# Ghost vs Strapi

> Strapi scores 65.7 (B) on agent readiness against Ghost's 58.3 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Both do cms content. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-strapi
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-strapi.md (~2,100 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-strapi.min.md (~580 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-strapi.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

Strapi scores 65.7 (B) on agent readiness against Ghost's 58.3 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Both do cms content.

- Ghost: grade C, 58.3/100, rank #455 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ghost.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ghost.json
- Strapi: grade B, 65.7/100, rank #252 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/strapi.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/strapi.json

## Which one, for what

### Ghost (C)

Good for: A publication, blog or newsletter where an agent drafts posts and a person or a higher role publishes.

Watch for: No OpenAPI or other machine-readable description of the Admin API was found in the docs or the repository

### Strapi (B)

Good for: Teams that want to own their CMS and let an agent draft, localise and publish entries under a narrow token.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 80 against 51
- Security & auth, 66 against 56

Watch for: Content History keeps no version for REST, GraphQL or MCP writes, and exists only on Growth and Enterprise plans


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Ghost | Strapi | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 82 | Strapi +2 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 51 | 80 | Strapi +29 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 69 | 65 | Ghost +4 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 56 | 66 | Strapi +10 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 50 | 50 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 87 | Strapi +2 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 72 | 72 | even |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -7 | -6 | |
| **Total** | | **58.3 · C** | **65.7 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Ghost | Strapi |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Ghost Foundation | Strapi, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT, copyright Ghost Foundation. Ghost(Pro) is a paid hosting service under the Ghost Foundation's terms | MIT for the Community Edition. Code under ee/ directories is under Strapi's Enterprise Edition licence, and Strapi Cloud is a paid service under its own terms |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-07 | 2026-10-07 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2026-10-07 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2023-03-01 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 56k stars, 24k npm/wk | 73k stars, 259k npm/wk |

## Verdicts

**Ghost.** A create needs only a title, updates are checked against `updated_at` so a stale write is refused, and a Contributor's staff token can draft without being able to publish. The Admin API has no OpenAPI file and one fixed permission set per integration, and 20 security advisories were published between 3 September and 1 October 2026.

**Strapi.** The built-in MCP server shows an agent only the tools, fields and locales its Admin token permits, and content tools create drafts by default. Rollback is the limit. Content History is a paid feature and records admin panel edits only, so API and MCP writes leave no version to restore, and the MCP server can't upload files.

## Before you call either

### Ghost

1. Sign a fresh HS256 token for each batch of calls. Decode the hex secret to bytes, set `kid` to the key id, `aud` to `/admin/` and `exp` at most 5 minutes ahead
2. Set `status` to `draft` on every create unless told to publish, and publish later with a PUT that sets `status` to `published`
3. GET the post before each PUT and send its `updated_at` back. Tags and authors in a PUT replace the existing lists
4. Send content as a Lexical JSON string, or add `?source=html` and send `html`. The HTML conversion is lossy unless wrapped in an HTML card
5. Page through lists with `limit` up to 100 and `page`. Since Ghost 6.0 `limit=all` returns 100 items without an error

### Strapi

1. Pass `status=draft` on every REST POST and PUT. Without it the Content API publishes the entry at once
2. Use an Admin token for `/mcp` and admin routes and an API token for `/api`. Each kind is rejected on the other's routes
3. Upload files with multipart POST to `/api/upload` first, then reference the returned file id in the entry. MCP tools can't upload
4. Call `media_delete_assets` and `media_delete_folder` without `dryRun` first to preview, and take asset ids only from `media_list_assets`
5. Keep your own copy of an entry before updating it. API and MCP writes create no Content History version

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Ghost or Strapi?

Strapi scores 65.7 (B) on agent readiness against Ghost's 58.3 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories.

### Do Ghost and Strapi need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call Ghost and Strapi without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Ghost. No hosted endpoint is listed for Strapi.

### Are Ghost and Strapi open source?

Yes. Ghost is open source (MIT, copyright Ghost Foundation. Ghost(Pro) is a paid hosting service under the Ghost Foundation's terms). Strapi is open source (MIT for the Community Edition. Code under ee/ directories is under Strapi's Enterprise Edition licence, and Strapi Cloud is a paid service under its own terms).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-strapi.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-strapi.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "ghost", "b": "strapi"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare ghost strapi`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ghost.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/strapi.json

## Other comparisons with Ghost or Strapi

- [Contentstack vs Ghost](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/contentstack-vs-ghost.md)
- [Contentstack vs Strapi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/contentstack-vs-strapi.md)
- [DatoCMS vs Ghost](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datocms-vs-ghost.md)
- [DatoCMS vs Strapi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/datocms-vs-strapi.md)
- [Directus vs Ghost](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/directus-vs-ghost.md)
- [Directus vs Strapi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/directus-vs-strapi.md)
- [Ghost vs Payload](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-payload.md)
- [Ghost vs Sanity](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-sanity.md)
- [Ghost vs Storyblok](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-storyblok.md)
- [Ghost vs Webflow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-webflow.md)
- [Ghost vs WordPress](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ghost-vs-wordpress.md)
- [Payload vs Strapi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/payload-vs-strapi.md)
- [Sanity vs Strapi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sanity-vs-strapi.md)
- [Storyblok vs Strapi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/storyblok-vs-strapi.md)
- [Strapi vs Webflow](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/strapi-vs-webflow.md)
- [Strapi vs WordPress](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/strapi-vs-wordpress.md)