Softwr

News · head to head

Ghost CMS vs Glow.fm

Ghost CMS logo

Ghost CMS

News

Modern platform for professional publishing

From
$18/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Glow.fm logo

Glow.fm

Podcasting

Premium podcast subscriptions made simple

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Glow.fm has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Ghost CMS ghost Pro plans cap members, at 1,000 on both Starter and Publisher and 10,000 on Business; Glow.fm the Internet Archive's capture of Glow's pricing page on 6 December 2021 listed Basic starting at $0/month plus $0.55 per listener per month or $2 per one-time purchase, and Professional starting at $300/month for unlimited listeners with podcast hosting capped at 150,000 downloads per month; card processing adds $0.30 plus 2.9% per transaction on both tiers.
  • They diverge on capability: Ghost CMS covers Publishing platform, Glow.fm covers Private RSS feeds.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ghost CMS and Glow.fm actually diverge.

Attributes where Ghost CMS and Glow.fm differ
AttributeGhost CMSGlow.fm
Starting price$18/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptiontransaction
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Self-hostedWeb
CategoryNewsPodcasting
Founded20132019

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 Ghost CMS

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

Only in Glow.fm

  • Private RSS feeds
  • Any app support
  • Tiered subscriptions
  • Subscriber management
  • Payment processing
  • All podcast apps
  • Email platforms
  • Private feeds

Both cover

  • Analytics
  • Stripe
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Ghost CMS

  • Running a publication or newsletter with paid subscriptionsnot Glow.fm
  • Self hosting a headless or full stack publishing platformnot Glow.fm

Glow.fm

  • Premium podcastsnot Ghost CMS
  • Subscriber contentnot Ghost CMS
  • Membership tiersnot Ghost CMS
  • Direct monetizationnot Ghost CMS

Where each one falls short

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

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

Glow.fm

  • The Internet Archive's capture of Glow's pricing page on 6 December 2021 listed Basic starting at $0/month plus $0.55 per listener per month or $2 per one-time purchase, and Professional starting at $300/month for unlimited listeners with podcast hosting capped at 150,000 downloads per month; card processing adds $0.30 plus 2.9% per transaction on both tiers.

Pricing, plan by plan

Ghost CMS

$18/month
  • Starter$18/month
    • For solo blogs and newsletters
    • Your own website
    • Email newsletter
  • Publisher$29/month
    • For custom publications
    • 3 staff users
    • Custom themes
  • Business$199/month
    • For teams scaling up
    • 15 staff users
    • Priority support
  • Custom$null/contact
    • For organizations with complex needs
    • Unlimited staff users
    • Dedicated IP addresses

Glow.fm

Free
  • StandardFree
    • Private RSS feeds
    • Any podcast app support
    • Subscription management

Which should you pick?

Choose Ghost CMS if

  • You need publishing platform.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want email newsletters.
Ghost CMS review

Choose Glow.fm if

  • You need private rss feeds.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want any app support.
Glow.fm review

Questions people ask

Is Ghost CMS or Glow.fm better?
Neither clearly leads. Ghost CMS starts at $18/month and Glow.fm at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ghost CMS or Glow.fm?
Glow.fm has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $18/month for Ghost CMS and Free for Glow.fm.
Does Ghost CMS or Glow.fm run on more platforms?
Ghost CMS runs on Web, Self-hosted. Glow.fm runs on Web.
Can I use Glow.fm for free?
Yes. Glow.fm has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Ghost CMS starts at $18/month.
What is Ghost CMS best used for?
Ghost CMS is most often used for running a publication or newsletter with paid subscriptions, self hosting a headless or full stack publishing platform. Of those, running a publication or newsletter with paid subscriptions and self hosting a headless or full stack publishing platform are not what Glow.fm is typically brought in for.
What can Ghost CMS do that Glow.fm cannot?
Ghost CMS covers Publishing platform, Email newsletters, Membership management, Paywall support. Glow.fm covers Private RSS feeds, Any app support, Tiered subscriptions, Subscriber management. Both handle Analytics, Stripe, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ghost CMS: How much does Ghost CMS cost?

Ghost(Pro) pricing starts at $18 per month when billed yearly for the Starter plan, with Publisher at $29 per month and Business at $199 per month. All plans include unlimited email sends and enterprise-grade security.

Source
Ghost CMS: Can I cancel my Ghost subscription anytime?

Yes, users can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel their Ghost subscription anytime without penalties.

Source
Ghost CMS: Are there any additional fees with Ghost?

Ghost waives transaction fees on all plans, though payment processor fees still apply. There are no setup fees or hidden charges.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Ghost CMS

More on Glow.fm

Keep looking

Other head to heads