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Comparison · Mkt Auto
Craft CMS vs Ghost
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Craft CMS and Ghost — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Craft CMS vs Ghost: at a glance
What is Craft CMS?
Craft 6's alphas have moved from rewriting plugin APIs to rebuilding the control panel.
Craft CMS 6.0 is at alpha.20 on its Laravel foundation, with recent alphas consolidating the control panel: inline editing, exports and search-as-you-type in element indexes, and Matrix, nested elements and addresses moved onto shared Vue controls. The stable line has moved to 5.12, where the latest release is a one-fix patch for duplicate icons in icon pickers.
What is Ghost?
Ghost automations can now start when a paid member changes tier or leaves.
Member email automation has been Ghost's main line since June. October added automation analytics and tier-specific welcome sequences, and on 4 November automations gained lifecycle triggers: a flow can start when a paid member changes tiers or when their subscription ends. Stripe Checkout customization keeps a publication's brand on the payment page.
Craft CMS vs Ghost: editorial side-by-side
Craft CMS
5.0MKT AUTO
Craft 6's alphas have moved from rewriting plugin APIs to rebuilding the control panel.
◆ Current state
Craft CMS 6.0 is at alpha.20 on its Laravel foundation, with recent alphas consolidating the control panel: inline editing, exports and search-as-you-type in element indexes, and Matrix, nested elements and addresses moved onto shared Vue controls. The stable line has moved to 5.12, where the latest release is a one-fix patch for duplicate icons in icon pickers.
◆ Where it's heading
Early alphas broke plugin APIs and swapped image libraries; the recent ones are about the editor experience on the new Inertia/Vue control panel, porting each legacy HTML form onto shared components. The breaking-change notes are getting shorter as the UI work grows.
◆ Prediction
More legacy screens moving to shared Vue controls is the clear next step, followed by a beta once plugin-facing breaking changes stop. No date for that is visible in the entries.
Ghost
5.0MKT AUTO
Ghost automations can now start when a paid member changes tier or leaves.
◆ Current state
Member email automation has been Ghost's main line since June. October added automation analytics and tier-specific welcome sequences, and on 4 November automations gained lifecycle triggers: a flow can start when a paid member changes tiers or when their subscription ends. Stripe Checkout customization keeps a publication's brand on the payment page.
◆ Where it's heading
Automation is moving past onboarding into the rest of the subscriber lifecycle. With upgrade, downgrade and cancellation triggers, publishers can run retention and win-back flows inside Ghost rather than in a separate email tool.
◆ Prediction
Further triggers such as free-to-paid conversion or engagement events are the likely next step, following the pattern of one automation addition per month.
Alternatives to Craft CMS and Ghost
Other Mkt Auto products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Craft CMS or Ghost.
n8n
n8n tightens who owns v3 migration findings as its 2.x patch lines keep moving.
Gumloop
Gumloop 13.5 lets teammates work in the same agent task live.
Buttondown
Buttondown adds side-by-side email comparison bars and background patterns for its Modern theme.
OpnForm
OpnForm's fourth patch in a week fixes forms and quietly widens self-hosted telemetry.
GetResponse
GetResponse ties automation to segments and product interest after its MCP launch
See all Craft CMS alternatives → · See all Ghost alternatives →
Recent activity from Craft CMS and Ghost
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 6d agoCraft CMSCraft 5.12.0.1 fixes duplicate icons in icon pickers
- 6d agoGhostLifecycle triggers for automations
- 20d agoGhostStripe Checkout customization
- 26d agoGhostTier-specific welcome sequences
- 1mo agoCraft CMS5.11.5.1 restores editing of third-party nested elements
- 1mo agoCraft CMSCraft 6 alpha.20 moves more editors onto shared Vue controls
- 1mo agoGhostAutomation analytics
- 1mo agoCraft CMSCraft 6 alpha.19 adds inline editing and exports to indexes
- 2mo agoCraft CMSCraft CMS 6.0.0-alpha.18
- 2mo agoGhostGift subscription improvements
- 2mo agoCraft CMSCraft CMS 6.0.0-alpha.17
- 3mo agoGhostAnalytics for email sequences
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Craft CMS and Ghost?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Craft CMS and Ghost are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Craft CMS better than Ghost?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Craft CMS and Ghost are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Mkt Auto products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Craft CMS?
Top Craft CMS alternatives in Mkt Auto are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Craft CMS alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/craft-cms for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Ghost?
Top Ghost alternatives in Mkt Auto are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Ghost alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ghost for the full list with editorial commentary on each.