LMS · head to head
Chamilo vs Ghost
Chamilo
LMS
Open source learning management system with no licence fee and a Latin American and francophone user base
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Ghost
News
Modern publishing platform with content API and membership support
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Chamilo version 3.0 has been in beta since 2024 while production deployments stay on the 1.11 branch, so anyone planning a multi-year deployment is choosing between an ageing stable line and an unfinished rewrite.; Ghost backup and migration processes have significant limitations and are problematic for long-term users
- They diverge on capability: Chamilo covers Course and learning paths, Ghost covers Content API.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Chamilo and Ghost actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Chamilo
- Course and learning paths
- Assessments
- Gradebook and certificates
- Attendance tracking
- Sessions and multi-tenancy
- Wide interface translation
- Plugins
- Low hosting requirements
Only in Ghost
- Content API
- Membership
- Analytics
- Webhooks
- Zapier
- Custom integrations
- Node.js support
- Cloud support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Chamilo
- A Latin American university that needs an LMS with no per-student licence fee and Spanish-language support from people in a compatible time zonenot Ghost
- A ministry or NGO delivering vocational training over poor connectivity, where a lightweight PHP application on cheap hosting beats a heavyweight platformnot Ghost
- A francophone institution in West Africa or Belgium where French interface and documentation quality decides adoption more than feature countnot Ghost
- An organisation that requires the LMS to run entirely on its own infrastructure with no data leaving the countrynot Ghost
Ghost
- API Developmentnot Chamilo
- API Gatewaynot Chamilo
- API Testingnot Chamilo
- API Documentationnot Chamilo
- Microservicesnot Chamilo
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Chamilo
- Version 3.0 has been in beta since 2024 while production deployments stay on the 1.11 branch, so anyone planning a multi-year deployment is choosing between an ageing stable line and an unfinished rewrite.
- Governance moved to BeezNest Belgium, a commercial company that also sells Chamilo hosting and services, which concentrates roadmap decisions in a vendor with a direct commercial interest in the support market.
- The English-language community and documentation are noticeably thinner than the Spanish and French, so an anglophone institution will find fewer answers, fewer contributors and fewer consultants than the project size implies.
- No licence fee is not no cost: hosting, upgrades, security patching, backups and integration work all fall on the institution or a paid partner, and that ongoing labour usually exceeds what a small institution would have paid for a hosted commercial LMS.
- The third-party plugin ecosystem is small compared with Moodle, so integrations with proctoring, publisher content and student information systems often have to be commissioned rather than installed.
Ghost
- Backup and migration processes have significant limitations and are problematic for long-term users
- Open-source version lacks automatic backups, email subscriptions, and ad placement features
- No built-in e-commerce functionality; separate platform required for product sales
- Smaller community compared to WordPress, making support and resources harder to find
- Narrow focus on publishing limits use cases outside content-only websites
Pricing, plan by plan
Chamilo
Free- Self-hostedFree
- GNU GPL licence, no per-learner fee
- Full source code
- Community support in Spanish, French and English
- Hosting and support from partners$undefined/year
- Managed hosting, upgrades and support sold by BeezNest and other official providers
- Priced per deployment, quoted
Ghost
Free- Self-HostedFree
- Open-source Ghost CMS
- Full control over data
- No payment fees
- Starter$15/month
- Up to 1,000 members
- Newsletter functionality
- Membership management
- Publisher$29/month
- Unlimited members
- Continuous member scaling
- Advanced analytics
- Business$199/month
- All Publisher features
- Custom domain
- Priority support
Which should you pick?
Choose Chamilo if
- You need course and learning paths.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Self-hosted, Linux.
- You also want assessments.
Choose Ghost if
- You need content api.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud-hosted.
- You also want membership.
Questions people ask
- Is Chamilo or Ghost better?
- Neither clearly leads. Chamilo starts at Free and Ghost at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Chamilo or Ghost?
- Chamilo starts at Free and Ghost at Free.
- Does Chamilo or Ghost run on more platforms?
- Chamilo runs on Web, Self-hosted, Linux. Ghost runs on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud-hosted.
- Can I use Chamilo for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Chamilo best used for?
- Chamilo is most often used for a latin american university that needs an lms with no per-student licence fee and spanish-language support from people in a compatible time zone, a ministry or ngo delivering vocational training over poor connectivity, where a lightweight php application on cheap hosting beats a heavyweight platform, a francophone institution in west africa or belgium where french interface and documentation quality decides adoption more than feature count, an organisation that requires the lms to run entirely on its own infrastructure with no data leaving the country. Of those, a latin american university that needs an lms with no per-student licence fee and spanish-language support from people in a compatible time zone and a ministry or ngo delivering vocational training over poor connectivity, where a lightweight php application on cheap hosting beats a heavyweight platform are not what Ghost is typically brought in for.
- What can Chamilo do that Ghost cannot?
- Chamilo covers Course and learning paths, Assessments, Gradebook and certificates, Attendance tracking. Ghost covers Content API, Membership, Analytics, Webhooks.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Chamilo: Who owns and maintains Chamilo now?
The project has been governed by BeezNest Belgium since January 2026. The code remains under the GNU GPL, but roadmap stewardship sits with a commercial company that also sells Chamilo services.
Ghost: What is the free option for Ghost?
Ghost is open-source software that can be self-hosted for free. Self-hosting costs depend on your own server, domain, SSL, email delivery infrastructure, and DevOps expertise.
SourceChamilo: Is Chamilo 3 ready for production?
No. The 3.0 line has been in beta since 2024 and production installations remain on the 1.11 branch. Plan on 1.11 and treat the 3.0 migration as a future project.
Ghost: What is the starting price for Ghost(Pro) managed hosting?
Ghost(Pro) Starter plan is USD 15/month when billed yearly or USD 18/month when billed monthly. This plan includes up to 1,000 members with membership features enabled.
SourceChamilo: Is there a licence fee?
No. Chamilo is GPL software with no per-learner charge. Costs are hosting, support and whatever integration work you commission.
Ghost: Can I collect payments and manage subscriptions with Ghost?
Yes. Ghost includes native membership and subscription management with support for free signups and paid tiers (monthly/yearly options). All revenue goes directly to publishers with zero payment fees.
SourceChamilo: Where is it strongest?
Spanish-speaking Latin America, Spain, francophone West Africa and Belgium. Support and documentation quality in Spanish and French exceed the English.
Ghost: Does Ghost integrate with Stripe?
Yes. Ghost integrates with Stripe for payment processing and subscription management, plus Zapier, Slack, Google Analytics, and thousands of other third-party apps.
SourceRelated pages
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- Ghost vs Skilljar
- Ghost vs CYPHER Learning
- Ghost vs LearnUpon
- Ghost vs Pear Deck
- Ghost vs Seesaw
- Ghost vs Weet
- Ghost vs Whatfix
- Ghost vs NetNewsWire
- Ghost vs NewsBlur
- Ghost vs Beehiiv
- Ghost vs Chartbeat
- Ghost vs Buttondown
- Ghost vs Arc Publishing
- Ghost vs Medium
- Ghost vs Parse.ly
- Ghost vs Inoreader
- Ghost vs Meltwater
- Ghost vs Substack
- Ghost vs ConvertKit
- Ghost vs Microsoft Start
- Ghost vs News Break
- Ghost vs NewsWhip
- Ghost vs Newswire