Ghost is a lightweight, membership-focused blogging platform optimized for content creators and newsletters, while Webflow is a full-featured visual website builder with advanced design control and e-commerce capabilities. Ghost costs $29/month for basic hosting, while Webflow starts at $14/month but with more limited content features.
Ghost vs Webflow — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Membership-first, open-source blogging platform optimized for content creators and paid newsletters.
Visual website builder with no-code design capabilities and built-in e-commerce.
Primary Use Case. Starting Price (Monthly). Design Freedom. Built-in Membership System. E-commerce Capabilities. Newsletter Feature. Learning Curve
Choose Ghost if you're a content creator, journalist, or author focused on building a membership business with newsletters and don't need complex design flexibility. Choose Webflow if you need a visually custom website, e-commerce functionality, or portfolio capabilities with designer-level control.
Ghost: Variable by creator | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Advanced (meta tags, sitemaps, structured data) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Full custom themes and CSS control | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Minimal, relies on external traffic | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Subscriptions, memberships, ads, sponsorships | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: $18 (starter plan) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Built-in (native feature) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: 2-3 limited options | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: $9-$199/month or $0 self-hosted | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: 30-60 minutes plus hosting | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Full creator ownership (self-hosted) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Newsletter, comments, member walls | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Complete; full white-label | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: 2-5 days (processor dependent) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Unlimited (self-hosted limits by server) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Web-only; no native apps | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Not disclosed (smaller ecosystem) | Webflow: ~200,000 active creators (estimated)
Ghost: $199/year (Ghost Pro) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: 9/10 (full code access) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: 30-60 minutes (with setup) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: 400+ (through open-source ecosystem) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: 100% (creator owns all) | Webflow: N/A
Average Writer Earnings (Partner Program)
Ghost: Variable (unlimited potential) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: 10/10 (full control) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: $29 (Ghost Pro) / Free (self-hosted) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: No additional fees | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: No built-in limit; integrates Stripe/PayPal | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: 15-20 professional themes | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Native segmentation, automation, design builder | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Built-in tiers, gating, paywalls, analytics | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Basic XML sitemaps, structured data, redirects | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: 14 days for Ghost(Pro) | Webflow: 14 days
Ghost: 10,000 | Webflow: 0 (requires integration)
Ghost: Scales to 1,000,000+ | Webflow: 100 (before degradation)
Ghost: Self-hosted only | Webflow: Limited free tier (3 projects max)
Ghost: Yes (full tier support) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Full-featured publishing platform | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Yes (full self-hosting available) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Yes (extensive public API) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: $29 (Professional plan) | Webflow: $14/month
Ghost: Segmentation, A/B testing, automation workflows | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Unlimited custom tiers | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Full REST API with custom code access | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: $348 (Professional) + hosting | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: ~1.2s average | Webflow: ~2.1s average
Ghost: Yes (native) | Webflow: No (requires apps)
Ghost: 150+ via Zapier/API | Webflow: 300+ native apps
Monthly Newsletter Subscriber Allowance (Free Tier)
Ghost: <1% | Webflow: 0.8% of all websites
Ghost: Native, built-in feature | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: $29 (Ghost Pro managed) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Native memberships with paywalls | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Basic product pages; not primary focus | Webflow: Native: products, inventory, cart, checkout, shipping calculations
Ghost: Built-in with automation and segmentation | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: Yes (Ghost Pro); No (self-hosted requires setup) | Webflow: N/A
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: $168-468 (sites only)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: 150-5,000 (plan dependent)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: ~1,500 integrations
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Full (inventory, shipping, payments, subscriptions)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Advanced (relational databases, custom fields)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Moderate (manual setup required)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Steep (requires web design knowledge)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Advanced (AI-powered, 5+ concurrent tests)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: 6+ (sitemaps, redirects, canonical, structured data, robots.txt)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: $12/month (free plan available)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Production-grade; supports 1000s of dynamic pages/items
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Full custom CSS, JavaScript, and HTML support
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Webflow AI for design generation, CMS, and developer workflows
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: 100+ professionally designed templates
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Integrated, fast, with strong SEO and security controls
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Enterprise-grade (supports unlimited collections)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Standard breakpoints (6-8 default)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Webflow AI design and CMS assistance
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Real-time collaboration (2026 feature)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Agencies, enterprises (80% of agency usage)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Pixel-perfect, unlimited interactions
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Up to 100,000 (collections limited)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: 50,000 (Basic), scales to millions on higher plans
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Unlimited on all plans
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: 4-8 hours (with templates)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: 12-20 weeks (requires custom backend)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Full control (title, meta description, OG tags, structured data)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: $12/month (Webflow Basic plan)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: $12-165/month (includes hosting)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: ~500 integrations (via Zapier/Make)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: 0.5-1 hour (visual builder, guided setup)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: <1% (Webflow Shop limited)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: 99.9% (built-in guarantee)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Basic CMS only, no relations
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Full custom CSS and pixel-level precision
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: 9 native features (sitemaps, meta, schema, redirects, robots.txt)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Full API with webhooks
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Full code editing available
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Via Zapier integrations
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Not available (paid only)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Native integrations with 200+ tools
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Full SEO suite included
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Yes (dynamic collections)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: No, custom code only
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Advanced (redirects, structured data, sitemap control)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Full (variants, subscriptions, inventory)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: 1,000+ approved integrations
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: ~5GB (CMS limited)
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: CSS/JavaScript in designated areas
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Webflow-managed global CDN
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Basic REST, limited workflows
Ghost: N/A | Webflow: Native meta tags, sitemap, SSL, open graph
Ghost vs Webflow — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Ghost vs Webflow. Contains 184 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Ghost vs Webflow — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Ghost vs Webflow.
Can I use Ghost for an e-commerce store?
Ghost does not have native e-commerce functionality. You can integrate with external services like Stripe or Snipcart, but inventory management, tax calculations, and shipping integrations require manual setup or custom development. For full e-commerce, Webflow is the better choice.
Can I build a membership site on Webflow?
Webflow doesn't have native membership authentication or paywalls. You can use third-party apps like MemberPress or Memberful, but this requires workarounds and adds complexity. Ghost has built-in, production-ready membership features out of the box.
Which platform is easier to learn for beginners?
Ghost has a gentler learning curve with a straightforward dashboard interface and minimal design decisions required. Webflow requires understanding design principles, responsive layouts, and CSS concepts, typically taking 30-50 hours to become proficient.
Ghost's top tier is $199/month (all features, unlimited members). Webflow's Business plan is $165/month with CMS capabilities. Ghost is more cost-effective for content businesses, while Webflow requires higher plans to unlock full features, potentially costing $165-225/month for agencies.
Ghost provides full data exports in standard formats (JSON) and allows custom domain transfers. Webflow also supports exports and custom domains, but migrating visual designs away is more complex since designs are stored in proprietary format. Both allow reasonable exit paths.
Primary Use Case: Ghost has Membership blogging & newsletters, while Webflow has Visual website design & e-commerce.
Starting Price (Monthly): Ghost has $29/month (Ghost Pro), while Webflow has $14/month (Webflow Basic).
Design Freedom: Ghost has Limited (template-based), while Webflow has Unlimited (visual builder).
Built-in Membership System: Ghost has Yes (native support), while Webflow has Limited (requires workarounds).
E-commerce Capabilities: Ghost has None (no native shop), while Webflow has Full suite (products, checkout, inventory).
Newsletter Feature: Ghost has Native email subscriptions, while Webflow has Requires integration.
Learning Curve: Ghost has Minimal (dashboard-focused), while Webflow has Moderate (visual design knowledge needed).