Ghost

What it is

Ghost is an open-source (MIT) publishing platform run by a non-profit foundation: a fast website with built-in SEO, email newsletters, free and paid memberships through your own Stripe account, recommendations, a listing in the Ghost Explore directory and ActivityPub distribution to the social web. Ghost(Pro) managed hosting, per month for up to 1,000 members: Starter $15 billed yearly ($18 monthly) with 1 staff user and the default theme, but no paid subscriptions, custom themes or custom sending domain; Publisher $29 billed yearly ($35 monthly) adds paid subscriptions and tips at 0% Ghost fee, custom themes, 3 staff users, the Admin API, webhooks and Zapier; Business $199 billed yearly ($239 monthly) includes 10,000 members and 15 staff users. Publisher and Business prices rise with member count, and email sends are unlimited on every plan. Self-hosting the software is free, but newsletters then need a Mailgun account. 14-day free trial. Prices checked November 13, 2026 on ghost.org/pricing.

Best for

• Blogs and independent publications
• Writers moving a paid newsletter off a revenue-share platform
• Publishers who want an open-source site they can self-host later

What we like

• 0% platform fee on paid subscriptions from Publisher; only Stripe's card fees apply
• Website, newsletter and memberships in one product, no plugins to maintain
• Open source: export your content and members, or self-host the same software
• Unlimited email sends on every plan

What to watch

• Starter cannot take payments or use custom themes, so paid publishing starts at $29 a month
• Price rises with members, including free ones
• Far fewer integrations and themes than WordPress, and no built-in store or contact forms
• Hosting under yoursite.com/blog needs Business plus a $50 a month add-on