Ghost
Just a blogging platform.
Ghost vs WriteFreely
Two self-hosted Blogging Platforms apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Ghost | WriteFreely | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Just a blogging platform. | Writing software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community. |
| GitHub stars | 55,680 | 5,283 |
| Forks | 12.1k | – |
| Open issues (incl. PRs) | 207 | – |
| Commits (12 months) | 6.3k | 206 |
| Last activity | 2026-11-05 | 2026-09-28 |
| Latest release | v6.75.0 (2026-11-04) | v0.17.2 (2026-08-10) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language / platform | Nodejs | Go |
| Docker Hub image | – | – |
| Docker pulls | – | – |
| Est. server size | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU | ~512 MB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $5/mo | $3.5/mo |
| Categories | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- Ghost is more popular on GitHub: 55.7k stars vs 5.3k for WriteFreely.
- Ghost had more commits in the last 12 months (6,257 vs 206).
- Ghost has more recent repository activity (2026-11-05 vs 2026-09-28).
- Ghost published a release more recently (v6.75.0 on 2026-11-04; WriteFreely's latest is v0.17.2 on 2026-08-10).
- Ghost is licensed under MIT, WriteFreely under AGPL-3.0. Ghost's license is permissive; WriteFreely's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).
- Ghost is written in Nodejs; WriteFreely in Go.
- Our rough hardware estimate is lighter for WriteFreely (~512 MB server) than Ghost (~1 GB); this is an estimate from the stack and category, not a benchmark.
Summary: Ghost leads on GitHub popularity, commit activity and recent activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ghost or WriteFreely more popular?
Ghost has more GitHub stars (55,680 vs 5,283 for WriteFreely, as of 2026-11-05). Stars measure interest, not quality.
Which is more actively maintained, Ghost or WriteFreely?
Ghost had more commits over the last 12 months (6,257 vs 206). The last recorded activity was 2026-11-05 for Ghost and 2026-09-28 for WriteFreely. Our health labels: Ghost is “Active”, WriteFreely is “Active”.
What licenses do Ghost and WriteFreely use?
Ghost: MIT. WriteFreely: AGPL-3.0. Ghost's license is permissive; WriteFreely's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).
Can I run Ghost and WriteFreely with Docker?
We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. Check each project's documentation for install options.
Read more
WriteFreely
Writing software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community.
Browse all self-hosted Blogging Platforms apps.