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Ghost vs Sakai

Ghost logo

Ghost

News

Modern publishing platform with content API and membership support

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sakai logo

Sakai

LMS

Open source learning management system governed by the Apereo Foundation

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Ghost backup and migration processes have significant limitations and are problematic for long-term users; Sakai the zero licence fee is misleading: running Sakai needs Java operations, database administration and upgrade testing capacity, and universities that costed only the hardware have ended up paying a hosting partner anyway.
  • They diverge on capability: Ghost covers Content API, Sakai covers Course sites.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ghost and Sakai actually diverge.

Attributes where Ghost and Sakai differ
AttributeGhostSakai
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted, Cloud-hostedWeb, Linux, iOS, Android
CategoryNewsLMS
Founded2013Unknown

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 Ghost

  • Content API
  • Membership
  • Analytics
  • Webhooks
  • Zapier
  • Custom integrations
  • Node.js support
  • Cloud support

Only in Sakai

  • Course sites
  • Tests and Quizzes
  • Gradebook
  • Lessons
  • Assignments
  • Forums and messaging
  • LTI support
  • Self-hosting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Ghost

  • API Developmentnot Sakai
  • API Gatewaynot Sakai
  • API Testingnot Sakai
  • API Documentationnot Sakai
  • Microservicesnot Sakai

Sakai

  • A university whose data protection policy or national regulation requires student coursework to stay on institution-controlled infrastructure inside a specific jurisdiction.not Ghost
  • An institution that has been repriced twice by a commercial LMS vendor after ownership changes and wants a platform with no owner to sell it.not Ghost
  • A university with an existing Java and Tomcat operations team, where the marginal cost of running one more Java application is genuinely low.not Ghost
  • A consortium of institutions sharing one deployment and one set of local integrations rather than each paying separate per-student licences.not Ghost

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

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

Sakai

  • The zero licence fee is misleading: running Sakai needs Java operations, database administration and upgrade testing capacity, and universities that costed only the hardware have ended up paying a hosting partner anyway.
  • The third-party teaching tool ecosystem builds and tests for Canvas first, so Sakai adopters do their own LTI integration work and occasionally wait for a vendor to certify against a platform it does not prioritise.
  • Because governance is a foundation of member institutions rather than a company, a feature only gets built if some institution funds an engineer to build it, so roadmap commitments are weaker than a vendor contract provides.
  • The interface, while improved through the version 20 to 25 cycle, still reads as older than Canvas or Brightspace, and academic staff who have used a commercial LMS elsewhere notice it immediately.
  • Adoption is concentrated in specific regions and sectors, so the pool of people who have run Sakai in production is small, making it harder to hire an administrator than for Moodle or Canvas.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Sakai

Free
  • SakaiFree
    • Educational Community Licence, no licence fee
    • Full source on GitHub
    • Community support through Apereo lists and Jira
  • Commercial hosting and support$undefined/year
    • Provided by Apereo affiliates such as Longsight
    • Hosting, upgrades, backups and support
    • Quoted per institution, commonly by student headcount

Which should you pick?

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.
Ghost review

Choose Sakai if

  • You need course sites.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want tests and quizzes.
Sakai review

Questions people ask

Is Ghost or Sakai better?
Neither clearly leads. Ghost starts at Free and Sakai at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ghost or Sakai?
Ghost starts at Free and Sakai at Free.
Does Ghost or Sakai run on more platforms?
Ghost runs on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud-hosted. Sakai runs on Web, Linux, iOS, Android.
Can I use Ghost for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Ghost best used for?
Ghost is most often used for api development, api gateway, api testing, api documentation. Of those, api development and api gateway are not what Sakai is typically brought in for.
What can Ghost do that Sakai cannot?
Ghost covers Content API, Membership, Analytics, Webhooks. Sakai covers Course sites, Tests and Quizzes, Gradebook, Lessons.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Source
Sakai: Is Sakai still actively developed?

Yes. Version 25.0 shipped in 2025, 25.1 followed in November 2025, and further maintenance releases in the 25 line are planned, with commits continuing through 2026.

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.

Source
Sakai: Who owns Sakai?

No company does. Governance sits with the Apereo Foundation, a membership organisation of institutions, and the code is under the Educational Community Licence.

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.

Source
Sakai: What does it actually cost to run?

The software is free. The cost is Java hosting and staff, or a commercial hosting agreement with an Apereo affiliate such as Longsight, typically quoted by student headcount.

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.

Source
Sakai: How does it compare to Moodle?

Moodle has a far larger plugin ecosystem and installed base; Sakai has a cleaner assessment and gradebook model and is more common in research-intensive universities. Moodle is easier to hire for.

Sakai: Can we migrate off it later?

Yes, but course content export fidelity through Common Cartridge is imperfect, so budget for manual rebuilding of assessments as you would leaving any LMS.

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