Is Drupal better than Ghost?

It depends on your use case. Drupal is a CMS platform while Ghost is a CMS platform. Our comparison table above uses 14 real detection signals for a data-backed verdict.

What is the key difference between Drupal and Ghost?

Drupal has 7 detectable signals in our database while Ghost has 7. Our scanner checks HTML patterns, script tags, CDN domains, HTTP headers, and meta tags to distinguish them.

How can I tell if a website uses Drupal or Ghost?

Use AI Website Detector — paste any URL at aiwebsitedetector.com and the tool simultaneously checks for Drupal's 7 signals and Ghost's 7 signals, returning a confidence score for each.

Can I switch from Drupal to Ghost?

Drupal and Ghost are both CMS platforms, making migration more feasible. Review the feature comparison table above for compatibility details.

Drupal

CMS

Ghost

CMS

Drupal vs Ghost (2026): Which Is Better?

Drupal and Ghost are both popular choices, but they serve different needs. Drupal is a CMS with a traditional, manual approach to building, while Ghost is a CMS that prioritises developer or designer control.

Below you'll find a side-by-side breakdown of detection signals, AI scores, and technical fingerprints — plus our honest take on which builder wins for different use cases.

How we detect Drupal vs Ghost — see our methodology: AI Influence Score calculation, evidence tiers, and fingerprint signal types.

Side-by-Side Comparison

	Drupal	Ghost
Category	CMS	CMS
AI Score	20/100 — Traditional	20/100 — Traditional
Detection Signals	7 patterns	7 patterns
Script Detection	2 patterns	2 patterns
CDN Detection	—	—
Header Detection	2 headers

Drupal

CMS

Drupal is a cms with an AI Score of 20/100 (Traditional). Our detection engine uses 7 signal patterns to identify Drupal-built sites.

498 sites detected so far

Detection Guide Try Drupal →

Sites using Drupal →Gallery →

Ghost

CMS

Ghost is a cms with an AI Score of 20/100 (Traditional). Our detection engine uses 7 signal patterns to identify Ghost-built sites.

3,892 sites detected so far

Detection Guide Try Ghost →

Sites using Ghost →Gallery →

Platform Overviews

Drupal

Drupal is an open-source content management system written in PHP, widely adopted by government agencies, universities, large enterprises, and media organizations that require a highly customizable and security-conscious publishing platform. The AIWebsiteDetector.com engine identifies Drupal installations through a combination of seven distinct technical signals, including two JavaScript file patterns, two HTML structural patterns, two characteristic HTTP response headers, and one meta tag pattern embedded in page markup. Common detection indicators include Drupal-specific generator meta tags, inline HTML attributes such as data attributes injected by the CMS core, HTTP headers like the `X-Generator` or `X-Drupal-Cache` response fields, and script paths referencing Drupal's module or core directory structure. These layered signals allow the detector to distinguish Drupal from other PHP-based CMS platforms with high confidence, even when administrators have partially obscured the installation through security hardening measures. Drupal is self-hosted software available at no licensing cost from drupal.org, though its presence on high-traffic government and institutional domains makes it one of the more consistently detectable enterprise CMS platforms in the wild, owing to the persistence of its core-generated markup across versions.

Ghost

Ghost is an open-source Node.js-based content management system designed primarily for professional publishers, bloggers, and media organizations seeking a streamlined platform for subscription-based content and newsletters. AIWebsiteDetector.com identifies Ghost-powered sites using a combination of 2 script patterns, 2 HTML patterns, 2 HTTP headers, and 1 meta tag pattern, providing multiple redundant signals that make detection highly reliable even when sites use custom themes or third-party CDNs. Common detection signals include Ghost-specific script references embedded in page source, characteristic HTML structural attributes injected by the Ghost rendering engine, and HTTP response headers that expose version or platform metadata. The meta tag pattern typically surfaces a generator tag pointing explicitly to Ghost, which remains present across most default and custom theme configurations and serves as one of the most definitive single-signal identifiers. Ghost is available both as a self-hosted open-source installation and as a managed cloud service through Ghost(Pro), meaning detection patterns must account for both infrastructure environments — a distinction reflected in the diversity of header-based signals our engine tracks. The platform's consistent use of standardized theme APIs and its tightly controlled front-end architecture make it one of the more reliably detectable CMS platforms in the publishing category.

Key Differences

Both Drupal and Ghost are classified as CMS tools, making them the most direct competitors in this comparison.
Drupal scores higher on AI involvement (20/100 vs 20/100 for Ghost), meaning it relies more heavily on AI for site generation and content creation.
Our detection engine identifies Drupal using 7 fingerprint patterns and Ghost using 7 patterns — more signals generally means more reliable detection.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Drupal if…

You prefer a cms solution
You want more manual control over the final output
Drupal's detection fingerprint of 7 signals means your site is reliably identifiable

Choose Ghost if…

You need a cms approach
You prefer traditional building tools with predictable output
Ghost's ecosystem and community better match your team's existing workflow

Drupal vs Ghost (2026): Which Is Better?

Side-by-Side Comparison

Example Websites

Drupal websites

Ghost websites

Drupal

Ghost

Platform Overviews

Drupal

Ghost

Key Differences

Which Should You Choose?

Ghost

Check Which Builder Powers a Site

More Drupal Comparisons