Blog Ghost Vs. WordPress: Which Blogging Platform is Better for Creators?
Ghost Vs. WordPress: Which Blogging Platform is Better for Creators?
This guide dives into Ghost and WordPress, breaking down their features, to help creators choose the platform that truly fits their writing and publishing style.
Back when I first thought of starting a blog, I imagined it would be as simple as picking a theme, writing my thoughts, and hitting publish. But the moment I actually sat down to choose a platform, the decision didn’t feel that easy anymore.
Everywhere I looked, WordPress was the giant, trusted by millions, powering everything from small blogs to major news sites. At the same time, I kept hearing about Ghost, a newer and leaner platform created by people who wanted writing and publishing to stay simple, fast, and distraction-free.
It felt like standing at a crossroads, one path leading to a huge marketplace with endless options, and the other offering a cleaner road built for focus.
The more I compared them, the more I realized that choosing between Ghost and WordPress is less about which one is more popular and more about what kind of experience you want as a creator.
So let’s dive into this comparison and break down where each one truly stands out.
An Overview: Ghost Vs. WordPress
What is Ghost?
Ghost is a modern platform made for writers, bloggers, and anyone who wants to publish online without distractions. It keeps things simple, fast, and focused on your content. You can either host it yourself or use Ghost’s managed hosting called Ghost(Pro), depending on how much control you want.
Key Features
Simple, clean editor with Markdown for quick writing
Built-in SEO, social sharing, and email/newsletter tools
Membership and subscription options to earn from your content
Fast and lightweight, so pages load quickly
Modern, responsive themes that look good on all devices
Easy content scheduling, tags, and multi-author support
Who is it for?
Ghost is best for:
Bloggers and writers who want a fast, distraction-free platform
People who want to run memberships or subscriptions
Small teams or solo creators focused on content
Anyone who prefers simplicity over too many extra features
What is WordPress?
WordPress is the most popular website platform in the world. It can be used for blogs, business sites, online stores, portfolios, or almost anything online. It’s open-source, which means it’s free to use, but you can also add premium themes and plugins. WordPress is super flexible, but that flexibility can feel a little overwhelming at first.
Key Features
Thousands of themes and plugins to customize your site
Works for blogs, businesses, e-commerce, and more
SEO and marketing tools built in or via plugins
Supports multiple authors and roles for teams
Can be hosted anywhere—from shared hosting to managed WordPress hosting
Strong community with tutorials, support, and regular updates
Who is it for?
WordPress is best for:
Anyone who wants full control of their website
Bloggers, businesses, or teams who need a flexible platform
People who want lots of customization and advanced features
Users who don’t mind spending some time learning and managing their site
Feature Comparison: Ghost Vs WordPress
1. Pricing & Cost Analysis
When I first started looking into website platforms, I realized it’s not just about picking the one everyone talks about. It’s about finding the platform that fits what you want to do. Ghost and WordPress both have their strengths, but the costs can make a big difference depending on your goals.
Starting with Ghost, there are two ways to use it. Ghost(Pro), the managed hosting option, starts around $15 per month for beginners and goes up to $199 per month for bigger business sites.
The best part is there are no platform fees on paid memberships, just Stripe processing fees if you accept payments. You can also self-host Ghost, which is cheaper, around $12–$30 per month for small sites, but you’ll need some technical skills for hosting and email setup. Ghost feels simple and clean, with predictable costs.
WordPress, meanwhile, is free to use as open-source software, but other costs add up. You need a domain, hosting ($3–$25/month for shared plans), and sometimes a premium theme. Plugins and maintenance can also add up. For business sites, eCommerce, or custom development, costs can reach hundreds of dollars a year. WordPress offers flexibility, but advanced features often come with extra price and effort.
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Verdict: For pricing and predictability, Ghost(Pro) wins, which provides a clear plan with most features included, making it easier to start without hidden costs.
2. Ease of Use & User Experience
When it comes to ease of use, Ghost feels like a breath of fresh air. Its dashboard is clean, minimal, and built for writers. You won’t get lost in menus or settings. Everything is designed to help you focus on creating and publishing content.
Scheduling posts, managing memberships, and sending newsletters are all simple and built right into the platform. You can get started quickly and have a smooth experience without spending hours learning how everything works.
WordPress, on the other hand, is more powerful but also more complex. The admin area is packed with menus, settings, and features. The Gutenberg block editor allows flexible page and post design, but it takes time to master.
Beginners can feel overwhelmed, and fully understanding all the options, plugins, and customization features usually takes effort. WordPress is great for users who want full control, but it’s not as intuitive right away.
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Verdict: For simplicity and getting started quickly, Ghost wins, which gives a smooth, distraction-free experience for creators without a steep learning curve.
Themes & Customization
WordPress leads the way when it comes to themes and customization. There are thousands of free and premium themes for almost every niche and style. With plugins and page builders like Elementor or Divi, you can change layouts, colors, fonts, and even add new functionality. If you want complete control over how your site looks and works, WordPress makes it possible.
Ghost has a smaller selection of themes (around 90), but they are curated for speed and readability. Customization is simpler, focusing on colors, fonts, and layout tweaks. Advanced users can modify themes using Handlebars templates, but the overall approach stays clean and minimal. Ghost doesn’t overwhelm you with endless options, which makes it easier to maintain.
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Verdict: For flexibility and design freedom, WordPress wins, where you can build almost any style of website with its themes and plugins
Content Management Features
WordPress can handle complex content structures. You can create posts, pages, custom post types, categories, tags, and media libraries. It supports multiple user roles, detailed editorial workflows, and extensive commenting systems. With plugins, you can also add eCommerce, forums, and advanced SEO tools. It’s ideal for large sites, teams, and businesses.
Ghost focuses on streamlined publishing. You get posts, pages, tags, and scheduled content. Memberships, subscriptions, and newsletters are built in. Ghost also provides real-time analytics to track how your content performs. The workflow is simple but effective, perfect for writers or publishers who want to focus on creating content without managing too many features.
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Verdict: For complex content management and team workflows, WordPress wins.
Performance & Speed
Ghost is built for speed and efficiency. Its modern architecture and lightweight codebase often make pages load faster than WordPress without extra plugins. Server-side rendering and optimized hosting give users a smooth and fast experience out of the box.
WordPress speed depends heavily on hosting, themes, and plugins. A poorly optimized setup can make a site slow. Managed hosting, caching, and good practices help, but performance isn’t guaranteed automatically.
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Verdict: For raw speed and smooth performance, Ghost wins, which is fast by default and requires little extra setup.
SEO Capabilities
WordPress offers powerful SEO tools, mainly through plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math. These plugins give control over meta tags, sitemaps, schema, and social sharing. You can optimize everything, but it takes time to set up and configure properly.
Ghost has built-in SEO features. Meta titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, sitemaps, and structured data are ready to use. Combined with its fast performance and clean code, Ghost can rank well on search engines without extra plugins.
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Verdict:For simple and effective SEO, Ghost wins, where you get strong SEO features without spending time installing and configuring plugins.
Ghost Vs. WordPress: Which One Should You Pick?
When it comes down to it, both Ghost and WordPress are excellent platforms, but they serve very different kinds of creators.
If you value simplicity and focus, Ghost is the better option. Its dashboard is intuitive, lightweight, and distraction-free, built purely for publishing. You don’t need plugins for newsletters, memberships, or subscriptions because they’re built in. For writers, bloggers, and solo creators, Ghost feels like it was designed with you in mind.
WordPress, on the other hand, is the giant of website building. With thousands of plugins and themes, it can power anything, from a blog to a massive eCommerce store. But that flexibility comes with a cost. WordPress sites often become bloated, require constant plugin updates, and can face security vulnerabilities if not managed carefully. For non-technical users, this can quickly become overwhelming.
👉 My choice would be Ghost. While WordPress is powerful, its ongoing maintenance and security risks make it less appealing for someone who just wants to focus on content. Ghost is cleaner, safer, and simply works without demanding constant attention.
Bullet.so: A Better Alternative to Ghost & WordPress
While Ghost and WordPress are strong in their own ways, Bullet.so takes a completely new approach; it’s an AI-powered Notion website builder that lets you design and publish websites simply by giving instructions.
Instead of coding, installing plugins, or wrestling with themes, you can tell Bullet AI what you want, and it will generate a website for you. You can even add images to guide the AI, making the process more visual and accurate. This is what makes Bullet different from both Ghost and WordPress: it’s not just a builder, it’s a smart AI designer.
Why Bullet.so Stands Out
AI-Powered Website Creation
Just describe your vision for your website with simple instructions, and Bullet AI will build it for you. You can add reference images to guide the design, and the AI will adapt it to match your brand. You can even change the design of specific blocks on your site for more control.
Built on Notion for Simplicity
If you’re already writing or managing projects in Notion, Bullet.so can instantly turn those pages into a polished website. No exporting, no formatting issues, it’s seamless.
No Plugins, No Maintenance
WordPress requires plugins for almost everything, which slows sites down and creates security risks. Bullet.so keeps everything built-in, clean, and optimized, so your site stays fast and secure without extra effort.
Branding & Customization
Ghost offers minimal themes, and WordPress themes are often bloated. Bullet.so lets you fine-tune your brand identity with your custom domain, colors, fonts, and layouts.
Future-Ready Performance
Bullet.so delivers optimized hosting, lightning-fast load times, and protection from common vulnerabilities that WordPress users constantly face.
Why Choose Bullet.so Over Ghost or WordPress?
Over Ghost: Ghost is great for blogging, but limited beyond that. Bullet.so is broader, including websites, blogs, documentation, and brand pages, all with AI-assisted design.
Over WordPress: WordPress is powerful, but complex and vulnerable. Bullet.so strips away that complexity with AI, so you spend more time creating, less time troubleshooting.
👉 If Ghost is best for writers, and WordPress is best for developers, Bullet.so is best for creators who want AI to design, build, and launch a site, without touching code.
It depends on what you need. If you just want to write and publish without distractions, Ghost is the better choice. If you need a fully customizable site with eCommerce or lots of plugins, WordPress is stronger.
Is Ghost Blog worth it?
Yes, if you’re a blogger, creator, or publisher. Ghost’s speed, simplicity, and built-in tools (SEO, memberships, newsletters) make it worth paying for Ghost(Pro) or hosting it yourself.
Which one is better for SEO - Ghost or WordPress?
Both can rank well on Google. Ghost has SEO tools built in, while WordPress needs plugins like Yoast or Rank Math to match it.
Which is easier for beginners?
Ghost. You install it (or sign up for Ghost(Pro)) and start writing. WordPress gives you more control, but it takes longer to learn.
Why do people say WordPress has security issues?
Because WordPress relies on plugins and third-party themes, vulnerabilities can creep in. Ghost is more secure by design since it runs with fewer dependencies.