Ghost CMSvs
Beehiiv
Beehiiv: The all-in-one platform for newsletter creators
Ghost CMS
Modern platform for professional publishing
As of 30 August 2026, Ghost CMS starts at $18/month. Ghost is a modern, open-source publishing platform designed for professional creators and publications. Softwr lists it under News. Ghost CMS is made by Ghost Foundation, launched in 2013, available on Web, Self-hosted.
Overview
What Ghost CMS does
Ghost is a modern, open-source publishing platform designed for professional creators and publications. It combines beautiful design with powerful analytics, membership features, and email newsletters to help creators build sustainable businesses.
What people use it for
- Running a publication or newsletter with paid subscriptions
- Self hosting a headless or full stack publishing platform
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Ghost CMS
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- Ghost CMSvsFeedly
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- Ghost CMSvsInoreader
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- Ghost CMSvsChartbeat
Chartbeat: Real-time analytics for publishers
Pricing
What Ghost CMS costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Starter
$18 /mo
- For solo blogs and newsletters
- Your own website
- Email newsletter
- Support for up to 1,000 members
- Billed yearly
Publisher
$29 /mo
- For custom publications
- 3 staff users
- Custom themes
- 8,000+ integrations
- Paid subscription capabilities
- Billed yearly
Business
$199 /mo
- For teams scaling up
- 15 staff users
- Priority support
- Higher usage limits
- Billed yearly
Custom
On request
- For organizations with complex needs
- Unlimited staff users
- Dedicated IP addresses
- 99.9% uptime SLA
Capabilities
Features
Publishing platform
Email newsletters
Membership management
Analytics
Paywall support
SEO optimization
Media library
API access
Stripe
Integration with Stripe
Mailgun
Integration with Mailgun
Zapier
Integration with Zapier
Integromat
Integration with Integromat
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
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.
SourceCan I cancel my Ghost subscription anytime?
Yes, users can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel their Ghost subscription anytime without penalties.
SourceAre 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.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Ghost CMS
- Company
- Ghost Foundation
- Based in
- London, UK
Keep looking
Where to go from Ghost CMS
- Ghost CMS alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Ghost CMS pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Ghost CMS badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All News softwareThe full category
- Best News softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best News software for
Compare Ghost CMS with
- Buttondown
- Beehiiv
- Chartbeat
- Feedly
- Inoreader
- Arc Publishing
- Substack
- Brightspot
- TinyLetter
- Medium
- Prezly
- Revue
- Parse.ly
- PR Newswire
- Readwise Reader
- SmartNews
- Prezly
- Revue
Other News software
The enterprise publishing platform for news organizations
Pricing on request9 researched notesThe headless CMS for digital publishers and media companies
Pricing on request8 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Ghost CMS, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Ghost CMS
Ghost CMS alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Ghost CMS pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Ghost CMS
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Ghost CMS badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
Best News software alternatives
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