Software · head to head
Artifact vs Ghost CMS
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Artifact wound down in early April 2024. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger closed it, saying the market opportunity was not large enough to keep investing; Ghost CMS ghost Pro plans cap members, at 1,000 on both Starter and Publisher and 10,000 on Business
- They diverge on capability: Artifact covers AI recommendations, Ghost CMS covers Publishing platform.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Artifact and Ghost CMS actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Artifact
- AI recommendations
- Article summaries
- Clickbait detection
- Social sharing
- Topic following
- Social sharing
- Ios support
- Android support
Only in Ghost CMS
- Publishing platform
- Email newsletters
- Membership management
- Analytics
- Paywall support
- SEO optimization
- Media library
- API access
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Artifact
- News consumptionnot Ghost CMS
- Content discoverynot Ghost CMS
- Staying informednot Ghost CMS
Ghost CMS
- Running a publication or newsletter with paid subscriptionsnot Artifact
- Self hosting a headless or full stack publishing platformnot Artifact
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Artifact
- Wound down in early April 2024. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger closed it, saying the market opportunity was not large enough to keep investing
- Yahoo acquired the personalisation technology and folded it into Yahoo News, so the app itself is not coming back
- The founders stayed only in an advisory capacity through the transition
Ghost CMS
- Ghost Pro plans cap members, at 1,000 on both Starter and Publisher and 10,000 on Business
- Staff users are limited to 1 on Starter and 3 on Publisher
- Custom themes and integrations require the Publisher plan at $29 a month billed yearly
- The jump to 10,000 members is the $199 a month Business plan, with nothing between
- Self hosting is free but installing under a subdirectory needs a custom reverse proxy that Ghost does not officially support
Pricing, plan by plan
Artifact
Free- FreeFree
- AI-powered recommendations
- Article summaries
- Social features
Ghost CMS
Free- Free Self-HostedFree
- Open source
- Self-hosted
- Basic features
- Creator$29/month
- Email newsletters
- Memberships
- Analytics
- Business$99/month
- Advanced analytics
- Priority support
- Custom integrations
Which should you pick?
Choose Artifact if
- You need ai recommendations.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Ios, Android.
- You also want article summaries.
Choose Ghost CMS if
- You need publishing platform.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Self-hosted.
- You also want email newsletters.
Questions people ask
- Is Artifact or Ghost CMS better?
- Neither clearly leads. Artifact starts at Free and Ghost CMS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Artifact or Ghost CMS?
- Artifact starts at Free and Ghost CMS at Free.
- Does Artifact or Ghost CMS run on more platforms?
- Artifact runs on Ios, Android. Ghost CMS runs on Web, Self-hosted.
- Can I use Artifact for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Artifact best used for?
- Artifact is most often used for news consumption, content discovery, staying informed. Of those, news consumption and content discovery are not what Ghost CMS is typically brought in for.
- What can Artifact do that Ghost CMS cannot?
- Artifact covers AI recommendations, Article summaries, Clickbait detection, Social sharing. Ghost CMS covers Publishing platform, Email newsletters, Membership management, Analytics.
Related pages
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