Ghost Review
Reviewed by Carlos Gil · Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Updated 5 min readEditorially reviewed
Quick facts
- Starting price
- Starter $15/mo billed yearly ($18 monthly) for 1,000 members
- Free plan
- No
- Best for
- Independent writers and publishers who want their own site, newsletter and paid memberships without giving up a share of revenue
- Platforms
- Web (Ghost(Pro) hosting or self-hosted open-source install)
BestStacked Score
Weighted average of 5 categories. Methodology below.
Quick answer
What is Ghost, and is Ghost(Pro) worth paying for?
Ghost is open-source software for running a publication: a fast website, email newsletters and paid memberships in one place. The non-profit Ghost Foundation maintains it and funds development through Ghost(Pro), its hosted service. It's worth it for writers and publishers who want to own their site and audience and keep subscription revenue, since Ghost takes 0% of payments on Publisher and above (Stripe's fees still apply). It's less suited to people who want a built-in discovery network or ad marketplace. On October 14, 2026 Ghost(Pro) cost $15 a month billed yearly for Starter (1,000 members, no paid subscriptions), and Publisher started at $29 billed yearly ($35 monthly) for 1,000 members. Every account starts with a 14-day trial; Ghost doesn't give refunds.
- Best for
- Independent publishers and writers charging for subscriptions who want their own site and 0% platform fees.
- Skip it if
- You want a free plan, a built-in reader network for discovery, or an ad marketplace to monetize free readers.
- Strongest capability
- Website, newsletter, memberships and paid subscriptions in one open-source platform, with 0% Ghost fees on Publisher and up.
- Biggest limitation
- Starter can't charge subscribers or use custom themes, prices rise with member count, and Ghost(Pro) gives no refunds.
- Current cost
- Starter $15 a month billed yearly; Publisher from $29 ($35 monthly); Business from $199; self-hosting is free software.
The Verdict
Ghost is the best fit here for publishers who want to own everything: the site, the email list, the paid members and the code, which is MIT-licensed and can be self-hosted. On Ghost(Pro), Publisher adds paid subscriptions with 0% Ghost transaction fees, custom themes, three staff users and native traffic analytics, and Ghost 6 added ActivityPub distribution to the social web, recommendations and referrals on every plan. Prices scale by members, from $29 a month billed yearly at 1,000 to $274 at 100,000 on Publisher, which is usually cheaper than a 10% revenue share once paid revenue grows. The trade-offs: Starter can't take payments, there's no free plan or ad network, support on lower plans is email only, and Ghost's help center and terms both rule out refunds. We score Ghost 8.4/10.
Best for
Writers and publishers with paying subscribers who want ownership and 0% platform fees.
Skip if
You need a free plan, a discovery network or ad revenue tools for free newsletters.
The Background
What Is Ghost?
Ghost started in 2013, founded by John O'Nolan and Hannah Wolfe, and is run by the Ghost Foundation, which describes itself as a non-profit that can never be bought or sold and is fully remote. The software is open source under the MIT license; you can run it on your own server or pay for Ghost(Pro), whose revenue funds development. A Ghost site combines a publication website (themes, pages, posts, SEO), email newsletters sent to members, and memberships with free and paid tiers billed through your own Stripe account. Ghost 6.0, released in August 2025, added social-web distribution through ActivityPub, native traffic analytics, search and comments. Ghost(Pro) plans are priced by member count, from Starter to Custom.
The Product
Ghost Features: What You Actually Get
Website, newsletter and memberships together
Posts publish to the website and to members' inboxes at once. Members can sign up free or pay for premium tiers (3 tiers on Publisher, 10 on Business), and you run offers, tips, recommendations and a referral program. Email sending is unlimited on every plan; Publisher and up add a custom sending domain.
A local news writer publishes a free weekly roundup and a paid in-depth edition from the same site.
0% Ghost transaction fees
Paid subscriptions and tips start on Publisher. Ghost takes 0% of that revenue; payments run through your own Stripe account, so you pay Stripe's processing fees (2.9% plus 30 cents per charge, per Ghost's help page) and nothing else to Ghost.
A newsletter with $5,000 a month in subscriptions pays Ghost a flat plan fee rather than $500 to a platform taking 10%.
Social web, analytics and discovery
Ghost 6 connects publications to the social web through ActivityPub on every plan, so readers can follow you from compatible apps. Native traffic analytics are on Publisher and up, and recommendations and an Explore directory help readers find other publications.
A tech writer's posts appear in readers' social-web feeds and recommendations send new subscribers from related newsletters.
Open source, themes and APIs
The MIT-licensed code can be self-hosted on a server with at least 1GB of memory. On Ghost(Pro), custom and marketplace themes, the Admin API, webhooks and custom integrations (including Zapier) start on Publisher; the Content API is on every plan.
A media startup builds a custom theme and pipes new paid members into its CRM through webhooks.
Feature recap
- Website, newsletters and free and paid memberships in one platform
- 0% Ghost transaction fees on Publisher and up; Stripe fees apply
- Unlimited email sends on every plan
- Social web distribution (ActivityPub), recommendations and referrals
- Native traffic analytics on Publisher and up
- Custom themes, Admin API, webhooks and Zapier from Publisher
- Open source (MIT) and self-hostable
- Imports from Substack, WordPress, beehiiv, Mailchimp, Medium and more
The Numbers
Ghost Pricing: Every Plan Explained
Ghost(Pro) is priced by plan and member count. These are its US prices on October 14, 2026; the yearly figure is the monthly equivalent of a year paid upfront.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Included Features | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $18/mo | $15/mo billed yearly ($180/yr) | 1,000 members, 1 staff user, 1 newsletter, custom domain, official themes only; no paid subscriptions | Free newsletters and personal sites |
| PublisherBest value | $35/mo at 1,000 members | $29/mo billed yearly at 1,000 members | Paid subscriptions and tips with 0% Ghost fees, 3 staff users, 3 newsletters, custom themes, traffic analytics, Admin API and webhooks; $88 yearly / $105 monthly at 10,000 members, $274 / $329 at 100,000 | Writers with paying subscribers |
| Business | $239/mo up to 10,000 members | $199/mo billed yearly up to 10,000 members | 15 staff users, 10 newsletters, 10 premium tiers, priority support, free managed migration; $399 yearly / $479 monthly at 100,000 members | Teams and growing media businesses |
| Custom | Custom | Custom | Unlimited members and staff, SSO, 99.9% SLA, dedicated IP, invoice billing, account manager | Large publishers |
| Self-hosted | $0 software | — | MIT-licensed Ghost on your own server; you pay for hosting and email delivery and handle updates | Developers who want full control |
Ghost's costs rise with members, not revenue. On Publisher billed yearly, 1,000 members cost $29 a month, 10,000 cost $88 and 50,000 cost $208. Compare that with a 10% revenue share: a newsletter earning $3,000 a month from subscriptions would pay $300 a month to a 10% platform, against a flat plan fee on Ghost plus Stripe's processing fees. The catch is Starter: at $15 a month billed yearly it allows only 1,000 members and can't charge for subscriptions, so anyone selling memberships starts on Publisher. Every Ghost(Pro) account starts with a 14-day trial and isn't billed automatically when it ends, per the help center. Plan changes are prorated, but the help center says Ghost doesn't offer refunds and the terms say all sales are final. Self-hosting removes the plan fee but adds server, email-delivery and maintenance work.
Read before you buy
Where Ghost's pricing page disagrees with itself
Before its scripts load, Ghost's pricing page shows Starter as $18 "billed yearly" and Business as 1,000 members; once the page loads, Starter is $15 billed yearly ($18 monthly) and Business starts at 10,000 members. Tools that read the page without scripts may report the wrong figures.
The comparison table lists 3 staff users on Publisher and a $50-a-month custom SSL and subdirectory add-on on Business, while the pricing script's data lists 2 staff users and an inactive $100-a-month subdirectory add-on. This review follows the visible table.
Refunds: the help center says plainly that Ghost doesn't offer refunds, while the terms say all sales are final and no refunds are provided unless the Foundation decides otherwise.
The Tradeoffs
Ghost Pros and Cons
What we love
- 0% Ghost transaction fees on paid subscriptions from Publisher
- Website, newsletter and memberships in one platform
- Open source (MIT) and self-hostable; run by a non-profit
- Unlimited email sends on every plan
- Social web (ActivityPub), recommendations and referrals built in
- Imports from Substack, WordPress, beehiiv and others
What could be better
- No free plan; Starter can't take paid subscriptions
- Prices rise with member count, including free members
- No built-in ad network or large reader marketplace
- Email-only support on Starter and Publisher
- No refunds under the help center and terms
The Audience
Who Should Use Ghost?
Best for: paid newsletter writers
Writers with a few hundred or more paying subscribers keep all subscription revenue apart from Stripe's fees, and own their site and list.
Best for: independent media teams
Small newsrooms and niche publishers get a fast site, several newsletters, tiers and staff accounts on Business, with free managed migration.
Skip if: you want growth tools for a free newsletter
Creators relying on ad revenue and network discovery for a free newsletter will get more from beehiiv's ad network or Substack's reader network.
The Methodology
How We Reviewed Ghost
This is an editorial review, not a documented hands-on test. We didn't use a Ghost(Pro) account for this review. It's based on Ghost's pricing page and its pricing script, help-center articles on transaction fees and subscriptions, terms of service, privacy policy, about page, hosting documentation, the Ghost 6.0 release notes and changelog, the migration page and the GitHub license, all checked on October 14, 2026. Where Ghost's pages differ, we report both statements. No deliverability, speed or support results are claimed.
Our editorial evaluation considers product information, official documentation, pricing, features and professional experience. It is not a claim of documented hands-on testing.
Our review methodology →What changed
- : First published. Editorial review based on Ghost's pricing page and pricing script, help-center articles, terms, privacy policy, about page, hosting docs, Ghost 6.0 notes and changelog, migration page and GitHub license, all checked October 14, 2026. Sub-scores are provisional pending editorial approval.
The Field
Ghost vs The Competition
Ghost competes with newsletter and creator publishing platforms. Prices below were checked on each vendor's own pages on October 14, 2026, in US dollars.
| Tool | Starting Price | Free plan | Best Feature | BS Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost | Starter $15/mo billed yearly ($18 monthly) for 1,000 members | No | Website, newsletter and memberships together | 8.4/10 |
| beehiiv | Free up to 2,500 subscribers; paid plans from $49/mo billed yearly | Yes | Growth tools, referrals and an ad network | 9.4/10 |
| Substack | Free; 10% of paid subscription revenue | Yes | Built-in reader network and app | 8.2/10 |
| Kit | Free up to 10,000 subscribers; Creator $33/mo | Yes | Email automations and digital product sales | 9/10 |
| WordPress (self-hosted) | Free software; you pay for hosting | Yes | The largest plugin and theme ecosystem | 8.7/10 |
beehiiv: beehiiv has a free plan, a built-in ad network and growth tools, and takes 0% of paid subscriptions. Ghost gives you the open-source code and a full website CMS.Read our beehiiv review →
Substack: Substack costs nothing until you charge, then keeps 10% plus card fees. Its reader network helps discovery; Ghost costs a flat fee and keeps you independent.Read our Substack review →
Kit: Kit is stronger on automations and selling products and charges 3.5% plus 30 cents on paid newsletters. Ghost is the better publication website.Read our Kit review →
WordPress (self-hosted): WordPress can do memberships and newsletters through plugins, with more flexibility and more maintenance. Ghost builds those features in.Read our WordPress (self-hosted) review →
In The Wild
How People Actually Use Ghost
A writer launching a free newsletter
Starter ($15 a month billed yearly) covers 1,000 members and a custom domain. Move to Publisher before you start charging.
A paid newsletter with 5,000 members
Publisher costs $63 a month billed yearly at 5,000 members, with 0% Ghost fees on subscriptions. Compare that with 10% of your monthly subscription revenue on Substack.
A publisher moving from Substack
Ghost has a Substack importer for posts and members on every plan, and offers free managed migration on Business and Custom.
The Ecosystem
Ghost Integrations
Ghost connects through its APIs, webhooks and built-in integrations; most custom work starts on Publisher.
- →Stripe for paid memberships and tips
- →Zapier and n8n (Publisher and up)
- →Admin API and webhooks (Publisher and up); Content API on all plans
- →Social web via ActivityPub
- →Importers for Substack, WordPress, beehiiv, Squarespace, Mailchimp and Medium
Starter doesn't include custom integrations, the Admin API or webhooks. Self-hosted Ghost can use Ghost's hosted ActivityPub service up to 2,000 followers.
Common Questions
Ghost FAQ
The Final Word
Should You Use Ghost?
Ghost is the strongest choice for publishers who want their own site, newsletter and paid memberships without a revenue share, backed by open-source code and a non-profit owner. Start on Publisher if you'll charge, model the member-based prices as you grow, and use the 14-day trial, because Ghost doesn't refund. We score Ghost 8.4/10.
Yes, if
You charge for subscriptions or plan to, and want ownership of your site, list and code with 0% platform fees.
No, if
You want a free plan, a discovery network or ad revenue for a free newsletter.
About the reviewer
Carlos Gil
Founder & Editor, The Best Network
Carlos Gil is the bestselling author of The End of Marketing, a LinkedIn Top Voice, and founder of The Best Network. He brings 15+ years in marketing to practical reviews of AI, SaaS, email marketing, creator, and ecommerce software.
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