Ghost vs WordPress: which to choose?

Ghost is focused on publishing and newsletters — simpler, faster. WordPress is more flexible with its plugin ecosystem but heavier. For a blog or a newsletter, Ghost is often better.

Can you use Ghost for free?

Ghost CMS is open source and free. Ghost Pro (hosted by Ghost.org) is paid. On your VPS, you use the open-source version without limitation.

Does Ghost support newsletters?

Yes. Ghost includes a complete newsletter system with subscriber management, segmentation and sending. It requires an external SMTP service (Mailgun, Postmark, SES).

How much RAM for Ghost?

Ghost runs on 1 GB of RAM for moderate traffic. For a site with a lot of content and members, 2 GB is recommended.

Build a website quickly.

Ghost

A CMS for serious creators — publishing, newsletters and subscriptions in a clean interface.

1 GB RAM 1 vCPU Available

Source code

Tech stack

Node.jsNginxMySQLGhost-CLI

Minimum RAM1 GB

Minimum CPU1 vCPU

Compatible OSubuntu-24.04

Ghost is an open-source CMS designed specifically for content publishing: articles, newsletters and paid subscriptions. Its interface is intentionally minimalist — no superfluous features, just the essentials for writing and publishing. Performance is excellent: Ghost is written in Node.js and generates cached static pages.

On your VPS, Ghost lets you use its full feature set (unlimited newsletters, members, subscriptions) without paying Ghost Pro's $29/month. You control your data, your subscribers and your content.

Key features

Rich content editor (cards, embeds, long-form)

Built-in newsletters — send directly from Ghost

Membership and paid subscription system (Stripe)

Static page generation — the HTML is produced once, not on every visit

Content API for headless CMS

Customizable themes in Handlebars

When to use this solution?

1

Professional newsletter

Create a paid or free newsletter without depending on Substack or Mailchimp — your subscribers belong to you.

2

Technical blog

Ghost handles markdown, syntax highlighting and code embeds — perfect for developer blogs.

3

Online media

Regular publishing with author, category, tag management and article scheduling.

Deploy Ghost on your VPS

Guide optimized for ServOrbit Cloud VPS.

01

Prepare the VPS

VPS with 1 GB RAM minimum, Ubuntu 22.04. Node.js LTS and Nginx are required.

02

Install Ghost-CLI

Install ghost-cli globally: npm install ghost-cli@latest -g.

03

Create the Ghost site

In your site folder: ghost install --url https://your-domain.com --no-setup-nginx --no-setup-ssl. The nginx vhost and the TLS certificate are set up by ServOrbit as soon as the domain is attached to the app from your client area; Ghost-CLI only handles the database.

04

Configure email

In Ghost settings, configure an SMTP server (Mailgun, Postmark) for newsletters and confirmation emails.

05

Connect Stripe

For paid subscriptions, connect your Stripe account in Settings > Subscriptions.

Frequently asked questions

Ghost is an open-source CMS specialized in publishing: articles, newsletters and subscriptions. A self-hosted alternative to Substack or Medium.

Embed the deploy button

Maintaining a project that uses Ghost? This button lets your readers deploy it on a VPS in one click, without reading Docker documentation.

Markdown

[![Deploy Ghost on ServOrbit](https://servorbit.com/brand/deploy/button.svg)](https://servorbit.com/vps-cloud?template=ghost&utm_source=deploy-badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ghost)

HTML

<a href="https://servorbit.com/vps-cloud?template=ghost&utm_source=deploy-badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ghost"><img src="https://servorbit.com/brand/deploy/button.svg" alt="Deploy Ghost on ServOrbit" height="40"></a>

The button points to a VPS order with the template preselected. The image is served from servorbit.com — nothing to host on your side.

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