Ghost review

How much does Ghost cost?

Ghost(Pro) costs $18 to $479 a month on monthly billing, priced by plan and member count. Ghost takes no transaction fee on any plan. The software itself is free if you host it yourself. Yearly billing on Publisher saves about 17%.

Members means everyone with an account, free or paid, so a big free list pushes up your bill. Ghost notifies you to upgrade as your member count grows.

Publisher is the plan that matters for paid newsletters. It includes paid subscriptions, tips and donations, up to 3 paid tiers, 15 special offers, custom themes, and 3 staff users.

Business raises the limits to 10 tiers, 50 offers, and 15 staff users, with priority support. Every plan, Starter included, has unlimited email sends, member import and export, comments, recommendations, and ActivityPub distribution.

• Starter: $18 a month or $15 billed yearly, 1,000 members, no payments
• Publisher: $35 at 1,000 members, $55 at 2,500, $75 at 5,000, $105 at 10,000
• Publisher billed yearly: $29 a month at 1,000 members, $63 at 5,000
• Business: $239 a month up to 10,000 members, $319 at 25,000

Does Ghost take a cut of paid subscriptions?

No. Ghost charges 0% transaction fees and connects directly to your own Stripe account. The only per-payment cost is Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30, so on an $8 monthly subscription you keep about $7.47 before your plan fee.

That makes Ghost the cheapest flat fee in this category at mid-size lists. At 5,000 members, Publisher costs $75 a month against $109 for beehiiv's Lite plan. Against Substack's 10% plus the 0.7% Stripe Billing fee its help center lists, Publisher wins once you earn about $701 a month.

The trap is Starter. It is the cheapest plan, but it cannot sell subscriptions or take tips, so a paid newsletter starts at Publisher. Run your own numbers on our fee comparison.

Should you self-host Ghost?

Only if you are comfortable running a server. Ghost's docs say self-hosted Ghost has the same product features as Ghost(Pro), and it also takes 0% of payments.

You pay for the parts Ghost(Pro) bundles. Ghost's own estimate starts at $10 a month for hosting and $15 a month for newsletter delivery, before a CDN, backups, and analytics. Newsletters on a self-hosted site must send through Mailgun, the only bulk email service Ghost supports.

Ghost's docs say heavy users usually pay more by self-hosting, while light blogs can pay less. For most writers, Publisher is the simpler deal. Self-hosting matters most as an exit: if Ghost(Pro) ever stops suiting you, the same software runs anywhere.

Do you own your audience on Ghost?

Yes, more fully than on any other platform here. From Ghost Admin you can export members as a CSV, content and settings as JSON, and themes at any time. On Ghost(Pro), exports also include media files and arrive as an emailed download link that stays valid for 7 days.

Payments run through your own Stripe account, and Ghost says all revenue is paid directly to you from Stripe. Its Stripe guide tells writers moving from Substack to connect the same Stripe account they used there.

Every Ghost(Pro) plan supports a custom domain and includes a free one-year .link domain. Ghost does not put its logo on your site or newsletters on any plan.

Who should skip Ghost?

Skip Ghost if you want a platform to find you readers and sponsors. Ghost's growth tools are recommendations, the Ghost Explore directory, a FirstPromoter referral integration, and ActivityPub distribution to the social web. There is no ad network.

Skip it too if you cannot pay before you earn. Kit's free plan can sell subscriptions up to 10,000 subscribers, and Substack is free at any size. On Ghost(Pro), being ready to sell costs at least $35 a month before your first paying reader.