Ghost Pricing (2026): Managed Plans, Self-Hosting, and What You Actually Pay
Ghost's managed hosting plans start at $18/mo (billed annually) for Starter (one staff user and a small member cap) and scale to $199/mo for Business. Publisher sits in between at $29/mo, and a Custom plan covers the largest publications.
All Ghost plans take zero cut of paid membership revenue: you keep 100% minus Stripe's processing fee. Ghost's open-source software is also free to self-host, with infrastructure and email delivery as the only costs.
To see how this pricing stacks up, open a head-to-head comparison against the closest competitor or browse the full software directory for more options.
Ghost Pricing Overview: Managed Hosting vs Self-Hosting
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $18/mo | billed annually |
| Publisher | $29/mo | billed annually |
| Business | $199/mo | billed annually |
| Custom | Custom | Not listed |
Ghost is the platform of choice for creators who want complete ownership of their publication without paying a platform percentage on reader revenue.
At $18–29/mo for managed hosting, Ghost is cheaper than Beehiiv Scale ($43/mo) and cheaper than Substack's revenue cut above roughly $300/mo in monthly reader income.
The trade-off is that Ghost requires more technical setup than Substack and lacks Beehiiv's subscriber growth tools like an ad network and referral program.
Use this Ghost pricing page to understand cost structure, usage limits, and where pricing conversations need more detail.
Ghost can be self-hosted for free, or run on Ghost(Pro) managed hosting. Ghost(Pro) plans on annual billing are Starter at $18/mo, Publisher at $29/mo and Business at $199/mo, with a Custom plan for large publications.
Publisher is the plan most writers need, because it includes paid memberships and custom themes. Ghost takes no cut of your subscription revenue on any plan, which makes it cheaper than Substack once you have a meaningful number of paying readers.
Pricing source: official pricing page, verified 2026-10-01.
Add-ons and extra costs
<a href="/software/ghost">Ghost</a> pricing should be evaluated in the context of content volume, team size, and the commercial metric that drives expansion cost over time.
Pricing pages should help creators understand not just what the vendor charges, but what storage limits, export quality, and feature gating mean for total cost of ownership. Use this page to frame vendor conversations before committing to a plan.
- Clarify whether cost scales by minutes, projects, team members, or another metric.
- Confirm what premium features, storage upgrades, or priority support add to total spend.
- Model pricing against the actual content volume expected over the next 12 months.
Ghost's Four Managed Plans: Starter to Business
Starter ($18/mo) is the right entry point for solo writers with a small, established audience who want professional publication infrastructure without paying Substack's revenue cut. For a small, niche list, Starter handles it completely.
Upgrade to Publisher ($29/mo) when you hit Starter's member cap or need a second staff user for editorial collaboration. Publisher is the most common long-term plan for independent newsletter creators.
Team ($50/mo) is for co-authored publications, editorial teams, or media projects with multiple contributors needing staff access. Business ($199/mo) serves high-traffic publications with 10,000+ members and teams needing SLA-backed support and higher resource limits.
Self-hosting is worth evaluating for technical creators who have server experience and want to eliminate managed plan costs entirely: the Ghost CLI makes setup straightforward for developers, though it requires ongoing maintenance that managed hosting handles automatically.
What to check before you pay for Ghost
Calculate whether Ghost's flat fee beats Substack's 10% cut at your revenue
The switch from Substack to Ghost is financially justified above roughly $400–600/mo in monthly reader revenue, depending on which Ghost plan you need. Run the exact math: take your monthly reader revenue, calculate 10% for Substack's fee, then compare to your Ghost plan cost plus Stripe fees. The breakeven point is usually reached within 2–3 months of savings after migration effort.
Evaluate annual vs monthly billing before signing up
Ghost's published plan prices are for annual billing: monthly billing costs roughly 20–25% more per month. Starter at $18/mo annually costs roughly a fifth more per month if you pay monthly, and Publisher carries the same gap. If you're committing to Ghost as your primary publishing platform, annual billing is the better value. If you're testing Ghost against alternatives, monthly billing gives you flexibility at a higher per-month cost.
Assess your technical comfort level before choosing self-hosting
Ghost's self-hosted option is genuinely free (software only) but requires server provisioning, Ghost CLI installation, email delivery service configuration, and ongoing updates. For non-technical creators, the managed plans are worth the $18–29/mo to avoid server management. For developers or technical founders, self-hosting with a $6/mo DigitalOcean droplet plus Mailgun is meaningfully cheaper than any managed plan.
Check whether Ghost's newsletter growth tools meet your needs
Ghost offers email newsletters, membership tiers, and a recommendation network, but it doesn't have Beehiiv's built-in ad network, referral growth program, or subscriber-acquisition tools. If paid subscriber acquisition and growth marketing are priorities alongside publication design, Beehiiv's tools specifically address those needs. Ghost is stronger for the publication and content experience; Beehiiv is stronger for growth and monetization tooling.
Plan for email deliverability setup on managed Ghost plans
Ghost's managed plans include email sending capability, but deliverability depends on your domain setup (SPF, DKIM, DMARC records). Before launching paid membership campaigns, verify that your sending domain is properly authenticated. Ghost's documentation walks through this setup, and their support team can assist on paid plans. Poor deliverability setup is the most common technical issue new Ghost creators encounter.
Model your expected costs with our pricing calculators, or see how we review software for the full evaluation framework we use across every tool in the directory.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Ghost cost per month?
Ghost's managed plans cost $18/mo for Starter, $29/mo for Publisher, and $199/mo for Business, with a Custom plan for large publications. Each step up raises the member ceiling and the number of staff users. All managed plan prices are for annual billing: monthly billing is available at higher rates. Ghost's open-source software is free to self-host; you pay your own server and email delivery costs.
Does Ghost take a cut of paid membership revenue?
No. Ghost takes zero cut of your paid membership revenue on any plan, managed or self-hosted. You keep 100% of what readers pay, minus Stripe's payment processing fee (2.9% + 30 cents per transaction). This is the most significant financial advantage over Substack, which takes an additional 10% platform fee on top of Stripe's charges.
Is Ghost free to use?
Ghost's open-source software is free to download and self-host. If you run Ghost on your own server (via DigitalOcean, Railway, or similar), your only costs are hosting (typically $5–20/mo for small publications) and an external email delivery service like Mailgun or Postmark (typically $10–30/mo for modest volumes). Ghost's managed hosting plans start at $18/mo annually, not free, but the software itself is open-source.
What is the Ghost Starter plan and who is it for?
Ghost Starter ($18/mo billed annually) is the smallest managed plan: one staff user, a capped member count, a custom theme, Ghost's email newsletter system, and basic membership/paid subscription support. It's designed for solo writers and bloggers starting their first publication with a small audience. The member cap is the primary constraint: creators expecting to outgrow it quickly should start on Publisher ($29/mo).
What's the difference between the Ghost Publisher and Business plans?
Publisher ($29/mo) and Business ($199/mo) share the same publishing and membership core. Business raises the member ceiling sharply and allows far more staff users, which is what the price gap buys. Solo publications and small editorial teams belong on Publisher; Business is for lists in the tens of thousands or a newsroom-sized masthead.
How does Ghost pricing compare to Beehiiv?
At similar capability levels, Ghost Publisher ($29/mo annually) and Beehiiv Scale ($43/mo) are the closest comparison. Ghost is cheaper by $14/mo but focuses more on publication design and CMS flexibility, while Beehiiv's Scale plan includes a built-in ad network and referral growth tools that Ghost doesn't offer. Both take no cut of paid subscription revenue.
What does self-hosting Ghost actually cost?
Self-hosting Ghost requires a server and an email delivery service. A basic DigitalOcean droplet for a small publication costs $6–12/mo. An email delivery service like Mailgun or Postmark typically costs $10–35/mo depending on send volume. Total out-of-pocket cost for self-hosted Ghost runs roughly $15–50/mo, often cheaper than managed plans for high-traffic publications, but requires technical setup and ongoing server management.
Is Ghost worth it compared to Substack?
Ghost beats Substack on cost once paid memberships clear roughly $180/mo on Starter or $290/mo on Publisher: the points at which Substack's 10% cut exceeds Ghost's flat fee ($18–29/mo, zero revenue cut). Below that, Substack's no-monthly-fee model is cheaper. The gap widens quickly above those thresholds, so creators earning several hundred dollars a month from memberships keep meaningfully more on Ghost.
Sources
Pricing and product details referenced on this page were verified from public sources. Confirm final details directly with the vendor before purchasing.
pricing · verified Oct 1, 2026
Official pricing pageGhost pricing reference