Ghost
Google Docs
| Feature | Ghost | Google Docs |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $9/mo | Free / from $6/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | professional-bloggers, independent-publishers, news-sites, creators | teams, students, educators, google-workspace-users |
| Founded | 2013 | 2006 |
| Publishing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Newsletters | ✓ | ✗ |
| Memberships | ✓ | ✗ |
| Seo | ✓ | ✗ |
| Themes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Real Time Editing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Comments | ✗ | ✓ |
| Suggesting Mode | ✗ | ✓ |
| Version History | ✗ | ✓ |
| Voice Typing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Add Ons | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Ghost Pros
- Open-source and self-hostable (free)
- Native membership and paid subscription support
- Fast and SEO-friendly by default
- Clean writing experience without bloat
✗ Ghost Cons
- Themes require code knowledge to customize
- Smaller plugin ecosystem than WordPress
- Self-hosting requires technical maintenance
✓ Google Docs Pros
- Free
- Best real-time collaboration
- Accessible everywhere
- Version history
✗ Google Docs Cons
- Limited offline
- Fewer formatting options than Word
- Template limitations
The Verdict
Ghost is built for professional bloggers and independent publishers, with a focus on publishing and newsletters. Google Docs targets teams and students and leads with real-time-editing and comments.
Pricing is close: Google Docs starts at $6/mo versus $9/mo for Ghost — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Ghost offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Google Docs takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
