Ghost is a Website builders tool: Open-source publishing with memberships.

How much does Ghost cost?

Ghost is Open source; there is no mandatory paid plan.

What are the best alternatives to Ghost?

Community-listed alternatives to Ghost include Leadpages, Squarespace, WordPress.com, Floot.

Does Ghost have a free trial?

Yes, Ghost offers a 14-day free trial.

What does Ghost integrate with?

Ghost integrates with Stripe, Mailgun, Zapier, Slack, Unsplash, Google Analytics and more.

Ghost

Open-source publishing with memberships

Open source · $18Website builders Email marketing

Visit website

Ghost is a website builders tool for Creators and Small businesses, offered as open source ($18/mo). Based in Singapore, founded in 2013. Popular alternatives include Leadpages, Squarespace, WordPress.com.

About Ghost

Ghost is an open-source publishing platform created in 2013 by John O'Nolan and Hannah Wolfe and run by the non-profit Ghost Foundation. It combines a fast, focused editor, SEO-friendly themes, built-in email newsletters and paid memberships, and it is used by independent writers, media startups and company blogs that want to own their audience and their domain.

Memberships and subscriptions run through Stripe with zero platform fees, so publishers keep their subscription revenue apart from Stripe's own charges. Newsletters are sent from the same system that publishes posts, with free and paid tiers, segmentation and analytics. Ghost 6.0, released in 2025, added native web analytics and ActivityPub support, so publications can be followed and interacted with from the fediverse. Ghost(Pro) is the managed hosting with pricing based on member count and staff users; self-hosting is free under the MIT license but requires Node.js, MySQL and a bulk email provider.

Ghost fits writers and publishers who want a real website, strong SEO and memberships without a revenue share. It is not a general website builder, and custom themes require Handlebars and front-end skills. Substack is easier to start with and has a discovery network but takes 10% of paid subscriptions, beehiiv is stronger on newsletter growth tools, and WordPress is more flexible for sites that need many page types and plugins.

Key features of Ghost

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

Pros and cons

Pros

No revenue share on memberships
Open source and self-hostable
Fast, SEO-friendly and focused on publishing
Newsletter and site in one

Cons

Not a general-purpose site builder
Theme customization requires Handlebars and code
Self-hosting needs server skills
Member-based pricing grows with audience

Ghost pricing

Ghost uses a open source model. A 14-day free trial is available.

Plan	Price	Includes
Self-hosted	$0	MIT 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
Custom	Custom	Unlimited members and staff

Source: ghost.org · checked on Oct 20, 2026

Are you the maker of Ghost?

Show a price-verified badge on your site. It displays when we last checked your prices on your own pricing page and links back to this page.

Embed code

<a href="https://happyvalley.dev/tools/ghost"><img src="https://happyvalley.dev/api/badge/ghost?v=price" alt="Prices verified on Happy Valley" height="32"></a>

How Ghost compares in Website builders

Rank by votes: #1 / 21
Starting price: $18
Free alternatives: 1

Ghost ranks #1 of 21 website builders tools by community votes and is priced in line with the category.

Common use cases

1Independent writer running a paid newsletter with a real website
2Company blog and newsletter on one platform
3Media publication leaving Substack to own its domain
4Community publication connected to the fediverse

Best for

Writers, publishers and companies who want an owned, SEO-strong publication with memberships and no revenue share.

Not ideal for

Marketing sites with many page types or people wanting Substack's built-in discovery network.

Integrations

Stripe
Mailgun
Zapier
Slack
Unsplash
Google Analytics
Plausible
Disqus
ActivityPub (Fediverse)

Our take

Ghost is the professional publisher's platform: own your audience, keep your revenue. Use Substack for discovery; move to Ghost once you have an audience.

FAQ

What is Ghost?: Ghost is a Website builders tool: Open-source publishing with memberships.
How much does Ghost cost?: Ghost is Open source; there is no mandatory paid plan.
What are the best alternatives to Ghost?: Community-listed alternatives to Ghost include Leadpages, Squarespace, WordPress.com, Floot.
Does Ghost have a free trial?: Yes, Ghost offers a 14-day free trial.
What does Ghost integrate with?: Ghost integrates with Stripe, Mailgun, Zapier, Slack, Unsplash, Google Analytics and more.
Which platforms does Ghost support?: Ghost is available on web.
Who is Ghost for?: Writers, publishers and companies who want an owned, SEO-strong publication with memberships and no revenue share.

Alternatives to Ghost

See all 10

Leadpages
▲ 0
Landing pages, pop-ups and sites for small businesses
Paid · $29Small businesses
checked Oct 20
Squarespace
▲ 0
Design-led websites with commerce
Paid · $25Small businesses
checked Oct 20
WordPress.com
▲ 0
Hosted WordPress by Automattic
Freemium · $9Creators
checked Oct 20
Floot
▲ 0
Build and host full-stack apps from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor
Freemium · $25Small businesses
checked Oct 30
Greta.sh
▲ 0
AI website and app builder that keeps adding SEO and AEO pages
Freemium · $20Freelancers
checked Nov 3
Strikingly
▲ 0
Simple builder for one-page websites and small online stores
Freemium · $12Freelancers
checked Oct 20

More Website builders tools

See all 21

Readymag
▲ 0
Design-first web publishing
Freemium · $19Agencies
checked Oct 20
Jimdo
▲ 0
Simple website and small online store builder for solo businesses
Freemium · $11Small businesses
checked Oct 20
Faprika
▲ 0
Turkish e-commerce platform with marketplace, cargo and e-invoicing
PaidSmall businesses
checked Oct 20
Umso
▲ 0
Website builder for startups
Freemium · $14Small businesses
checked Oct 20
Dorik
▲ 0
No-code website and landing page builder
Paid · $29Freelancers
checked Oct 20
Duda
▲ 0
Website platform for agencies and SaaS
Paid · $25Agencies
checked Oct 20

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share real experience.