# Best open source blogging platforms > The best open source blogging platform is Ghost, with 55,489 GitHub stars and the MIT license; Ech0 and WriteFreely are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Ghost leads for freelancers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 13 apps in the blogging platforms category of the appsgit catalog. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Question | What is the best open source blogging platform? | | Picks | 15 | | Top pick | Ghost (55,489 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-blogging-platforms | ## Top picks 10 of the 13 apps in the blogging platforms category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [Ghost](https://appsgit.com/apps/ghost) (55,489 stars, MIT, TypeScript): Ghost has 55,489 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 5,329 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium. - [Ech0](https://appsgit.com/apps/ech0) (2,076 stars, AGPL-3.0, Go, Docker): Ech0 has 2,076 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,560 commits in the last year. - [WriteFreely](https://appsgit.com/apps/writefreely) (5,264 stars, AGPL-3.0, Go): WriteFreely has 5,264 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 210 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium. - [HTMLy](https://appsgit.com/apps/htmly) (1,363 stars, GPL-2.0, PHP): HTMLy has 1,363 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 92 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium. - [Known](https://appsgit.com/apps/known) (1,123 stars, Apache-2.0, PHP): Known has 1,123 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license and had 59 commits in the last year. - [Chyrp Lite](https://appsgit.com/apps/chyrp-lite) (494 stars, BSD-3-Clause, PHP): Chyrp Lite has 494 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 337 commits in the last year. - [fx](https://appsgit.com/apps/fx) (325 stars, MIT, Rust, Docker): fx has 325 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 92 commits in the last year. - [Haven](https://appsgit.com/apps/haven) (807 stars, MIT, Ruby): Haven has 807 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 32 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium. - [FlatPress](https://appsgit.com/apps/flatpress) (215 stars, GPL-2.0, PHP): FlatPress has 215 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 779 commits in the last year. - [Mataroa](https://appsgit.com/apps/mataroa) (369 stars, AGPL-3.0, Python): Mataroa has 369 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 131 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium. ## Best for freelancers Ranked for freelancers on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [Ghost](https://appsgit.com/apps/ghost) (55,489 stars, MIT, TypeScript): Ghost has 55,489 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 5,329 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Ech0](https://appsgit.com/apps/ech0) (2,076 stars, AGPL-3.0, Go, Docker): Ech0 has 2,076 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,560 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [WriteFreely](https://appsgit.com/apps/writefreely) (5,264 stars, AGPL-3.0, Go): WriteFreely has 5,264 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 210 commits in the last year; it replaces WordPress.com and Medium. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [fx](https://appsgit.com/apps/fx) (325 stars, MIT, Rust, Docker): fx has 325 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 92 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [HTMLy](https://appsgit.com/apps/htmly) (1,363 stars, GPL-2.0, PHP): HTMLy has 1,363 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 92 commits in the last year; it replaces Medium. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license. ## How this list was made - Candidates: the 13 apps in the blogging platforms category. Archived projects and projects with no commit in the last two years are left out. - Base score: GitHub stars on a log scale plus commits in the last 12 months (log scale, capped at 1,000). - Bonus points for a published Docker image, an OSI-approved open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - Each "Best for" section re-ranks the same apps with that audience's profile (for example startups add points for permissive licenses, project websites and recent commits; small business for Docker images and deploy guides). - Source-available apps can rank, but they are labelled and never described as open source. ## FAQ ### Is Ghost free? Yes. Ghost is open-source software released under the MIT license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan. ### Which open source blogging platform is best for a freelancer? Ghost ranks first for freelancers, with 55,489 GitHub stars and the MIT license; Ech0 and WriteFreely follow. The freelancers ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits on top of stars and activity. ### Can I self-host these blogging platforms with Docker? Yes, 2 of the 10 picks. Ech0 and fx publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide. ### Are all of these blogging platforms open source? All 10 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license. ### Which of these blogging platforms is the most actively developed? Ghost, with 5,329 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, v6.67.0, from September 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed. ## Related questions - [What is the best open source CMS?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-cms) - [What is the best open source budgeting app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-budgeting-software) - [What is the best open source team chat app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-team-chat) - [What is the best open source file sharing app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-file-sharing) - [What is the best open source analytics tool?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-analytics) - [What is the best open source developer tool?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-developer-tools) - [What is the best open source pastebin?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-pastebins) - [What is the best open source reverse proxy?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-reverse-proxies) ## See also - [All blogging platforms apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/blogging) - [All CMS apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/cms) - [All utilities apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/utilities) - [Open-source alternatives to WordPress.com](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/wordpress-com) - [Open-source alternatives to Medium](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/medium) - [Open-source alternatives to Carrd](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/carrd) - [Open-source alternatives to Webflow](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/webflow) - [Open-source alternatives to Squarespace](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/squarespace) - [Open-source alternatives to Wix](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/wix) - [Ghost vs WordPress](https://appsgit.com/compare/ghost-vs-wordpress) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-blogging-platforms Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly. Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.