghost is that Worldwide CDN is included, unlimited emails to members are included, managed updates of Ghost are included. Tons of additional features are available as well. The editor in Ghost is so conducive to producing great content. For many months, users have been offering opinions on things that should happen in the new update. Ghost took so many of these ideas and combined them to create something great. Ghost also has a unique look. The product and themes are very current, and it elevates the content because the website looks so good. Finally, I have to mention money. Ghost allows journalists to be independent. I cannot tell you how exciting it is to know that we have monthly revenue that comes in other than advertisers. Multiple streams of revenue is very important. Cons Of course, I would like another 500 memberships added to each tier. But the price is very fair. With Ghost 4.0, a new $9 a month tier was added. Previously a $29 a month tier was the lowest price. So I don't have much to complain about. But we are on a high tier. Review Source Dennis B. Software Engineer Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Much promised ghost features remain spectres." September 18, 2024 3.0 I am still using ghost after 4 years. But by now I feel more like a hostage without the benefits of Stockholm Syndrom. Moving away would entail more hustle than I willing to invest. I am not aware of any great alternatives anyways without doing some serious research. Pros When I started using Ghost in 2019 the technology was quite innovative. I really like the clean layout and accessible interface. Many features were promised. Cons Many features promised where not delivered. Most of all the admin interface lags in functionality. Upgrading a major ghost version is too difficult. There really ought to be an admin interface to remove cached image resources in order to comply with licencing. Switched from [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) I did not fancy hosting myself. Ghost is still better than hosted wordpress. Review Source Alaister L. System Administrator Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Best open-source blogging software" July 16, 2022 5.0 After switching from WordPress to Ghost, we have gained more visitors and readers of our blog posts, mainly due to better SEO, page loading time, and website theme design. Ghost also reduces our server load and so the cost. Pros The admin interface is very simple and user friendly. It has built-in membership system, SEO, signup/subscription forms, and newsletter features. The visual editor is clean and provides many cards and snippets we need. We can add custom integrations through Zapier such as PayPal (for subscription), SendInBlue (for newsletter), and Discord (for our community server). Cons To create multiple membership tiers, a Stripe account is required, even though we only use other payment methods like PayPal. The newsletter feature, again, limits to a specific provider: Mailgun, which is no longer free. Ghost should remove the Stripe and Mailgun requirements to make third-party integrations much easier. Switched from [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) WordPress requires extra plugins to achieve the same features as Ghost. However, more plugins result in slower page loading time and more server resource consumption. In contrast, Ghost is lightweight and third-party integrations are made through Zapier, so performance is not impacted. Review Source Jose J G. CTO Market Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Ghost is the new best CMS your website needs. " October 23, 2022 5.0 I'm creating blogs and websites with paid plans using Ghost. So far Ghost has been a great CMS. Also, me and my team migrated some WordPress sites with amazing results and boosted the SEO. Pros Ghost has a simplistic approach to create beautiful and functional websites. That simplicity is what I like the most about Ghost. Cons Ghost has a community version that is free, however, doesn't include the latest features of the current Ghost paid version or Ghost Pro. Alternatives considered [Squarespace](https://www.capterra.com/p/143461/Squarespace/) Reason for choosing Ghost Mostly, because of the affordable monthly price of Ghost. Review Source Bruno C. IT Service Engineer Research Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Ghost best CMS on the market, Ghost Pro, best platform for bloggers" October 8, 2020 5.0 Ghost is currently the best alternative for bloggers. It's good for personal websites or news magazines. There's built in integration with Stripe to charge monthly fees, It's very clean and easy of use both for the owner as for the guest of the blog. There are two ways of using Ghost: you can selfhost your own instance in some machine or use the "Ghost Pro" Service, a Platform as a Service. Pros Clean interface for administrator of the Content Management System. Good usability. Beautiful for guests. Not bloated with lots of tools, icons, and other stuff like Wordpress. Ghost Pro service is fast, reliable, and have good customer support. Cons Currently I'm using "Ghost Pro" since FEB 2020, and I'm very happy. The only issue is the cost, which is way higher than competitors. But because It's the best, I decided that for me it worth it. Switched from [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) I was looking fot the best solution for having a blog. wasn't satisfied with the look of the websites made with Wordpress, the usability of the backoffice, so I searched and decide to change to another tool. Review Source Rob H. Owner Online Media Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Ghost Pro" October 24, 2023 5.0 I really like using it, it fits like a glove. Pros If you want to stay independent as a creator claiming your online spot is crucial. With Ghost you are in a good position to build, grow and nurture this spot. It is easy to use, delivers clean code and looks awesome. Cons Minor things. Most annoying is no option to find links to other posts. Alternatives considered [Wix](https://www.capterra.com/p/169007/Wix/)[WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/)[Squarespace](https://www.capterra.com/p/143461/Squarespace/) Reason for choosing Ghost It is hands off and delivers a far better price and functionality. Review Source Asit K. Systems Engineer Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Great publishing platform but there are a few hiccups" January 31, 2020 5.0 Pros Ghost’s editor and theming systems are awesome! And it’s also blazing fast since it uses node.js and not PHP. Apart from that, the plugin ecosystem is very robust now and includes all sorts of things. Cons The native hosting options are useless and detracts beginners like me from using it. There are third party hosts like DigitalOcean but with just 1 GB of RAM, upgradation and maintenance is a headache. Also, it’s been years and still Ghost doesn’t have any native search functionality which is the most basic of things. Switched from [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) WordPress is slow and clunky and isn’t for people who just want to blog. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Full Stack Developer Internet Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Best Node.js wordpress replacement, but not quite as flexible to extend as CMS" April 19, 2021 4.0 The community and online support from official maintainers of Ghost is exceptional and incredible well documented. Pros WordPress has been the go-to software for several years for website development for non-tech, Node.js popularity has made new system such as Ghost become the new go-to as it is faster. As a CMS does not provide easy the flexibility to extend its predefined structure to add more content to extend the functionality to provide a wider range of feature to a frontend application by using it as a Headless CMS. Cons Ghost is great if it is only used for blogging, publishing articles, but unless it is needed an extensive CMS, Ghost will not be the ideal application. Alternatives considered [Webiny](https://www.capterra.com/p/121388/Webiny/) Reason for choosing Ghost Webiny is presented as a great solution but as it is only based on AWS as we used other providers, we did not go through with the selection of Webiny. Switched from [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) WordPress is written on PHP, and after a technical review, Ghost was presented as the most suitable tool due to the be written on Node.js, strong community support, secure and exposing a GraphQL built-in on the platform. Review Source Skyler R. Freelance Social Media Specialist Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Bare Bones Website Software" November 9, 2024 5.0 I used to have my website on Ghost. I loved the templates and how simple it was at first but it's very bare bones. It doesn't support a wide range of functionality and plugins like WordPress. I ended up switching to WordPress so I could have my website EXACTLY how I wanted it. With Ghost, you can really only have a fancy blog in my experience. Pros \- Easy to use - Simple interface and backend Cons \- Not compatible with plugins like WordPress - Not easy to embed items onto the website - Not super customizable Review Source VR Verified Reviewer IT Consultant Legal Services Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Long time WP user switching to Ghost" February 9, 2020 5.0 My overall experience has been good. As I said before, I come from Wordpress and it is a welcoming sight with its UI style and ease of use! Pros Ghost is what Wordpress used to be in the old days. When blogging was a big part of the Word.. processing platform. Now it has become like a swiss army knife trying to be so many things at the same time that it has become a burden to use for simple blog posting. So, that is why we switched to Ghost as its ease of use and interactivity is a welcoming sight! Cons Features! Not trying to be a douche here... I know memberships is an awesome feature but the lack of a clap/liking system and social sign up/login are a really bummer here. The users are the most important part of a blogging site and these features would add a lot to their experience. So with the addition of memberships the user has to pay for premium content but at the same time has no way of liking the content making sure that the content creator knows if it is likeable. My $2 cents. Alternatives considered [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Content & Community Manager Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "The CMS For Tech Content" June 10, 2019 5.0 Pros Blazing fast, with a very clean but powerful interface. Provides a clutter-free writing experience while also being very flexible in terms of customization. Writing in markdown works like a breeze. Their support team is very helpful and replies fast. Cons The migration process from 0.x to 2.x was quite a pain. It appears that further migrations will be easier. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Business Information Analyst Government Administration Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Excellent blog and CMS for hobbyist up to professional use" October 10, 2018 5.0 I have set up blog sites for personal use using Ghost and I found it to be easier than alternative blogging software. Pros Ghost makes it very easy to get set up and blogging with the CMS and their optional hosting option. Cons Ghost is a breeze to use and their hosting definitely helps, but I tend to think the hosting is a bit pricey for what it does. Hosting with Ghost is optional though, you can set up your own server and install everything yourself. Review Source LL Lou L. CEO Entertainment Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "A fabulous home for your online publication." January 31, 2019 5.0 As Medium tries to sort out what it is, and Wordpress continues on its cumbersome CMS path, the people at Ghost have really done a fabulous job at fulfilling a critical niche on the internet. Pros The set up, including a custom domain, is incredibly simple. The knowledge-base has all the information you need. The site is fast and the writing environment is truly wonderful to work in. I can't recommend this enough for an online publication. Cons Shockingly, there's not a whole lot I dislike about Ghost. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Founder Public Relations and Communications Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Ghost is the new WordPress ;)" November 12, 2019 5.0 Wonderful - I look forward to using and developing on this platform. Pros Everything - this is amazing, open source software that helps monetize independent publishing with ease. Cons It's new so there are not a lot of examples yet of using the platform outside of blogging but I don't see any other negatives. Review Source AA Amy A. Photographer Photography Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "Ghost for blogging " April 12, 2019 4.0 Overall I’ve enjoyed using Ghost’s free trial. I would recommend. Pros \-ease of use -ideal for beginners -free trial -preview mode -easy editing functions Cons \-requires web hosting -some difficulty installing Review Source CE Chuck E. Program Manager Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Great Blog Platform" July 18, 2017 5.0 Pros Ghost is a great platform to organize your blogs. Their out of the box template is great, yet this still allows you to add custom code or create other templates. The team collaboration functionality is great as well. One of the better blog platforms I have seen. Cons Slight learning curve on understanding the markup, but after 1 or 2 posts it will not be a problem. Otherwise, I don't see any downside to this product. Review Source CC Christie C. Event Organizer Entertainment Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Amazing Blogging Platform" April 30, 2020 4.0 Very good. A straightforward alternative to Wordpress. Pros I love the simplicity and ease of use of Ghost. The editor is minimal but robust. There are plenty of integrations available. Just a powerful but straightforward system. Cons Somewhat pricey and there are a few features that have a bit of a learning curve, but overall an excellent service. Review Source Iain B. Content Designer Design Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Ideal for membership programmes" October 29, 2022 5.0 My overall experience with Ghost has been hugely positive and I’d recommend it to most people who want to publish online. That goes especially if you want to send newsletters and even more so if you plan to turn your publication into a membership scheme. Pros I use Ghost as my CMS on my personal website and I love its newsletter and membership features. A recent update now allows me to publish multiple newsletters from the same site, which is perfect for how I want to grow an audience. As for the publishing process, I think Ghost gets exactly the right balance between features and ease of use. It’s really nice to publish and the built-in newsletter analytics are just enough for me to understand what’s working and what’s not. Cons There is little I would change, but the nature of open-source software can mean it’s tricky to work with and edit templates if you don’t have any coding experience. That said, there are plenty of great templates available so most people should be able to find something that fits the bill. Review Source JW Jamie W. Founder Publishing Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "I trust Ghost, and love it's values" February 13, 2023 5.0 Fantastic, and the support are world class. They're helpful, friendly and get back to you so quickly. Pros Ghost has been super easy to use. I joined before some of the features I needed were ready because I knew the roadmap. It's become the revenue driver of our membership and publishing business, with it's all in one website, newsletter and membership solution. Cons The analytics Ghost provides has been upped in recent months, but it is basic and only shows the last 90 days on your dashboard. Alternatives considered [MailerLite](https://www.capterra.com/p/136603/MailerLite/)[WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/)[Memberful](https://www.capterra.com/p/10004360/Memberful/)[Patreon](https://www.capterra.com/p/230186/Patreon/)[Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/) Reason for choosing Ghost Because they, like us, are a not-for-profit business. They are also open source, and their values - supporting indie journalism - align with ours. Equally, their all-in-one solution to creator business opportunities makes them stand far above the jigsaw of other tools you'd need instead Review Source TU Timo U. CEO Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "iOS of making websites - nice UI and it just works" July 30, 2021 5.0 I used WordPress when they launched years ago, because it was best then. But now came Ghost. I feel like WordPress has transformed themselves into Microsoft - it's great thing if you like to use various plugins and whatever not. Ghost is as elegant as iPhone. All what's needed is there. Great UI, no extra fuss. While WordPress needs extra consulting to get it running, should you start anew. Pros I've been using it for a few years now and the latest version brings everything together you'd need for running a website: nice clean editor, member management, collecting payments (via Stripe), SEO customisation, newsletters. If you would like to do a similar thing on WordPress you'd need to patch it up with several 3rd party plugins. Ghost is easy-breezy. Cons Backing up the content itself is easy, but in-post images/media is still not supported. Switched from [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) I got just fed up with plugin management of Wordpress. Ghost does everything I need, with better UI, and without the need for extra plugins. Review Source tO tim O. Podcaster Entertainment Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Ghost has streamlined my podcasting, broadcasting, publishing businesss. " April 23, 2021 5.0 So far, I've increased newsletter readership, live-stream attendance, and revenue in this first month, Pros As the host of Infinite Plane Radio, I rely on an ability to sendout live-stream notifications. This is feature makes it easy to get members to opt-in to my websites. The issue has been, what is the optimal membership management website? Previously, I used a popular email-service and a popular site for patrons to support creators. Ghost.io does the function of BOTH of these. In fact, it does so better. The ease of use is unparalleled. The transition from my previous business to this one was under 24 hours. It's also very helpful that Ghost.io auto-integrates all of my podcast players. Finally, it allows you to separate mailing lists from paid and the unpaid members. This feature is very helpful when your objective is to convert more into sales. You can send 'complimentary' notifications and newsletters, etc. Overall, I think it's a great site. If you import your pre-existing email lists, you might wind up paying the premium sooner, however, the features makes it easy to afford the month fee. Finally, there is no cut taken from your subscriptions, so that premium payment is more than compensated for all around. Tim Ozman, Infinite Plane Radio Ghost has streamlined my podcasting, broadcasting, publishing businesss. Cons This site is great for membership-based businesses with newsletters. It may not entirely replace all the functions you get from your blogging sites. However, you can get custom integrations, so if it's not already built, chances are you can get it done. Review Source JG Joseph G. Developer Computer Software Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Fairly simplistic, but better than WordPress" February 16, 2021 5.0 I used Ghost for a little while to manage my personal website. It worked fairly well for me and creating a theme wasn't too difficult. I really liked the configuration file paradigm to set up routing and redirection as opposed to a fancy & bloated editor or control panel. Pros Ghost is based on Node as opposed to PHP, and is much faster and modern compared to competitors like WordPress. The API is very robust as well, making it easy for developers to integrate with it. It also has built-in SEO optimization (if you use a Handlebars-based themes), which is a big plus. The developers at the support forum are also really friendly and helpful too. Cons It is a little bit simplistic, only allowing you to have posts, static pages, and tags, so it isn't suitable for more complex needs. There isn't any built-in search functionality either. It also lacks a native GraphQL API endpoint as well. Alternatives considered [Drupal](https://www.capterra.com/p/119594/Drupal/) Reason for choosing Ghost Much simpler than Drupal and uses Node (as opposed to PHP). Switched from [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) Security concerns—WordPress sites get hacked very easily. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Soporte Industrial Automation Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "El CMS ideal para creadores de contenido" December 19, 2022 5.0 Mi experiencia con Ghost es muy buena, ya que con esta herramienta puedo gestionar mi blog sin tantas complicaciones Pros Lo que más me gusta de Ghost es que puedes crear un blog y monetizarlo fácilmente. Cons Lo que no me gusta es que solo puedes configurar Mailgun para el envío por correo de las entradas del blog Alternatives considered [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) Review Source Tobias S. IT consultant Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Probably the best blog host available today" April 24, 2018 5.0 Ghost helped me quickly get started with my website, taking care of everything else so that I could focus on writing and building content. Pros Super easy to get started but still with so much room for tweaking and customizing. I built my side project entirely on Ghost and remained a happy customer for over two years, before I wanted more advanced features (integrated shop, forum, etc) that required me to look elsewhere. Cons I can't find anything bad to say about Ghost it's been a joy to use their product, I'll use it again for all my future projects, and I'd happily recommend it to my friends and colleagues. Review Source Similar Products Featured