Is Ghost or Memberful better?

Neither clearly leads. Ghost starts at Free and Memberful at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Ghost or Memberful?

Ghost has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ghost and $49/month for Memberful.

Does Ghost or Memberful run on more platforms?

Ghost runs on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud-hosted. Memberful runs on web, api.

Can I use Ghost for free?

Yes. Ghost has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Memberful starts at $49/month.

What is Ghost best used for?

Ghost is most often used for api development, api gateway, api testing, api documentation. Of those, api development and api gateway are not what Memberful is typically brought in for.

What can Ghost do that Memberful cannot?

Ghost covers Content API, Membership, Analytics, Webhooks. Memberful covers Membership checkout, Flexible subscriptions, Member management, Landing page builder.

News & Media · head to head

Ghost vs Memberful

Ghost

News & Media

Modern publishing platform with content API and membership support

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Memberful

E-commerce

Membership platform for creators to sell subscriptions, courses and gated content

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Ghost has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Ghost backup and migration processes have significant limitations and are problematic for long-term users; Memberful charges a 4.9% transaction fee on top of the flat monthly fee on the Standard plan.
They diverge on capability: Ghost covers Content API, Memberful covers Membership checkout.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ghost and Memberful actually diverge.

Attributes where Ghost and Memberful differ
Attribute	Ghost	Memberful
Starting price	Free	$49/month
Pricing model	Unknown	subscription
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Web, Self-hosted, Cloud-hosted	web, api
Category	News & Media	E-commerce

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), founded (2013).

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

Content API
Membership
Analytics
Webhooks
Zapier
Custom integrations
Node.js support
Cloud support

Only in Memberful

Membership checkout
Flexible subscriptions
Member management
Landing page builder
Dynamic paywalls
Third-party integrations

What people use each for

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

Ghost

API Developmentnot Memberful
API Gatewaynot Memberful
API Testingnot Memberful
API Documentationnot Memberful
Microservicesnot Memberful

Memberful

Selling paid membership subscriptions from an existing websitenot Ghost
Gating podcast, newsletter or course content behind a paywallnot Ghost
Running a WordPress site with paid member-only contentnot Ghost
Offering one-time purchases alongside recurring membershipsnot Ghost

Where each one falls short

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

Ghost

Backup and migration processes have significant limitations and are problematic for long-term users
Open-source version lacks automatic backups, email subscriptions, and ad placement features
No built-in e-commerce functionality; separate platform required for product sales
Smaller community compared to WordPress, making support and resources harder to find
Narrow focus on publishing limits use cases outside content-only websites

Memberful

Charges a 4.9% transaction fee on top of the flat monthly fee on the Standard plan.
Requires a separate Stripe account, adding setup complexity compared to all-in-one checkout platforms.
Lacks built-in course-hosting depth found in dedicated learning management platforms.
No free plan beyond the pre-launch trial period; charges begin once payments go live.

Pricing, plan by plan

Ghost

Free

Self-HostedFree
- Open-source Ghost CMS
- Full control over data
- No payment fees
Starter$15/month
- Up to 1,000 members
- Newsletter functionality
- Membership management
Publisher$29/month
- Unlimited members
- Continuous member scaling
- Advanced analytics
Business$199/month
- All Publisher features
- Custom domain
- Priority support

Memberful

$49/month

Standard$49/month
- 4.9% transaction fee
- Full platform access
- Free until you go live
Enterprise$undefined/mo
- Custom volume-based rates
- Premium services and success management
- Dedicated migration support

Which should you pick?

Choose Ghost if

You need content api.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud-hosted.
You also want membership.

Ghost review

Choose Memberful if

You need membership checkout.
You work on web, api.
You also want flexible subscriptions.

Memberful review

Questions people ask

Is Ghost or Memberful better?: Neither clearly leads. Ghost starts at Free and Memberful at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ghost or Memberful?: Ghost has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ghost and $49/month for Memberful.
Does Ghost or Memberful run on more platforms?: Ghost runs on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud-hosted. Memberful runs on web, api.
Can I use Ghost for free?: Yes. Ghost has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Memberful starts at $49/month.
What is Ghost best used for?: Ghost is most often used for api development, api gateway, api testing, api documentation. Of those, api development and api gateway are not what Memberful is typically brought in for.
What can Ghost do that Memberful cannot?: Ghost covers Content API, Membership, Analytics, Webhooks. Memberful covers Membership checkout, Flexible subscriptions, Member management, Landing page builder.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ghost: What is the free option for Ghost?

Ghost is open-source software that can be self-hosted for free. Self-hosting costs depend on your own server, domain, SSL, email delivery infrastructure, and DevOps expertise.

Source

Memberful: What does Memberful cost?

Memberful's Standard plan costs $49/month plus a 4.9% transaction fee, while larger organizations can get custom volume-based rates on the Enterprise plan.

Source

Ghost: What is the starting price for Ghost(Pro) managed hosting?

Ghost(Pro) Starter plan is USD 15/month when billed yearly or USD 18/month when billed monthly. This plan includes up to 1,000 members with membership features enabled.

Source

Memberful: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Memberful can be used for free while setting up a membership site, with no charges incurred until the creator goes live and starts accepting payments.

Source

Ghost: Can I collect payments and manage subscriptions with Ghost?

Yes. Ghost includes native membership and subscription management with support for free signups and paid tiers (monthly/yearly options). All revenue goes directly to publishers with zero payment fees.

Source

Memberful: What does Memberful integrate with?

Memberful integrates with WordPress, Mailchimp, Discord and Kit, among other tools, to connect membership data with existing sites and marketing systems.

Source

Ghost: Does Ghost integrate with Stripe?

Yes. Ghost integrates with Stripe for payment processing and subscription management, plus Zapier, Slack, Google Analytics, and thousands of other third-party apps.

Source

Ghost vs Memberful

Ghost

Memberful

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Ghost

Only in Memberful

What people use each for

Ghost

Memberful

Where each one falls short

Ghost

Memberful

Pricing, plan by plan

Ghost

Memberful

Which should you pick?

Choose Ghost if

Choose Memberful if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Ghost

More on Memberful

Keep looking

Other head to heads