Substack vs Ghost
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Ghost is open-source (MIT) publishing software with members and paid newsletters built in. You can pay Ghost to host it or run it yourself. Substack is free to start but keeps 10% of paid revenue.
| Substack | Ghost | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free (revenue share on paid posts) | Open source |
| Runs as | Cloud | Cloud, Self-hosted |
| Free plan | Free to publish (no list-size limit stated) | No free hosted plan Free to self-host under the MIT licence. |
| Paid plans from | 10% of paid-subscription revenue “Writers keep 90% of their revenue minus credit card fees.” | $18/month (Starter, up to 1,000 members) Monthly billing; yearly Starter is $15/month. |
| Paid newsletters | Yes, 10% platform fee | Yes on Publisher and up, 0% Ghost transaction fee |
| Billing currency | Not documented | USD |
| Hosting | Cloud | Cloud or self-hosted |
| Licence | Not documented | MIT (open source) |
| Price | Free to publish; keeps 10% of paid revenue substack.com, checked 22 Oct 2026 | Ghost(Pro) from $18/month; free to self-host ghost.org, checked 22 Oct 2026 |
| Newsletter alternative to | Mailchimp | Substack, Mailchimp, beehiiv |
Key differences
- Substack writers keep 90% of their revenue minus card fees. (substack.com/going-paid)
- Ghost(Pro) showed 0% transaction fees on its paid-subscription plans; the Starter plan doesn't include paid subscriptions. (ghost.org/pricing)
- Ghost(Pro) Starter was $18 a month (up to 1,000 members); Publisher was $35 at 1,000 members and $105 at 10,000, on monthly billing. (ghost.org/pricing)
- Ghost's code is MIT-licensed, so you can self-host it free on your own server. (github.com/TryGhost/Ghost)
Which should you pick?
- Substack: Pick Substack if you want zero setup and value its reader network more than owning the site.
- Ghost: Pick Ghost if you want your own website and domain with no revenue cut, and can pay for hosting or run a server yourself.
This verdict is based on the documented facts above, not on hands-on testing.
Read more
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- Substack vs beehiiv
- beehiiv vs Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
- MailerLite vs Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Sources: substack.com/going-paid · ghost.org/pricing · github.com/TryGhost/Ghost. “Not available” or “Not documented” means we found no official source for it, not that the feature is missing.