# Drupal vs Ghost

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Ghost

| Attribute | Drupal | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 59 (45% (low)) | 74.9 (69% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 158 | 468 |
| adoption.github_stars | 4,282 | 55,269 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 35,636 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Drupal is a community-driven, open-source platform for creating and managing digital content at enterprise scale. It offers an API-first, composable architecture suitable for both traditional websites and complex digital experiences, with no-code/low-code options for non-technical users and advanced customization capabilities for developers. It is indexed under CMS Software.","source":"https://www.drupal.org","question":"What is Drupal?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Drupal is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.drupal.org","question":"Is Drupal free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Drupal supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.drupal.org","question":"What platforms does Drupal support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Drupal can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.drupal.org","question":"Can Drupal be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for Drupal. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Drupal not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.drupal.org/security","question":"What security certifications does Drupal have?","confidence":0.7}]` | `[{"answer":"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. It is indexed under CMS Software.","source":"https://ghost.org/pricing/","question":"What is Ghost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Ghost is a paid product; published pricing starts at $18 per month. It is sold across 4 plans (Starter, Publisher, Business and Custom). There is no free tier. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://ghost.org/pricing/","question":"How much does Ghost cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Ghost. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://ghost.org/pricing/","question":"What platforms does Ghost support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Ghost can be deployed cloud / SaaS, on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://ghost.org/pricing/","question":"Can Ghost be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 4 integrations for Ghost, including Slack, Zapier, n8n and BeyondWords. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://ghost.org/pricing/","question":"What does Ghost integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for Ghost. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Ghost not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://ghost.org/privacy/","question":"What security certifications does Ghost have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Yes. Ghost is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost","question":"Is Ghost open source?","confidence":0.99},{"answer":"Ghost is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://ghost.org/pricing/","question":"Where is Ghost available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | An open-source platform enabling organizations to build and manage digital experiences through a composable, API-first architecture that supports decoupled front-end delivery, structured content management, editorial workflows, and integrated AI tools. | Ghost is an open-source publishing platform that provides content creators with tools to build websites, publish newsletters, manage memberships, and grow sustainable businesses around their content. |
| features.capabilities | `{"cms_type":"headless","free_tier":true,"open_source":true,"git_workflow":true,"headless_api":true,"localization":true,"self_hostable":true,"visual_builder":true,"managed_hosting":true,"content_workflow":true,"plugin_ecosystem":"Community-supported modules, themes, and recipes","structured_content":true}` | `{"cms_type":"traditional","free_tier":true,"multisite":false,"open_source":true,"git_workflow":true,"headless_api":true,"localization":true,"self_hostable":true,"visual_builder":true,"managed_hosting":true,"content_workflow":true,"plugin_ecosystem":"8,000+ integrations","structured_content":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 8,000 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Zapier"},{"name":"n8n"},{"name":"BeyondWords"},{"name":"Stripe","native":true,"category":"payments","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"GitHub","native":true}]` |
| language.primary | PHP | TypeScript |
| license.spdx | - | MIT |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Open source and free","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.drupal.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T15:29:30.320Z"}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Starter","summary":"$18/month billed yearly","features":["Your own website","Free custom domain","Email newsletter","Simple design settings","1,000 members","One staff user","Unlimited email sends","Worldwide CDN","Automatic weekly updates","Free SSL certificate","Two-factor authentication"],"minSeats":1,"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":18,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"members":"1,000","staff_users":"1"}},{"free":false,"name":"Publisher","summary":"$29/month","features":["Custom themes","8,000+ integrations","Paid subscriptions","Advanced analytics","Premium tiers","Signup attribution","Email analytics","Managed deliverability","Edit links after sending","Slack integration","Content API","Admin API","Webhooks","Zapier automation","n8n automation","Custom integrations","SSO (Single Sign-On)","Email support","Account manager","Unlimited email sends","Worldwide CDN","Free SSL certificate","Automatic weekly updates"],"minSeats":3,"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":29,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"staff_users":"3","integrations":"8,000+"}},{"free":false,"name":"Business","summary":"$199/month","features":["Priority support","Higher usage limits","Early access to features","99.9% uptime SLA"],"minSeats":15,"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":199,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"members":"Unlimited","staff_users":"15"}},{"free":false,"name":"Custom","features":["Advanced configurations","Dedicated IP address","99.9% uptime SLA","Unlimited members"],"contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"members":"Unlimited"}}],"addOns":[{"name":"Custom SSL certificate","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From $18/month. Free 14-day trial. No payment fees; upgrade, downgrade, or cancel anytime.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://ghost.org/pricing/","retrievedAt":"2026-09-14T13:22:11.549Z","freeTrialDays":14,"startingPrice":{"amount":18,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | mid |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":18,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 3 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.63.0","date":"2026-09-08T20:21:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.63.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.62.0","date":"2026-09-01T15:33:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.62.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.61.0","date":"2026-08-27T10:12:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.61.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.60.0","date":"2026-08-25T15:30:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.60.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.59.0","date":"2026-08-19T20:27:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.59.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.58.0","date":"2026-08-18T16:07:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.58.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.57.1","date":"2026-08-10T20:39:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.57.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.57.0","date":"2026-08-07T15:32:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.57.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.56.0","date":"2026-08-04T17:48:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.56.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.55.0","date":"2026-07-31T16:17:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.55.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.54.1","date":"2026-07-27T20:46:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.54.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.54.0","date":"2026-07-24T15:43:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.54.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.53.0","date":"2026-07-17T15:43:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.53.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.52.1","date":"2026-07-10T16:03:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.52.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.52.0","date":"2026-07-09T14:10:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.52.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.51.0","date":"2026-07-03T15:54:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.51.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.50.0","date":"2026-07-02T12:31:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.50.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.49.0","date":"2026-06-26T16:04:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.49.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.48.0","date":"2026-06-25T17:10:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.48.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost/releases/tag/v6.47.0","date":"2026-06-24T13:27:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.47.0"}]` |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.9 |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.scorecard | 3.9 | 3.7 |
| security.trust_center | https://www.drupal.org/privacy | https://ghost.org/privacy/ |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":73,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=packagist&package_name=drupal%2Fdrupal&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` | `{"count":41,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=ghost&per_page=100","last_12m":26,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` |

## Capabilities (CMS Software)

| Capability | Drupal | Ghost |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| CMS type | Headless / API-first | 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 | Community-supported modules, themes, and recipes | 8,000+ integrations |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Multi-site / multi-tenant | - | ✗ |
| **Workflow** |  |  |
| Git-based / code-first workflow | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Free / open tier | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-09-21T03:43:00.637Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*