Ghost

Ghost is an open-source publishing platform for blogs, newsletters, and membership sites. It is built for professional publishing: a clean writing editor, fast pages, built-in SEO, and native membership and email tools, with no plugins needed for the core job.

Key Features

Clean writing and publishing editor
Built-in newsletters and memberships
0% platform fees on revenue
Fast, SEO-friendly pages
Self-host free or managed hosting
Themes and integrations

Pricing

Plan	Price	Details
Self-hosted	$0	Open-source software, free to self-host on your own server.
Ghost(Pro) Starter	$9/mo annual	Managed hosting, 500 members, 1 staff user, SSL and CDN included.
Ghost(Pro) Creator	$25/mo annual	1,000 members, custom themes, paid subscriptions via Stripe.
Ghost(Pro) Team	$50/mo annual	10,000 members, 5 staff users, custom integrations.
Ghost(Pro) Business	$199/mo annual	100,000 members, priority support, advanced analytics.

Prices as listed in 2026 research. Always check the official site for the latest price — plans change. Free plan: Yes — it has a free plan.

Best for: writers and publishers who want a fast, open-source platform for blogs, newsletters, and memberships.
Popular with: Writers, Business Owners, Developers

How it works

You can self-host Ghost for free on your own server, or use Ghost(Pro) managed hosting from $9 a month. Either way, you keep 0% of your revenue apart from Stripe processing fees, and you own your content and your audience.

Ghost suits writers, journalists, and creators who run a publication or a paid newsletter. It is simpler and faster than WordPress for publishing, though it has fewer themes and plugins. For a serious writing business, it is one of the best tools available.

Key Features

Pricing

How it works

Pros and Cons

✓ Pros

✗ Cons

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