News & Media · head to head
Substack vs Ghost CMS
Substack
News & Media
The newsletter platform for writers and publishers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Substack substack takes a 10% cut of subscription revenue (writers keep 90%), plus separate credit card processing fees; Ghost CMS ghost Pro plans cap members, at 1,000 on both Starter and Publisher and 10,000 on Business
- They diverge on capability: Substack covers Newsletter publishing, Ghost CMS covers Publishing platform.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Substack and Ghost CMS actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), 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 Substack
- Newsletter publishing
- Subscriber management
- Paid subscriptions
- Email analytics
- Post scheduling
- Archive creation
- Free/paid tier split
- Comments & discussion
Only in Ghost CMS
- Publishing platform
- Email newsletters
- Membership management
- Analytics
- Paywall support
- SEO optimization
- Media library
- API access
Both cover
- Stripe
- RSS
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Substack
- Newsletter distributionnot Ghost CMS
- Reader monetizationnot Ghost CMS
- Community buildingnot Ghost CMS
- Subscriber managementnot Ghost CMS
Ghost CMS
- Running a publication or newsletter with paid subscriptionsnot Substack
- Self hosting a headless or full stack publishing platformnot Substack
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Substack
- Substack takes a 10% cut of subscription revenue (writers keep 90%), plus separate credit card processing fees
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
Substack
Free- FreeFree
- Unlimited newsletters
- Basic design
- Archive access
- Pro$12/month
- Custom domain
- Advanced analytics
- Member chat
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 Substack if
- You need newsletter publishing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Mobile.
- You also want subscriber management.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Substack or Ghost CMS better?
- Neither clearly leads. Substack starts at Free and Ghost CMS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Substack or Ghost CMS?
- Substack starts at Free and Ghost CMS at Free.
- Does Substack or Ghost CMS run on more platforms?
- Substack runs on Web, Mobile. Ghost CMS runs on Web, Self-hosted.
- Can I use Substack for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Substack best used for?
- Substack is most often used for newsletter distribution, reader monetization, community building, subscriber management. Of those, newsletter distribution and reader monetization are not what Ghost CMS is typically brought in for.
- What can Substack do that Ghost CMS cannot?
- Substack covers Newsletter publishing, Subscriber management, Paid subscriptions, Email analytics. Ghost CMS covers Publishing platform, Email newsletters, Membership management, Analytics. Both handle Stripe, RSS, Web support.