This is RunCloud’s biggest advantage over official managed platforms. When you use RunCloud, the server is entirely yours. You’re not artificially limited to a single application.
- Pay a massive monthly premium for a fully managed service.
- Work on the complex Linux command line to host it yourself.
You can get the cheapest ghost hosting by renting a budget-friendly VPS from providers like Hetzner or DigitalOcean for around – per month. By connecting that unmanaged server to RunCloud, you can get premium, managed-like dashboard features without paying the high monthly subscription fees of dedicated hosting companies.For a complete technical walkthrough, follow our comprehensive guide on How to Deploy Ghost via Docker on RunCloud.
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Understanding Your Ghost CMS Hosting Options
But while the software itself is beautifully streamlined, figuring out your ghost website hosting can be surprisingly confusing.By bringing your own cloud server to RunCloud, you can get the best of both worlds: wholesale server pricing, the freedom to host multiple web applications on a single machine, and an intuitive dashboard that handles all the complex server management for you.Ghost(Pro) is incredibly easy to use, and its pricing is structured around audience size and features:
- Fully Managed Ghost Hosting: You pay a premium price for a company to handle all the servers, updates, and security on your behalf.
- DIY Self-Hosted (Unmanaged VPS): You rent a bare-metal server or VPS and use the command line (SSH) to build and maintain the environment yourself.
- Managed Cloud Servers: You rent an affordable VPS from any cloud provider, but use a graphical dashboard to easily manage the server and deploy your apps without needing to be a Linux expert.
Yes, the initial installation is a one-click process. But from day two onward, you are acting as your own system administrator.
1. Managed Ghost Hosting
While managed hosting is highly convenient, it comes with two major compromises for developers, agencies, and growing creators:
Ghost(Pro)
RunCloud is the perfect middle ground for Ghost hosting.If you don’t want any technical responsibility, you should choose managed ghost hosting, as it is the simplest option. With a managed host, you are essentially renting software-as-a-service. The hosting company provides the infrastructure, handles all core Ghost software updates, manages database backups, and configures your SSL certificates.
- Starter: Suitable for solo blogs & newsletters ($15 USD/mo, billed annually). With this, you get your own website, a free custom domain, an email newsletter, Simple design settings, and 1,000 members.
- Publisher: Recommended for custom publications ($29 USD/mo, billed annually). It provides 3 staff users, Custom themes, 8,000+ integrations, paid subscriptions, Advanced analytics, and 1,000 members.
- Business: This plan is for teams scaling up ($199 USD/mo, billed yearly). It provides access to 15 staff users, Priority support, Higher usage limits, Early access to features, and 10,000 members.
- Custom: This is a customizable plan for more complex needs. It provides unlimited staff users, Advanced configurations, a dedicated IP address, 99.9% uptime SLA, and unlimited members.
Third-Party Managed Options
To install and run a Ghost blog smoothly, you need a server with at least 1GB of RAM. However, upgrading to a server with 2GB or more is highly recommended to ensure stability during traffic spikes or if you plan to host additional web applications alongside your blog on the same server.
The Drawbacks of Managed Hosting
RunCloud replaces the black SSH terminal screen with a beautiful, intuitive graphical dashboard. You get full server control without memorizing Linux commands. With a few clicks in the RunCloud dashboard, you can:
- The “Success Tax” (Cost Scaling): With managed hosting, your monthly bill scales aggressively as your email list grows, regardless of how much actual server traffic you receive. You are paying for audience size, not server compute power.
- Strict Limitations: When you buy a managed Ghost plan, you only get Ghost. You’re paying for a single instance of the software. If you want to host a custom Laravel application, spin up a secondary WordPress site for a different project, or even launch a second Ghost blog, you can’t put them on the same plan. You have to purchase a completely separate hosting subscription, leaving you with multiple bills and fractured infrastructure.
2. Ghost VPS Hosting & DIY Self-Hosting
Unmanaged cloud servers start at to per month for a machine with 1GB to 2GB of RAM, offering incredible cost savings. However, the true cost is paid in your time and technical expertise.This is the recommended approach for tech-savvy users who want total control over their data and infrastructure. VPS hosting means renting a blank Linux server from cloud providers such as DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS, Vultr, or Linode and building the environment from scratch.You shouldn’t have to choose between emptying your wallet and becoming a system administrator.Ghost(Pro) is the most popular managed option, as it is the official hosting service from Ghost’s creators. Choosing Ghost (Pro) is a great way to support the open-source project, as revenue goes directly toward funding Ghost’s development.With RunCloud, you aren’t locked into proprietary servers. You simply rent a bare-metal server from your favorite cloud provider, whether that’s a highly affordable /month Hetzner server, a DigitalOcean Droplet, or a robust AWS EC2 instance. You pay wholesale prices directly to the cloud provider, and RunCloud connects to it via our platform to handle the management.
- Ubuntu OS security patches via the command line (apt-get update).
- Renewing Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates manually before they expire.
- Configuring and monitoring server firewalls (UFW).
- Updating Ghost itself via the command line interface (ghost-cli) often requires careful database backups beforehand.
The Drawbacks of DIY Self-Hosting
Many users are lured into DIY hosting by offerings like the DigitalOcean Marketplace “1-Click Ghost Install.” While it sounds incredibly convenient, it is largely a myth for non-developers.
3. The Best Ghost Hosting Solution: RunCloud
Because Ghost is built on a Node.js stack rather than traditional PHP, it requires a different server environment. This leaves many users torn between two frustrating extremes:When you’re launching your website, choosing the right infrastructure shouldn’t be a trade-off. Fully managed plans are often too expensive and restrictive for growing creators, while DIY self-hosting on a blank VPS requires advanced Linux skills that are too risky and time-consuming for non-developers.You cannot use shared hosting for Ghost because it runs on a modern Node.js stack rather than traditional PHP. Most cheap shared hosting environments (like standard cPanel setups) do not support the persistent background processes required to run Node.js applications, which is why a dedicated VPS or cloud server is necessary.In this guide, we will compare the true costs and technical requirements of managed plans versus unmanaged servers, and show you how to build the best ghost hosting setup.
Choose Your Own Cloud Infrastructure
If Managed Hosting is too restrictive and expensive, and DIY VPS Hosting is too complicated and risky, where does that leave you?
Host More Than Just Ghost (Maximize Your Server)
Sign up for a RunCloud account today and connect your first server.RunCloud sits directly in the “sweet spot” between these two extremes, providing the absolute best ghost hosting experience by combining the cost savings of a VPS with the automated ease of a managed platform.
Zero Linux Expertise Required
Let’s break down the pros, cons, and actual costs of these options.Here is why developers, agencies, and publishers use RunCloud for their ghost website hosting:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the cheapest Ghost hosting?
What are the best Ghost hosting alternatives to Ghost Pro?
How much RAM do I need for a Ghost server?
Wrapping Up
Since Ghost is open-source, several third-party companies have stepped in to offer niche managed Ghost hosting alternatives at slightly lower price points. Providers like Midnight (starting around /month) and Magic Pages (starting around /month) offer fully managed setups that bypass some of Ghost(Pro)’s strict feature limits, catering to users who want managed convenience on a budget.If you’re coming from the WordPress ecosystem, your first instinct might be to look for a standard, cheap, shared hosting plan. However, Ghost hosting runs on a completely different server stack.Unlike traditional platforms that rely on PHP and run easily on standard cPanel setups, Ghost is built on a modern, lightning-fast Node.js stack. Because of this, you simply cannot drop a Ghost installation into a standard /month shared hosting bucket. It requires a server environment capable of running Node.js applications, managing background processes, and handling modern database systems such as MySQL or SQLite3.When you use an unmanaged VPS, the cloud provider gives you the hardware and steps away. 100% of the server management is your responsibility. This means you must manually handle:
