Comparison

Ghost vs Joomla

On the evidence we track, Ghost leads this comparison with a composite score of 65/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Ghost full profile →Joomla full profile →

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★Ghost65

Joomla57

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	GhostLeader	Joomla
Vioscale score	65 / 100medium · 69%updating	57 / 100medium · 66%updating
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✗	✓
Modelpricing.model	commercial	commercial
Price levelpricing.price_level	mid	free
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	4	8
Security
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	-	✓
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	✓	✓
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	4.2	4.4
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 41 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=ghost&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 26 · Max severity: CRITICAL	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fjoomla%2Fjoomla-cms&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Reliability
Sla pctreliability.sla_pct	99.9	-
Status pagereliability.status_page	✓	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	468	0
Github starsadoption.github_stars	55,065	5,125
Package downloads weeklyadoption.package_downloads_weekly	35,636	-
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	100	38
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	4	-
Historyrelease.history	20 items	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	MIT	GPL-2.0
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	JavaScript	PHP
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide · Popular in US	Available worldwide

Score

Vioscale score

Ghost65 / 100medium · 69%updating

Joomla57 / 100medium · 66%updating

Pricing

Free tier

Ghost✗

Joomla✓

Model

Ghostcommercial

Joomlacommercial

Price level

Ghostmid

Joomlafree

Transparent

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

Integrations

Count

Ghost4

Joomla8

Security

Disclosure policy

Ghost–

Joomla✓

Gdpr

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

Scorecard

Ghost4.2

Joomla4.4

Vulnerabilities

GhostCount: 41 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=ghost&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 26 · Max severity: CRITICAL

JoomlaCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fjoomla%2Fjoomla-cms&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Reliability

Sla pct

Ghost99.9

Joomla–

Status page

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Ghost468

Joomla0

Github stars

Ghost55,065

Joomla5,125

Package downloads weekly

Ghost35,636

Joomla–

Activity

Commits last 30d

Ghost100

Joomla38

Release

Cadence days

Ghost4

Joomla–

History

Ghost20 items

Joomla20 items

License

Spdx

GhostMIT

JoomlaGPL-2.0

Language

Primary

GhostJavaScript

JoomlaPHP

Market

Availability

GhostAvailable worldwide · Popular in US

JoomlaAvailable worldwide

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for cms software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for CMS Software
Capability	Ghost	Joomla
Core
CMS type	Traditional / monolithic	Traditional / monolithic
Licensing
Open-source	✓	✓
Deployment
Self-hostable	✓	✓
Managed / cloud hosting offered	✓	✓
Delivery
Headless API (REST/GraphQL)	✓	-
Content
Structured content modelling	✓	✓
Localisation / i18n	✓	✓
Content workflow / approvals	✓	✓
Editing
Visual / no-code page builder	✓	-
Extensibility
Plugin / app ecosystem size	8,000+ integrations	Thousands of free extensions and templates
Scale
Multi-site / multi-tenant	✗	-
Workflow
Git-based / code-first workflow	✓	✓
Pricing
Free / open tier	✓	✓

Core

CMS type

GhostTraditional / monolithic

JoomlaTraditional / monolithic

Licensing

Open-source

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

Deployment

Self-hostable

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

Managed / cloud hosting offered

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

Delivery

Headless API (REST/GraphQL)

Ghost✓

Joomla-

Content

Structured content modelling

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

Localisation / i18n

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

Content workflow / approvals

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

Editing

Visual / no-code page builder

Ghost✓

Joomla-

Extensibility

Plugin / app ecosystem size

Ghost8,000+ integrations

JoomlaThousands of free extensions and templates

Scale

Multi-site / multi-tenant

Ghost✗

Joomla-

Workflow

Git-based / code-first workflow

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

Pricing

Free / open tier

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Ghost

Leader

Ghost is a publishing platform that helps independent publishers create and host websites, publish content via email newsletters, and manage paid member subscriptions. It provides built-in tools for audience growth, subscriber engagement, and content distribution.

Independently observed

Joomla

Joomla is a free, open-source CMS that enables users to build, manage, and customize websites and online applications. It features a large ecosystem of free extensions and templates, multilingual support, flexible user permission systems, and can be deployed via self-hosting or managed hosting services.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Ghost

Leader

from $18/moSubscription14-day trial

From $18/mo billed annually. Free 14-day trial.

Starter$18/mo billed annually
- Your own website
- Free custom domain
- Email newsletter
- Simple design settings
- 1 staff user
- +2 more
Publisher$29/mo billed annually
- 3 staff users
- Custom themes
- 8,000+ integrations
- Paid subscriptions
- Advanced analytics
- +3 more
Business$199/mo billed annually
- 15 staff users
- Priority support
- Higher usage limits
- Early access to features
- 250MB file uploads
- +6 more
CustomContact sales
- Unlimited staff users
- Advanced configurations
- Dedicated IP address
- 99.9% uptime SLA
- Unlimited members
- +3 more

as of 2026-08-14verify ↗

Joomla

Open sourceFree tier

Free and open-source

as of 2026-08-13verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Ghost	Joomla
WebPlatforms	✓	✓
CLIPlatforms	✗	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓
On-premiseDeployment	✓	✓
HybridDeployment	✗	✓

Platforms

Web

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

CLI

Ghost✗

Joomla✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

Self-hosted

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

On-premise

Ghost✓

Joomla✓

Hybrid

Ghost✗

Joomla✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Ghost

Leader

4 total

Slack
Zapier
n8n
BeyondWords

Independently observed

Joomla

8 total

123RF
Algolia
AppVeyor
Civic
CleanTalk
CloudAccess.net
CodiumAI
Crowdin

Independently observed

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.