Buffer vs Ghost
Side-by-side plans, pricing, and feature gates for Buffer and Ghost, verified . Buffer is primarily social media management; Ghost is primarily content marketing.
Plans side by side
Every published plan from each vendor, with the headline monthly anchor price. Some prices scale with subscriber count or seats; full detail lives on each tool's page.
Buffer
- Free
Up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel
Free - Essentials
Most popular: $5/month per channel
$5/mo - Team
Unlimited team members and approval workflows
$10/mo - Agency
Custom package for agencies managing many clients
Custom
Ghost
- Starter
Personal publishing on Ghost(Pro), billed yearly
$18/mo - Publisher
Paid subscriptions, custom themes, integrations
$29/mo - Business
Higher limits, priority support, early access
$199/mo - Custom
Enterprise: unlimited members, dedicated IP, SLA
Custom
Limits at the entry paid tier
Compares Essentials (Buffer) against Starter (Ghost). Both are the lowest-priced non-free, non-custom plan on each side.
| Limit | Buffer | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | · | 1,000 members |
| Emails / month | · | Unlimited |
| Team seats | 1 | 1 |
When Buffer wins
- Solopreneurs and small brands publishing to a handful of networks
- Content creators who want a clean, fast scheduling UI
- Small agencies on a budget that can live with the Team plan
Where Buffer is the wrong fit
- Enterprise brands managing 20+ channels (Hootsuite or Sprout Social fit better)
- Teams whose primary need is social listening; Buffer's listening is thin
- Organizations needing deep approval and governance workflows across hundreds of accounts
When Ghost wins
- Independent publishers who want to own their stack and keep migration optionality
- Paid-newsletter operators trying to avoid Substack's 10% revenue share at scale
- Publications that need staff seats, custom themes, and a real CMS rather than just an email tool
Where Ghost is the wrong fit
- Hobbyists who refuse to pay anything ever; Substack or Buttondown's free tiers fit better
- Podcast-first creators; Ghost is text and email native, not an audio platform
- Teams that need deep CRM, lead scoring, or marketing automation; this is a publishing tool, not a marketing-automation suite
Common questions
- Is Buffer cheaper than Ghost?
- At the entry tier, Buffer starts at Free versus Ghost at $18/mo. Buffer is cheaper at the entry. Pricing scales differently above that, so check the full plan grid.
- Does Buffer or Ghost have a free plan?
- Only Buffer has a permanent free plan. Ghost only offers a free trial.
- Are Buffer and Ghost in the same category?
- No. Buffer is primarily a social media management tool; Ghost is primarily a content marketing tool. They overlap on use case but sit in different primary categories, so the comparison is between adjacent tools rather than direct competitors.
- Which has more plans, Buffer or Ghost?
- Both Buffer and Ghost ship 4 plans. Tier counts match; the differentiation is in features and pricing structure rather than tier ladder depth.
- Where can I see alternatives to Buffer or Ghost?
- Each tool has a dedicated alternatives page on TierGauge with ranked options and verified pricing: /alternatives/buffer for Buffer and /alternatives/ghost for Ghost. Alternatives are derived from each tool's editor-flagged competitors plus same-category tools we track.
Buffer: https://buffer.com/pricing · Ghost: https://ghost.org/pricing/
Last verified . Pricing changes between refreshes; confirm at the vendor before purchasing.