Is FastSpring or Ghost CMS better?

Neither clearly leads. FastSpring starts at On request and Ghost CMS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, FastSpring or Ghost CMS?

Ghost CMS has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for FastSpring and Free for Ghost CMS.

Does FastSpring or Ghost CMS run on more platforms?

FastSpring runs on web, api. Ghost CMS runs on Web, Self-hosted.

Can I use Ghost CMS for free?

Yes. Ghost CMS has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. FastSpring starts at On request.

What is FastSpring best used for?

FastSpring is most often used for selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity, b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals, recurring subscription billing for digital products, reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchases. Of those, selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity and b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals are not what Ghost CMS is typically brought in for.

What can FastSpring do that Ghost CMS cannot?

FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance. Ghost CMS covers Publishing platform, Email newsletters, Membership management, Analytics.

E-commerce · head to head

FastSpring vs Ghost CMS

FastSpring

E-commerce

Merchant-of-record commerce platform for global payments, subscriptions, and tax compliance

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Ghost CMS

News & Media

Modern platform for professional publishing

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Ghost CMS has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: FastSpring pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.; Ghost CMS ghost Pro plans cap members, at 1,000 on both Starter and Publisher and 10,000 on Business
They diverge on capability: FastSpring covers Global online payments, Ghost CMS covers Publishing platform.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FastSpring and Ghost CMS actually diverge.

Attributes where FastSpring and Ghost CMS differ
Attribute	FastSpring	Ghost CMS
Starting price	On request	Free
Pricing model	transaction	freemium
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	web, api	Web, Self-hosted
Category	E-commerce	News & Media
Founded	2006	2013

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in FastSpring

Global online payments
Subscription billing
Branded checkout
Tax compliance
Fraud prevention
Digital invoicing and quotes

Only in Ghost CMS

Publishing platform
Email newsletters
Membership management
Analytics
Paywall support
SEO optimization
Media library
API access

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

FastSpring

Selling software or SaaS internationally without a local tax entitynot Ghost CMS
B2B invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise SaaS dealsnot Ghost CMS
Recurring subscription billing for digital productsnot Ghost CMS
Reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchasesnot Ghost CMS

Ghost CMS

Running a publication or newsletter with paid subscriptionsnot FastSpring
Self hosting a headless or full stack publishing platformnot FastSpring

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

FastSpring

Pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.
As a merchant-of-record, FastSpring takes on more control of the checkout and payment relationship than a pure payment gateway like Stripe.
Revenue share pricing can become more expensive than flat per-transaction gateway fees at very high volumes.
Primarily targeted at software/digital goods sellers, so it is less suited to physical product e-commerce.

Ghost CMS

Ghost Pro plans cap members, at 1,000 on both Starter and Publisher and 10,000 on Business
Staff users are limited to 1 on Starter and 3 on Publisher
Custom themes and integrations require the Publisher plan at $29 a month billed yearly
The jump to 10,000 members is the $199 a month Business plan, with nothing between
Self hosting is free but installing under a subdirectory needs a custom reverse proxy that Ghost does not officially support

Pricing, plan by plan

FastSpring

On request

Custom$undefined/mo
- All-in-one transaction-based pricing based on sales volume
- No subscription fees or per-feature charges
- Discounted rates for ACH and wire transfers

Ghost CMS

Free

Free Self-HostedFree
- Open source
- Self-hosted
- Basic features
Creator$29/month
- Email newsletters
- Memberships
- Analytics
Business$99/month
- Advanced analytics
- Priority support
- Custom integrations

Which should you pick?

Choose FastSpring if

You need global online payments.
You work on web, api.
You also want subscription billing.

FastSpring review

Choose Ghost CMS if

You need publishing platform.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Self-hosted.
You also want email newsletters.

Ghost CMS review

Questions people ask

Is FastSpring or Ghost CMS better?: Neither clearly leads. FastSpring starts at On request and Ghost CMS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FastSpring or Ghost CMS?: Ghost CMS has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for FastSpring and Free for Ghost CMS.
Does FastSpring or Ghost CMS run on more platforms?: FastSpring runs on web, api. Ghost CMS runs on Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Ghost CMS for free?: Yes. Ghost CMS has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. FastSpring starts at On request.
What is FastSpring best used for?: FastSpring is most often used for selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity, b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals, recurring subscription billing for digital products, reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchases. Of those, selling software or saas internationally without a local tax entity and b2b invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise saas deals are not what Ghost CMS is typically brought in for.
What can FastSpring do that Ghost CMS cannot?: FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance. Ghost CMS covers Publishing platform, Email newsletters, Membership management, Analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

FastSpring: What does FastSpring cost?

FastSpring uses flat-rate, all-in-one pricing based on transaction volume, with fees withheld from payouts. There is no minimum volume or subscription fee, and pricing is typically quoted based on expected sales volume after contacting their sales team.

Source

FastSpring: Is there a free plan?

FastSpring does not offer a free plan; instead pricing is transaction-based with no upfront subscription cost, and merchants only pay a commission on completed sales.

Source

FastSpring: What does FastSpring integrate with or include compared to a payment gateway like Stripe?

FastSpring bundles international payments, subscription management, tax compliance, fraud prevention, reporting, and B2B invoicing into one price, whereas gateways like Stripe charge separately for many of these features.

Source

FastSpring vs Ghost CMS

FastSpring

Ghost CMS

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in FastSpring

Only in Ghost CMS

What people use each for

FastSpring

Ghost CMS

Where each one falls short

FastSpring

Ghost CMS

Pricing, plan by plan

FastSpring

Ghost CMS

Which should you pick?

Choose FastSpring if

Choose Ghost CMS if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on FastSpring

More on Ghost CMS

Keep looking

Other head to heads