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Ghost (self-hosted) — open source alternative

Modern open source publishing platform with paid newsletters.

Strengths

  • Clean, writer-first editor.
  • Built-in newsletter and memberships.
  • Self-host or paid managed hosting.

Weaknesses

  • Smaller plugin ecosystem than WordPress.
  • Themes require handlebars knowledge.
  • Self-host requires Node.js + MySQL setup.
License: MIT Self-host difficulty: 2/5 Hosted cloud optionDesktop: Windows, macOS, LinuxMobile: iOS, Android

Official site · Source on GitHub

Ad slot — OSS middle

Ghost (self-hosted) is used as an alternative to

Wix

Template-driven website builder.

See all alternatives →

Substack

Hosted newsletter platform with paid subscriptions built in.

See all alternatives →

More open source in this category

Discover other projects tagged Website Builders & CMS on the category page.

Other open source projects in Website Builders & CMS

GrapesJS

Open source drag-and-drop visual builder framework.

License: BSD-3-Clause

Silex

Free and open source website builder in the browser.

License: AGPL-3.0

WordPress (self-hosted)

The world's most used open source CMS.

License: GPL-2.0

Recommended reading

When self-hosting goes wrong: seven failure modes and how to avoid them

An honest retrospective on the ways self-hosted setups break — not in theory, but in practice — and the small habits that prevent most of them.

Will the open source project you depend on still exist in three years?

Bus factor, maintainer burnout, funding models, and the signals that separate OSS projects that survive from those that quietly decay.

From SaaS to self-hosted: a 30-day migration playbook

A week-by-week plan to move one service off SaaS and onto your own server without breaking your team's workflow.