Software · head to head
Medium vs Ghost CMS
Medium
Software
The best place to read and write stories on the internet
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Medium unlimited access to stories requires a paid Medium membership; Ghost CMS ghost Pro plans cap members, at 1,000 on both Starter and Publisher and 10,000 on Business
- They diverge on capability: Medium covers Story publishing, Ghost CMS covers Publishing platform.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Medium and Ghost CMS actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), 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 Medium
- Story publishing
- Member program
- Earning potential
- Reading time estimates
- Clap reactions
- Highlighting & annotations
- Story recommendations
- Following system
Only in Ghost CMS
- Publishing platform
- Email newsletters
- Membership management
- Analytics
- Paywall support
- SEO optimization
- Media library
- API access
Both cover
- RSS
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Medium
- Publishing articles without running your own blognot Ghost CMS
- Reading long-form writing across technology, culture and newsnot Ghost CMS
- Earning from writing through the Medium Partner Programnot Ghost CMS
Ghost CMS
- Running a publication or newsletter with paid subscriptionsnot Medium
- Self hosting a headless or full stack publishing platformnot Medium
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Medium
- Unlimited access to stories requires a paid Medium membership
- Audio versions of stories are a member-only feature
- Earning money from writing requires joining the Medium Partner Program rather than being automatic
- The iOS app requires iOS 17.0 or later
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
Medium
Free- FreeFree
- Unlimited reading
- Publishing platform
- Story drafts
- Medium Membership$5/month
- Unlimited access
- Exclusive stories
- Member earnings
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 Medium if
- You need story publishing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Mobile.
- You also want member program.
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 Medium or Ghost CMS better?
- Neither clearly leads. Medium 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, Medium or Ghost CMS?
- Medium starts at Free and Ghost CMS at Free.
- Does Medium or Ghost CMS run on more platforms?
- Medium runs on Web, Mobile. Ghost CMS runs on Web, Self-hosted.
- Can I use Medium for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Medium best used for?
- Medium is most often used for publishing articles without running your own blog, reading long-form writing across technology, culture and news, earning from writing through the medium partner program. Of those, publishing articles without running your own blog and reading long-form writing across technology, culture and news are not what Ghost CMS is typically brought in for.
- What can Medium do that Ghost CMS cannot?
- Medium covers Story publishing, Member program, Earning potential, Reading time estimates. Ghost CMS covers Publishing platform, Email newsletters, Membership management, Analytics. Both handle RSS, Web support.
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