Ghost for memberships
Open-source publishing with paid subscriptions built in and no revenue share, available as managed hosting or self-hosted.
What Ghost is
Ghost is open-source publishing software with memberships and newsletters built in. Ghost(Pro) is the managed hosting run by the non-profit behind it; you can also host it yourself for the cost of a server.
Who it’s best for
Writers and publishers who expect subscription revenue to grow, and who would rather pay a flat hosting fee than a percentage forever.
- Writers who want to keep every dollar of subscription revenue
- Publishers who care about owning the software as well as the list
- Newsletters that will outgrow a revenue-share model
Who should avoid it
Anyone building a community or a course business, and anyone who wants the platform to bring an audience.
- Community-led memberships
- Course and coaching businesses
- Anyone who wants built-in discovery to find readers for them
Membership models it supports
Not every platform suits every kind of membership. These are the models we consider it a genuine option for.
- Newsletter or written membership
- Low-cost membership
- Migrating an existing membership
Pricing and fees
Read from Ghost's own pricing page on 2026-07-28. Always check the official page before you buy.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual, per month | Platform fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter$18/month billed yearly. 1,000 members, 1 staff user, 1 newsletter. No custom themes or API access. | Annual only | $18 | None |
| Publisher$29/month billed yearly. 1,000 members, 3 staff users, 3 newsletters, custom themes, Admin API. | Annual only | $29 | None |
| Business$199/month billed yearly. 10,000 members, 15 staff users, 10 newsletters, full API access. | Annual only | $199 | None |
Payment processing. Ghost takes no cut at all. All revenue is paid directly to you by Stripe, so you pay only Stripe's own rates.
Trial. 14-day free trial
What it costs in practice
Cheapest plan that holds the member count, including the platform's cut and payment processing.
Just starting
25 members at $20 a month
$40 / month
On Starter. About 8% of your revenue.
Established
100 members at $25 a month
$121 / month
On Starter. About 5% of your revenue.
Growing
500 members at $25 a month
$531 / month
On Starter. About 4% of your revenue.
Feature support
What is included, what needs a higher plan, and what simply is not there.
Community features
Partially supportedComments on posts. No discussion spaces or member-to-member messaging.
Courses
Not supportedCoaching and live events
Not supportedVideo hosting
Not supportedVideo is embedded from elsewhere.
Livestreaming
Not supportedNewsletter and publishing
SupportedNewsletters are the core product, with 1 to 10 newsletters by plan.
Private podcast support
Third-party integrationNo native private feed; creators pair it with a podcast host.
Payments and monetization
SupportedPaid tiers through your own Stripe account with no Ghost fee.
Branding and customization
Higher plan requiredCustom themes require Publisher; Starter uses stock themes only.
Branded mobile app
Not supportedAudience discovery
Not supportedNo built-in recommendation network of the kind Substack runs.
Email and marketing
SupportedSending is included; segmentation is basic compared with dedicated tools.
Integrations and API
Higher plan requiredAdmin API from Publisher, full API on Business. Starter has none.
Migration support
SupportedFree migration service and documented importers.
Customer and data ownership
SupportedOpen source, self-hostable, your own Stripe account, full export.
Important limitations
- Member limits are low relative to price: 1,000 members on both the $18 and $29 plans, then $199 for 10,000.
- No courses, no community spaces, no native video.
- You bring your own audience. There is no discovery engine.
Data ownership and migration
The strongest position of any platform here. The software is open source, the data is exportable, the payments are in your Stripe account, and you can move to your own server without asking a vendor.
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Sources
Every fact on this page traces to one of these official pages.