Ghost alternatives

Ranked alternatives

Free-plan tools first, then ascending by entry price, then alphabetical. Tags are derived from each tool's verified plan data; no editorial verdict claims.

1. 01
   beehiiv

   Newsletter platform with built-in monetization.

   • Cheaper entry
   • Has free plan
   • Primarily email marketing
   From

   Free

   Plans

   4
   beehiiv profile Ghost vs beehiiv Try beehiiv → sponsored
2. 02
   Buttondown

   Privacy-first newsletter tool for creators with à la carte add-on pricing instead of stacked tiers.

   • Cheaper entry
   • Has free plan
   • Primarily email marketing
   From

   Free

   Plans

   4
   Buttondown profile Ghost vs Buttondown
3. 03
   Kit

   Email marketing built for creators.

   • Cheaper entry
   • Has free plan
   • Primarily email marketing
   From

   Free

   Plans

   3
   Kit profile Ghost vs Kit Try Kit → sponsored
4. 04
   MailerLite

   Email marketing with a generous free tier and clean editor.

   • Cheaper entry
   • Has free plan
   • Primarily email marketing
   From

   Free

   Plans

   4
   MailerLite profile Ghost vs MailerLite
5. 05
   Substack

   Newsletter publishing with a 10% revenue share, no flat fee.

   • Cheaper entry
   • Has free plan
   • Primarily email marketing
   From

   Free

   Plans

   1
   Substack profile Ghost vs Substack

How we ranked these

• Candidates. Every tool we hand-flagged as a Ghost alternative, plus every tool sharing its primary category (content marketing). Tools we don't yet track are not listed; we never link out to a tool we haven't verified.
• Order. Free-plan tools first, then ascending by entry monthly price (the headline anchor we capture from each vendor). Custom-priced tools sort last. Ties broken alphabetically.
• Tags. Each row's tags are computed against Ghost's data: cheaper entry, free plan present, more plan tiers, enterprise tier present. No editorial "better than" claims.
• Freshness. Pricing is captured weekly from each vendor's pricing page, listed in the source citation below. Confirm at the vendor's page before buying.

Compare on price

Want a price-only view across Ghost and the alternatives above? See the content marketing pricing comparison : free tiers, entry paid plans, and mid-tier plans side by side in a single table. Same data spine, different angle.

Common questions

What's the cheapest alternative to Ghost?

beehiiv starts at Free, the lowest entry price among 5 alternatives we track to Ghost (which starts at $18/mo). Pricing scales differently above the entry tier; check each plan grid before buying.

Which Ghost alternative has a free plan?

beehiiv, Buttondown, Kit, MailerLite, Substack all offer permanent free plans. Free-tier limits vary, so the right pick depends on your contact count and send volume.

Are these all in the same category as Ghost?

No. Ghost is primarily a content marketing tool. The alternatives listed here are adjacent tools that overlap on use case but sit in different primary categories.

Where can I compare Ghost side-by-side with these alternatives?

Each Ghost-vs-alternative pair has a dedicated head-to-head page on TierGauge with verified plan data, side-by-side feature mapping, and limit comparison at the entry paid tier. Pairs are linked from each row in the ranked list above; the canonical URL is /compare/<a>-vs-<b> alphabetical.