Productivity
Ghost
Pro publishing platform.
What it is
Ghost is the world's cleanest and most focused blog platform for independent creators and professional publishers. Eschewing WordPress's complexity, it focuses on speed and the writing experience. Its greatest strength is the built-in 'Memberships' system, allowing you to monetize your content through paid subscriptions. It also doubles as a newsletter tool, automatically emailing your posts to your subscribers.
Ghost pricing
Ghost publishes 3 plans. Paid tiers start at $18/mo billed annually.
| Plan | Price | What the vendor’s page says |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $18/mo billed annually | Starter $18/month billed yearly: 1 staff user, 1,000 members, free custom domain, no marketplace themes or paid subscriptions |
| Publisher | $29/mo billed annually | Publisher $29/month yearly: 3 staff users, 1,000 members, custom themes, paid subscriptions, analytics |
| Business | $199/mo billed annually | Business $199/month yearly: 15 staff users, 10,000 members, priority support |
Prices read from the vendor's own pricing page on 2026-09-08. Vendors change plans without notice — check the source before you budget. Source Price verification log.
Key features
Memberships & Tiers
Create free and multiple paid subscription levels for your readers.
Email Newsletters
Send your posts as stylish email newsletters to subscribers the moment they publish.
Deep Integrations
Works directly with Stripe, Zapier, and standard analytics tools.
Rich Editor
Easily craft rich content including images, videos, and code blocks.
Strengths and trade-offs
What works well
- Flawless Writing: A minimalist editor that keeps your focus strictly on the content.
- Incredible Speed: Node.js-based, resulting in very low page load times.
- Native Subscriptions: Collect paid memberships and donations without harici plugins.
- SEO Ready: Automatically handles meta tags, XML sitemaps, and more.
Where it falls short
- Hosting Cost: If not self-hosted, the monthly cost of Ghost(Pro) is high.
- Plugin Limits: Far fewer plugins than WordPress; customization is mostly via themes.
- Technical Setup: Self-hosting requires command-line knowledge.
Who it is for
Independent Writers, Newsletter Publishers, and Modern Media Firms.
Pick it or skip it
Pick Ghost if
- Solo writers who want a hosted blog and newsletter with a custom domain for $18/month billed yearly
- Publishers selling paid subscriptions with no transaction fee — Publisher ($29/month) unlocks that
- Technical users who want to self-host the open-source version for free
Skip it if
- You need custom themes or paid memberships on the cheapest plan: Starter excludes both
- Your audience is above 1,000 members on Starter or Publisher — higher tiers or usage pricing apply
- You need more than 15 staff users or an SLA: that is the Custom plan
Our verdict
The most elite publishing platform for those looking to earn from their writing.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does Ghost cost?
- Ghost(Pro) hosting starts at $18 a month billed yearly for Starter (1 staff user, 1,000 members). Publisher is $29 a month and adds custom themes and paid subscriptions with 0% transaction fees; Business is $199 a month for 15 staff users and 10,000 members. Monthly billing is priced higher than yearly. The open-source Ghost software is free if you host it yourself.
- How much does Ghost cost?
- Ghost publishes 3 plans: Starter at $18/mo billed annually, Publisher at $29/mo billed annually, Business at $199/mo billed annually. Every figure is read from the vendor's own pricing page; the pricing section above shows the source sentence for each tier.
- Who is Ghost best for?
- Independent Writers, Newsletter Publishers, and Modern Media Firms.
- What are the main drawbacks of Ghost?
- The trade-offs we noted: Hosting Cost: If not self-hosted, the monthly cost of Ghost(Pro) is high.; Plugin Limits: Far fewer plugins than WordPress; customization is mostly via themes.; Technical Setup: Self-hosting requires command-line knowledge..
- When should you not use Ghost?
- Skip Ghost if: You need custom themes or paid memberships on the cheapest plan: Starter excludes both; Your audience is above 1,000 members on Starter or Publisher — higher tiers or usage pricing apply; You need more than 15 staff users or an SLA: that is the Custom plan.
What we checked
- Public APIOffers a documented API you can build against.Yes
- Mobile appHas a native app for iOS or Android, not just a mobile website.No
- Open source / self-hostableSource is open and the tool can be run on your own infrastructure.Yes
- SSO (SAML)Supports SAML single sign-on on at least one plan.No
“Not checked” means exactly that — we have not verified it, and we do not guess.
Evidence and freshness
Status: Vendor pricing page verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-08
- Ghost — Pricing ↗
Checked 2026-09-08 · Supports: Starter $18/month billed yearly: 1 staff user, 1,000 members, free custom domain, no marketplace themes or paid subscriptions, Publisher $29/month yearly: 3 staff users, 1,000 members, custom themes, paid subscriptions, analytics, Business $199/month yearly: 15 staff users, 10,000 members, priority support, Custom: unlimited, dedicated IP, 99.9% SLA, SSO; 0% transaction fees; monthly billing costs more
Limit: Vendor pricing page was reviewed by an editor on this date; this record is not a ToolCompare benchmark. Prices and limits change.
Tools that do the same job as Ghost
Same job, different pricing. Verified starting price first.
More Productivity tools: see the full Productivity category
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