Carrd vs Ghost
Carrd and Ghost are both website builders tools. Carrd is aimed at freelancers and creators, while Ghost is aimed at creators and small businesses. Carrd costs less, from $0.75/mo versus $18/mo for Ghost. Both have a free plan.
| Pricing | Freemium · $1 | Open source · $18 |
| Starting price | $0.75/mo | $18/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 7 days | 14 days |
| Built for | Freelancers, Creators | Creators, Small businesses |
| Platforms | web | web |
| Country | US · 2016 | SG · 2013 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Carrd if
Indie makers and individuals who need a polished single page fast and cheap.
- Absurdly cheap: $19 per year covers most needs
- Fast and simple editor
- Great for landing pages and link pages
Look elsewhere if: Multi-page marketing sites, blogs or anything needing a CMS.
Choose Ghost if
Writers, publishers and companies who want an owned, SEO-strong publication with memberships and no revenue share.
- No revenue share on memberships
- Open source and self-hostable
- Fast, SEO-friendly and focused on publishing
Look elsewhere if: Marketing sites with many page types or people wanting Substack's built-in discovery network.
Carrd vs Ghost pricing
Carrd
- Free$0Up to 3 sites on carrd.co subdomain
- Pro Lite$9/year3 sites, no branding; 10/25-site tiers $14/$29 per year
- Pro Standard$19/year10 sites, custom domains, forms; up to 1,000 sites
- Pro Plus$49/year25 sites, redirects, password protection
Ghost
- Self-hosted$0MIT license; you run the server and email
- Starter$18/mo$15/mo billed yearly; 1,000 members, 1 staff user
- Publisher$35/mo$29/mo billed yearly; 1,000 members, 3 staff users
- Business$239/mo$199/mo billed yearly; 15 staff users
- CustomCustomUnlimited members and staff
Carrd · Key features
- Responsive one-page sites with sections and containers
- Clean templates and fine-grained styling
- Forms connected to email tools and Formspree (Pro)
- Embeds, widgets, Google Analytics and custom code (Pro)
- Stripe and PayPal buttons (Pro Plus)
- Custom domains and multiple sites per account
Cons
- One page only; no CMS or blog
- Limited interactivity and animations
- Team collaboration not supported
Ghost · Key features
- Modern editor with cards, embeds and SEO settings
- Built-in newsletters with Mailgun delivery
- Paid memberships and tiers via Stripe, 0% fees
- Themes (Handlebars) and custom domains
- Native analytics, comments, recommendations and ActivityPub
- REST and Content APIs; self-hostable under MIT
Cons
- Not a general-purpose site builder
- Theme customization requires Handlebars and code
- Self-hosting needs server skills
Carrd vs Ghost: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Carrd or Ghost?
Carrd starts at $0.75/mo and Ghost at $18/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Carrd and Ghost have a free plan?
Yes, both Carrd and Ghost have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.
Which is better for small businesses, Carrd or Ghost?
Ghost lists small businesses as a core audience, while Carrd is aimed more at freelancers and creators.