From ButterCMS to Ghost

We are the ButterCMS to Ghost migration experts

Challenges with ButterCMS

Key pain points

Where ButterCMS starts to show cracks is when projects grow beyond its comfort zone. The content modeling is adequate for straightforward use cases, but it lacks the depth and flexibility of platforms like Sanity or Contentful. Components are only available for pages, not collections or blog posts, which creates frustrating inconsistencies when you're trying to build a cohesive content architecture. The 1,000 content field limit, even on expensive plans, can become a real ceiling for ambitious projects.

The platform's smaller ecosystem is a double-edged sword. While anyone who knows JavaScript can work with the API, you won't find the same depth of community resources, plugins, or third-party integrations that larger platforms offer. Media management is also noticeably behind, with no bulk upload capability and limited asset organisation tools. For agencies managing multiple client sites, these paper cuts add up quickly.

There have also been transparency concerns. In 2024, a DNS incident affected thousands of sites using ButterCMS, but their status page showed no downtime. That kind of communication gap is a red flag for any team relying on a third-party CMS in production. The pricing, while competitive on the surface, can feel steep for smaller teams once you move past the limited free tier, and the jump between plans isn't always proportional to what you get.

Limited content modeling flexibility

Components are only available for pages, not collections or blog posts. This creates awkward workarounds when you need consistent structured content across different content types.

Content field limits on all plans

Even the most expensive plans cap you at 1,000 content fields. For complex, multi-locale projects this ceiling arrives faster than you'd expect.

No bulk media upload

The media library only supports single-file uploads with limited organisation tools. Managing assets across a large site becomes tedious quickly.

Small ecosystem and community

Compared to Contentful or Sanity, the community is tiny. Fewer plugins, fewer tutorials, and fewer developers with direct experience means more problem-solving on your own.

Transparency concerns around incidents

In 2024, a DNS incident reportedly affected sites using ButterCMS, but limited public acknowledgement on their status page raised concerns about transparency. The details are difficult to verify independently.

Pricing jumps between tiers

The free tier is very limited, and paid plans start at $71 per month. For small projects or startups, the cost can be hard to justify when alternatives offer more generous free tiers.

Benefits of Ghost

Key advantages

Ghost is genuinely great if all you want is a fast, clean, no-nonsense blogging machine. It keeps things beautifully simple: a slick Markdown editor, zero clutter, and performance scores so good they’ll make WordPress users cry into their PHP logs. If your plan is “just publish content,” Ghost actually gets out of your way and lets you do that.

The built-in memberships and payments system is also a win. You can slap a paywall on your content, charge people to read your mediocre hot takes, and do it all without duct-taping together 12 plugins. For solo creators, small publications, and anyone who wants a simple writing-first experience, Ghost delivers exactly what it promises and nothing you didn’t ask for.

Lightweight JSON API

Ghost’s API is fast, predictable, and doesn’t make you fight a schema just to fetch a title. It’s perfect for JAMStack setups where you want speed without ceremony. Pull content, ship pages, move on with your life.

Intuitive Markdown editor

If you enjoy writing without 19 toolbars screaming at you, Ghost’s Markdown editor is bliss. Clean, distraction-free, and actually enjoyable to use.

Built-in membership system

Memberships, paywalls, and subscriptions come built in, no plugin Frankenstein required. Hook up Stripe and you’re basically running your own mini-Substack in minutes.

SEO-friendly defaults

Ghost ships with fast performance, clean URLs, structured data, and proper metadata, without needing an SEO plugin the size of a small country. Most sites hit solid scores straight out of the box.

Native subscription support

You don’t need 3 SaaS tools duct-taped together to run a newsletter. Ghost handles email delivery, subscriber lists, and automated posts natively.

Easy theme customization

Themes are simple to tweak thanks to Ghost’s handlebars-based templates. If you know basic HTML/CSS, you can make it look exactly how you want without fighting a visual builder from 2011.