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News & Media · head to head

Ghost vs News Break

Ghost logo

Ghost

News & Media

Modern publishing platform with content API and membership support

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
News Break logo

News Break

News & Media

Local news and breaking stories for your community

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Ghost backup and migration processes have significant limitations and are problematic for long-term users; News Break newsBreak's own app listing states a price of 0 with no in-app subscription tier, so the product is free and ad supported rather than sold
  • They diverge on capability: Ghost covers Content API, News Break covers Local news aggregation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ghost and News Break actually diverge.

Attributes where Ghost and News Break differ
AttributeGhostNews Break
Pricing modelUnknownfree
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted, Cloud-hostedIos, Android, Web
Founded20132016

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (News & Media).

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 News Break

  • Local news aggregation
  • AI personalization
  • Breaking news alerts
  • Community posts
  • Local events
  • Local publishers
  • Weather services
  • Ios support

What people use each for

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

Ghost

  • API Developmentnot News Break
  • API Gatewaynot News Break
  • API Testingnot News Break
  • API Documentationnot News Break
  • Microservicesnot News Break

News Break

  • Local newsnot Ghost
  • Community updatesnot Ghost
  • Breaking newsnot Ghost
  • Local eventsnot 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

News Break

  • NewsBreak's own app listing states a price of 0 with no in-app subscription tier, so the product is free and ad supported rather than sold

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

News Break

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Local news
    • Breaking alerts
    • Personalized feed

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 News Break if

  • You need local news aggregation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Ios, Android, Web.
  • You also want ai personalization.
News Break review

Questions people ask

Is Ghost or News Break better?
Neither clearly leads. Ghost starts at Free and News Break at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ghost or News Break?
Ghost starts at Free and News Break at Free.
Does Ghost or News Break run on more platforms?
Ghost runs on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud-hosted. News Break runs on Ios, Android, Web.
Can I use Ghost for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 News Break is typically brought in for.
What can Ghost do that News Break cannot?
Ghost covers Content API, Membership, Analytics, Webhooks. News Break covers Local news aggregation, AI personalization, Breaking news alerts, Community posts.

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
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
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
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
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Related pages

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