Ghost vs Strikingly
Ghost and Strikingly are both website builders tools. Ghost is aimed at creators and small businesses, while Strikingly is aimed at freelancers and creators. Strikingly costs less, from $12/mo versus $18/mo for Ghost. Both have a free plan.
Open-source publishing with memberships
Simple builder for one-page websites and small online stores
| Pricing | Open source · $18 | Freemium · $12 |
| Starting price | $18/mo | $12/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | — |
| Built for | Creators, Small businesses | Freelancers, Creators, Small businesses |
| Platforms | web | web, ios, android |
| Country | SG · 2013 | — · 2012 |
| Rating | — | — |
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.
Choose Strikingly if
Freelancers, creators and very small businesses that want a clean one-page site or small store with almost no learning curve.
- Very easy to learn; a full site takes hours, not days
- Free plan allows unlimited sites on a subdomain
- One-page layouts look polished on phones by default
Look elsewhere if: Growing stores or teams that need design freedom and a large app ecosystem (Wix, Webflow, Squarespace).
Ghost vs Strikingly pricing
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
Strikingly
- Free$0Unlimited free sites on a strikingly.com subdomain
- Limited$12/mo$8/mo billed yearly; 2 sites, up to 5 pages each
- Pro$20/mo$16/mo billed yearly; 3 sites, 300 products, 2% fee
- VIP$59/mo$49/mo billed yearly; 5 sites, 500 products, 0% fee
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
Strikingly · Key features
- Section-based editor for one-page and multi-page sites
- Mobile-responsive templates for portfolios, events and small businesses
- AI site builder that drafts a first version from a prompt
- Simple Store for physical and digital products
- Built-in blog, contact forms and newsletter tools
- Custom domain support with a free domain for a year on paid plans
Cons
- Design flexibility is limited compared with Wix or Webflow
- Limited plan allows only 5 pages per site
- Store features are basic for growing ecommerce
Ghost vs Strikingly: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Ghost or Strikingly?
Strikingly starts at $12/mo and Ghost at $18/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Ghost and Strikingly have a free plan?
Yes, both Ghost and Strikingly have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.