Ghost
Hosted Ghost(Pro) for the open-source publishing platform; paid memberships native, no revenue share.
Ghost(Pro) is the official managed hosting for the open-source Ghost CMS, run by the nonprofit Ghost Foundation. It ships paid memberships natively, with Stripe for billing and zero platform revenue share, positioning it as the publisher-owned alternative to Substack. Pricing is per active member, with four tiers from Starter to a custom enterprise plan, and the same software is freely self-hostable if you ever want to leave.
- Category
- Content marketing
- Free plan
- No
- Plans
- 4
- Verified
Plans & pricing
Headline prices for each Ghost tier, captured from https://ghost.org/pricing/ on .
Starter
Personal publishing on Ghost(Pro), billed yearly
- Contacts
- 1,000 members
- Emails / month
- Unlimited
- Team seats
- 1
Included
- Personal website with email newsletter
- Up to 1,000 members
- Free custom domain
- Simple built-in design
- Unlimited email sends
- Automated backups, SSL, worldwide CDN
- Try-for-free trial
Not on this plan
- Custom themes
- Multiple staff users (1 only)
- 8,000+ Zapier-style integrations
- Paid subscriptions / paid memberships
- Advanced analytics
- Priority support
- Higher member tiers, dedicated IP, SLA
Trial length not explicitly published; 14 days assumed as a safe default and reflected in the tool-level free_trial_days field.
Publisher
Paid subscriptions, custom themes, integrations
- Contacts
- 1,000 members
- Emails / month
- Unlimited
- Team seats
- 3
Included
- Up to 1,000 members
- 3 staff users
- Custom themes
- 8,000+ integrations
- Paid subscriptions / paid memberships
- Advanced analytics
- Unlimited email sends
- Automated backups, SSL, worldwide CDN
- Try-for-free trial
Not on this plan
- Higher member capacity (10,000+)
- 15 staff users
- Priority support
- Early feature access
- Dedicated IP, 99.9% uptime SLA
Most-recommended tier for independent paid newsletter operators; this is where paid memberships unlock.
Business
Higher limits, priority support, early access
- Contacts
- 10,000 members
- Emails / month
- Unlimited
- Team seats
- 15
Included
- Up to 10,000 members
- 15 staff users
- Custom themes
- 8,000+ integrations
- Paid subscriptions / paid memberships
- Advanced analytics
- Priority support
- Higher usage limits
- Early feature access
- Unlimited email sends
- Automated backups, SSL, worldwide CDN
- Try-for-free trial
Not on this plan
- Unlimited members
- Unlimited staff users
- Advanced configurations
- Dedicated IP
- 99.9% uptime SLA
Custom
Enterprise: unlimited members, dedicated IP, SLA
- Contacts
- Unlimited
- Emails / month
- Unlimited
- Team seats
- Unlimited
Included
- Unlimited members
- Unlimited staff users
- Advanced configurations
- Dedicated IP
- 99.9% uptime SLA
- Priority support
- Custom themes
- 8,000+ integrations
- Paid subscriptions / paid memberships
- Advanced analytics
- Unlimited email sends
- Automated backups, SSL, worldwide CDN
Where Ghost earns its price
- Open-source roots; the same software is freely self-hostable if you ever want to leave Ghost(Pro)
- No revenue share on paid memberships; you keep 100% net of Stripe processing fees
- Modern editor and a real publishing toolset: themes, custom domains, SEO basics, RSS, members area
- Generous integrations on Publisher and above (8,000+ via Zapier-style connectors)
- Run by a nonprofit (Ghost Foundation), so platform incentives lean toward publishers, not advertisers
Where it falls short
- Pricing per 1,000 members ratchets up the way Mailchimp's contact tiers do; growth gets expensive fast
- Custom themes are gated to Publisher and above; the Starter plan is design-locked
- Smaller built-in social discovery network than Substack; you bring your own audience
- No permanent free plan; even hobby publishers pay from day one (Substack stays free indefinitely if you never charge)
Best for
- 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
Not for
- 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
Alternatives to Ghost
Tools we cover in the same space.
Common questions
- Does Ghost have a free plan?
- No. Ghost does not offer a permanent free tier, but a 14-day free trial is available.
- How much does Ghost cost?
- Ghost starts at From $18/mo. Plan prices captured April 30, 2026.
Source: https://ghost.org/pricing/ · last verified · capture method: manual
TierGauge tracks live pricing for marketing & sales tools. Prices may change between refreshes; confirm at the vendor's pricing page before purchasing.