Ghost

Overview

Ghost is an open source publishing platform, released under the MIT licence, that treats a website and an email newsletter as the same act: a post is published to the site and delivered to subscribers at once. Around that sit memberships, with readers signing up free or buying a paid subscription on monthly or yearly tiers through Stripe, native signup forms, promotional offers, and audience segmentation so different newsletters reach different reader groups. The editor is built for long-form work and handles galleries, video, audio and dynamic content cards, and native analytics report which posts earn attention and which members engage most. REST APIs read and write content, documented for headless use, and Publisher plans and above connect to more than 8,000 applications including Stripe, Slack, Google Analytics and Zapier. It runs two ways: self-hosted from the source, which carries no licence cost, or on Ghost(Pro), the managed hosting service priced in tiers by member count. Ghost is run by a non-profit foundation funded entirely by its users, with no outside investors, and takes no percentage of subscription revenue on Publisher plans and above.

Best for independent publishers and creators who want a website, newsletter and paid subscriptions in one platform they can host themselves.

Ghost suits a publication that intends to own its audience outright, and the licence is the reason rather than the feature list: the escape hatch is real, because the same application that runs the managed service can be moved onto your own server without asking anyone. The revenue model reinforces it, since the platform is not taking a cut of what readers pay and the incentive to lock you in is correspondingly weak. What you give up is the machinery a marketing team expects, so treat it as a publishing tool that mails rather than a campaign platform that publishes, and price it by members rather than sends, because that is the number every tier is drawn around. The Starter plan is the one to watch: without paid subscriptions it does not do the job most people come to Ghost for.

Key Facts

Features

Campaign types

Newsletters published to a website and sent by email in the same step, with free and paid membership tiers

Automation and journeys

Yes, in public beta since June 2026. An Automations tab opens a drag-and-drop canvas with two flows ready to go, one for new free members and one for new paid ones, built from two actions: send an email and wait a set amount of time. Existing welcome emails move into it automatically, and more triggers and actions are announced as coming

Segmentation and personalisation

Yes, audience segmentation so different newsletters go to different groups of readers

Templates and editor

Yes, an editor built for long-form work with galleries, video, audio and dynamic content cards; custom themes from the Publisher plan

Deliverability and testing

Preview shows the post as it will look on the web, on mobile, in an email and on social, and a test email can be sent to your own inbox with a custom subject line before publishing. On Ghost(Pro) email delivery is included and configured for you; a self-hosted install has to supply Mailgun API keys, which is the only supported bulk email provider

Ecommerce and CRM data

Yes, native paid subscriptions through Stripe on monthly and yearly tiers, with signup forms and promotional offers. Ghost takes 0% of subscription revenue on Publisher and above, though payment processor fees still apply

Integrations and API

Yes, REST APIs for content in and out, plus more than 8,000 integrations through Zapier and similar from the Publisher plan

Integrations

• Stripe
• Slack
• Google Analytics
• Zapier

Deployment and Support

Deployment

• Cloud (SaaS)
• Browser-based
• On-premise

Support

• Community forum

Onboarding

• Documentation and knowledge base

Company size

• Freelancers
• Small and mid-sized

Suitability

The table combines the industries the vendor addresses with the company sizes the tool is aimed at. An empty cell means the combination is not stated, not that it is ruled out.

Pros and Cons

Pricing

• Self-hosted

  $0

  The open source Ghost application under the MIT licence. No licence cost; you provide the server and email delivery.

• Starter

  $18

  Per month, billed yearly. Up to 1,000 members, one staff user, website, newsletter, free custom domain and unlimited email sends. No paid subscriptions or custom themes.

• Publisher

  $29

  Per month, billed yearly. Up to 1,000 members, three staff users, custom themes, paid subscriptions, advanced analytics and more than 8,000 integrations.

• Business

  $199

  Per month, billed yearly. Up to 10,000 members, 15 staff users, priority support, higher usage limits and early access to new features.

• Custom

  Not stated

  Unlimited members and staff users, advanced configuration, dedicated IP and a 99.9% uptime SLA.

Best For

• Media & Creative
• Technology

Alternatives and Comparisons

FAQ

Is Ghost free?

The application is. Ghost is open source under the MIT licence and can be self-hosted at no licence cost, though you supply the server and email delivery yourself. Ghost(Pro), the managed hosting run by the Ghost Foundation, is the paid option and starts at $18 per month billed yearly.

Does Ghost take a cut of paid subscriptions?

No. Transaction fees are 0% on the Publisher, Business and Custom plans. Payment processor fees still apply, since subscriptions are collected through Stripe. The Starter plan does not offer paid subscriptions at all.

How does Ghost pricing scale?

By member count rather than by emails sent, and email sends are unlimited on every tier. Starter at $18 per month and Publisher at $29 per month both cover up to 1,000 members, Business at $199 per month covers 10,000, and the Custom plan covers unlimited members. All published rates are billed yearly.

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