AltFreeStack
ESEN
Marketing, Forms & Emailingdocker-readypermissive-license100% FOSS🟡 Standard · ~1GB

Ghost: Open Source alternative to Substack in 2026

Ghost is a publishing and paid-newsletter platform with a modern editor, built-in memberships and payments — an open source alternative to Substack.

Alternative to SubstackAlternative to Medium
License MIT55.5k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Matches GitHub

  • GitHub — Active

  • Latest release — v6.69.0 · 5 days ago

  • Docker Compose — Partial

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

Ghost vs. Substack

Pros

  • Built-in paid memberships, a modern editor and native newsletters in one product

Things to consider

  • MySQL as a dependency adds some weight compared to SQLite-based options

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?

  • On the official cloud: a recurring monthly fee and usage limits on Substack.
  • On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
docker-compose.yml
services:
  ghost:
    image: ghost:5-alpine
    environment:
      database__client: mysql
      database__connection__host: db
      database__connection__user: root
      database__connection__password: change-me
      database__connection__database: ghost
      url: http://localhost:2368
    ports:
      - "2368:2368"
  db:
    image: mysql:8
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: change-me
      MYSQL_DATABASE: ghost

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.

curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=ghost" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

This docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project — last commit today.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
MIT
Category
Marketing, Forms & Emailing
Replaces
Substack, Medium
Tech stack
Node.jsMySQL

Key features

  • Built-in paid memberships and subscriptions
  • Modern, Notion-like editor
  • Native email newsletters

Preview

Ghost interface preview

Public image provided by Ghost on its own website.

💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)

As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.

1. Create a compressed backup on the server

tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

2. Download it to your computer

From your computer's terminal (not your server's):

scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./

3. Restore in case of emergency

tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz
🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL

Step 1 — Set up the DNS

In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:

Type
A
Name/Host
@ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
Content/Value
Your server's public IP

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.

Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy

One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.

Create a file called Caddyfile:

yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:2368
}

Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy