Tool profile
Ghost: cost, fit and limits
Ghost is an open source publishing platform made by the non-profit Ghost Foundation that provides a website, newsletters and paid memberships in one system. It is aimed at independent publishers, journalists and small media businesses that want to own their site, archive and subscriber list.
What to know first
Ghost sells managed hosting in four plans, from $18 a month on Starter to $199 on Business, all priced as billed yearly. The software is open source and funded by its users, with no investors. Paid subscriptions begin on Publisher, and automation tools such as Zapier start there too. The pricing page mentions no AI features, so Ghost is a choice for control and ownership, not for built-in drafting.
Ghost at a glance
| Maker | Ghost Foundation, Not stated on the pages read |
|---|---|
| Free plan | No |
| Entry price | $18 per month for Starter billed yearly |
| API access | Yes |
| Category | Best AI Newsletter Platforms in 2026, rank 6 of 10 |
| Website | ghost.org |
Who Ghost is best for
Journalists and independent media
Ghost describes itself as a non-profit building open source publishing technology, with memberships, newsletters and native analytics suited to a small newsroom.
Publishers who want a custom design
The Publisher plan adds custom themes and marketplace themes, and the home page cites hundreds of themes, so a site can look different from a standard template.
Teams with more than one newsletter
Publisher allows 3 newsletters and Business 10, so a publication can segment audiences by interest without running separate accounts. It keeps the workflow in one account.
Organizations that want a self-hostable system
The source code is open on GitHub, so teams that prefer to run their own installation can do so, though this page covers the managed plans only.
Ghost plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $18 per month, billed yearly | One staff user, 1,000 members, a custom domain, a single newsletter and simple design settings. |
| Publisher | $29 per month, billed yearly | Three staff users, custom and marketplace themes, paid subscriptions, tips and donations, 3 premium tiers, advanced analytics and Zapier. |
| Business | $199 per month, billed yearly | Fifteen staff users, priority support, higher usage limits, 10 premium tiers and 10 newsletters. Custom SSL is a $50 monthly add-on. |
| Custom | Contact sales | Unlimited staff and members, dedicated IP, a 99.9 percent uptime SLA, SSO and a deliverability consultation. |
Checked November 2026.
What Ghost does
- Memberships
- Native signup forms turn anonymous visitors into logged-in members, who can sign up free or buy monthly or yearly tiers on Publisher and above. Free signups and paid tiers sit side by side.
- Editor
- The editor handles image galleries, video, audio, products, info boxes, accordions, downloadable files and bookmarks inside a post. Writers can therefore build richer articles without a separate page builder or custom code.
- Newsletters by segment
- Posts can be delivered by email, and an audience can be segmented so that subscribers receive different newsletters based on their preferences. Preferences let readers choose topics, which keeps send volume per person lower.
- Offers and promotions
- The home page lists offers and promotions for discounts and sales on memberships, along with native analytics on engagement. Discounts can be tied to a membership tier, which suits seasonal pushes.
- Managed hosting
- All plans include weekly updates, a worldwide CDN, automated backups, free SSL and a ghost.io subdomain, with Fastly-based security. Free SSL and custom domains work through a simple CNAME on every plan.
How Ghost handles your data
Ghost's privacy policy names Ghost Foundation Ltd and says its servers are located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It does not state a headquarters address and contains no statement on AI or model training. It says Ghost uses third party vendors and hosting partners under legally binding arrangements, without naming them, and that vendors may be located in countries other than the Netherlands. The terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. The home page describes Ghost as open source, independent and funded by its users, and says it has no investors.
Where Ghost falls short in practice
- Member limits conflict on the page. Publisher and Business show 1,000 members in the feature list but Business shows 10,000 in the comparison table. Confirm the figure with the vendor before choosing based on audience size.
- No AI tools described. The pricing and home pages describe no AI features, and the privacy policy is silent on AI. Drafting help would need an external assistant. Drafting help would have to come from an outside tool.
- Starter is bare. Starter has no automation, API, webhooks or paid subscriptions. A publisher who wants to charge readers must move to Publisher at $29 a month. Plan the upgrade before launch.
Works with
Alternatives to Ghost
Ghost: common questions
Is Ghost really non-profit?
Ghost's About page says it is a non-profit organisation building open source technology for modern publishing, and the site shows the Ghost Foundation as the owner. The pages we read do not name a registered address or country for the entity.
Does Ghost charge transaction fees on paid memberships?
The pricing page we read lists paid subscriptions on Publisher and above but states no transaction fee of its own. Stripe's processing fees would still apply, so confirm the arrangement in Ghost's documentation before launching. Ask the vendor for its fee schedule in writing.
Can I run Ghost on my own server?
The home page says Ghost is open source and links to its code on GitHub. The pricing page covers the managed service only, so self-hosting steps and support terms would come from Ghost's documentation, which we did not read. Ask the team what a move away from the managed service would involve.
Where are Ghost's servers?
The privacy policy says Ghost Foundation's servers are located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It also notes that third party vendors and hosting partners may be in other countries, so a full data flow needs a check with the vendor. Ask for the data processing terms.
Does Ghost have an uptime guarantee?
A 99.9 percent uptime SLA is listed only on the Custom plan, together with a dedicated IP and SSO. Other plans include managed hosting and automated backups but no stated SLA on the page we read. Smaller sites rely on the backups and CDN instead.