Happy Valley

Ghost vs Webflow

Ghost and Webflow are both website builders tools. Ghost is aimed at creators and small businesses, while Webflow is aimed at agencies and small businesses. Ghost costs less, from $18/mo versus $25/mo for Webflow. Both have a free plan.

Ghost

Open-source publishing with memberships

Webflow

Visual web development with CMS

PricingOpen source · $18Freemium · $25
Starting price$18/mo$25/mo
Free planYesYes
Free trial14 days—
Built forCreators, Small businessesAgencies, Small businesses
Platformswebweb
CountrySG · 2013US · 2013
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 Webflow if

Design-led marketing teams and agencies that want full visual control without a developer dependency.

  • Designer freedom with clean output
  • CMS is strong for marketing and programmatic SEO pages
  • Hosting, security and performance handled

Look elsewhere if: Quick one-page sites (Carrd, Framer), online stores (Shopify), or budget content sites (WordPress).

Ghost vs Webflow 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

Webflow

  • Starter$0webflow.io domain, 2 pages, 1 GB bandwidth
  • Basic$25/mo$15/mo billed yearly; 300 pages, no CMS
  • Premium$39/mo$25/mo billed yearly; CMS, 50 GB+ bandwidth
  • Team$2,500/moAnnual contract; Localize, workflows
  • EnterpriseCustom

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

Webflow · Key features

  • Visual designer that outputs production-grade code
  • CMS collections with dynamic pages and multi-reference fields
  • Interactions, animations and Lottie support
  • Localization and Optimize for testing and personalization
  • Fast hosting with SSL, backups, staging and SEO controls
  • Editor mode for content teams and Figma-to-Webflow plugin

Cons

  • Steep learning curve for non-designers
  • Pricing complexity: site plans plus workspace seats
  • CMS item limits and bandwidth caps

Ghost vs Webflow: FAQ

Which is cheaper, Ghost or Webflow?

Ghost starts at $18/mo and Webflow at $25/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.

Do Ghost and Webflow have a free plan?

Yes, both Ghost and Webflow have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.

Not sure yet?