Replace Webflow CMS / Contentful with Self-Hosted Ghost / Payload CMS
Next.js-native MIT Headless CMS (Payload) or all-in-one publishing + paid newsletter platform (Ghost) Stop paying Business CMS ($49/mo + $19/editor seat) ($239/mo for a 10-person team) and run Ghost / Payload CMS on a $4.50/mo Linux VPS with full data sovereignty.
1-to-100 Seat Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Table
Comparing Webflow CMS / Contentful (Business CMS ($49/mo + $19/editor seat)) vs Ghost / Payload CMS on Hetzner CX22 (4GB RAM / 2 vCPU).
| Team Size | Webflow CMS / Contentful Cost | Ghost / Payload CMS VPS | Net Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Seat (Solo) | $68.00/mo ($816/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$762 / year |
| 5 Seats | $144.00/mo ($1,728/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$1,674 / year |
| 10 Seats | $239.00/mo ($2,868/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$2,814 / year |
| 25 Seats | $524.00/mo ($6,288/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$6,234 / year |
| 50 Seats | $999.00/mo ($11,988/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$11,934 / year |
| 100 Seats | $1,949.00/mo ($23,388/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$23,334 / year |
Production Docker Compose + Caddy Auto-SSL
Copy and run docker compose up -d on any Ubuntu 24.04 server.
# Production Docker Compose: Ghost / Payload CMS (Replaces Webflow CMS / Contentful)
services:
caddy:
image: caddy:2-alpine
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "80:80"
- "443:443"
volumes:
- ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile:ro
- caddy_data:/data
networks:
- stack_net
payload-ghost:
image: ghost:5-alpine
container_name: stack-payload-ghost
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
- "url=https://blog.${DOMAIN:-yourdomain.com}"
- "database__client=sqlite3"
volumes:
- payload_ghost_data:/data
networks:
- stack_net
networks:
stack_net:
driver: bridge
volumes:
caddy_data:
payload_ghost_data:
# Automatic Let's Encrypt HTTPS for Ghost / Payload CMS
payload-ghost.{$DOMAIN:yourdomain.com} {
encode zstd gzip
reverse_proxy payload-ghost:2368
}
Why Teams Switch to Ghost / Payload CMS
- ✓0% transaction fee on Ghost paid memberships
- ✓100% MIT licensed code-first CMS with Payload 3.0
- ✓Built-in SEO, sitemaps & newsletter delivery
ghost:5-alpine
Deploy Ghost / Payload CMS in 60 Seconds
Sized automatically for Ghost / Payload CMS (512MB container RAM + OS overhead).
Get All 16 Pre-Built Production Stacks + Encrypted S3 Backups
Includes pre-tuned docker-compose.yml, Caddy Auto-SSL, AES-256 encrypted nightly S3/R2 Postgres backups, and Ubuntu 24.04 UFW/Fail2ban hardening scripts.