Ghost vs MailerLite
Both are newsletter platforms aimed at writers, creators and independent publishers. They differ most on audience growth tools, publication website and free plan.
At a glance
| Ghost | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 73/100 | 76/100 Higher |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Paid from | $18/mo monthly; $15/mo billed yearly | $19/mo monthly; $17.10/mo billed annually |
| Positioning | publishing platform | email marketing |
| Launched | 2013 | 2010 |
| Best for | Writers and publications that want a real website with the newsletter attached, and to keep all subscription revenue. | Small businesses and writers who want the lowest monthly price and no cut of subscription revenue. |
Where each one leads
| Dimension | Ghost | MailerLite | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 1/5 | 2/5 | MailerLite |
| Paid subscriptions | 4/5 | 4/5 | Tie |
| Value for money | 4/5 | 5/5 | MailerLite |
| Ease of use | 3/5 | 4/5 | MailerLite |
| Low transaction fees | 5/5 | 5/5 | Tie |
| Audience growth tools | 4/5 | 3/5 | Ghost |
| Automation | 2/5 | 4/5 | MailerLite |
| Publication website | 5/5 | 4/5 | Ghost |
Scores are 1–5 per dimension. Ghost leads on 2 dimensions, MailerLite on 4. The overall figure weights these for newsletter platforms generally — see methodology.
Pricing
Plans are listed per tool rather than paired row by row — tiers rarely line up, and putting one vendor's second plan beside another's implies an equivalence that is not there.
| Tool | Plan | Per month | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost | Starter | $18 | monthly; $15/mo billed yearly |
| Publisher | $35 | monthly; $29/mo billed yearly | |
| Business | $239 | monthly; $199/mo billed yearly | |
| MailerLite | Free | Free | — |
| Comfort | $19 | monthly; $17.10/mo billed annually | |
| Power | $39 | monthly; $35.10/mo billed annually |
Pricing checked 24 September 2026 against each vendor's own pricing page. Ghost: Ghost(Pro) managed hosting, billed in USD. Prices are for up to 1,000 members (Business: 10,000); yearly billing saves about 17%. MailerLite: Billed in USD (EUR also offered). Paid prices are for up to 1,000 subscribers and rise with list size; annual billing saves 10%.
Verdict
Ghost
- +A full publishing website and newsletter in one, with a free custom domain on every plan.
- +Takes 0% of paid-subscription revenue from the Publisher plan up.
- +Recommendations, a referral programme and the Ghost Explore network on every plan.
- −No free plan on the managed service — only a free trial.
- −The $18 Starter plan cannot take paid subscriptions or use custom themes; both need Publisher at $35 a month.
MailerLite
- +Paid plans start at $19 a month for 1,000 subscribers.
- +No sales fee on paid newsletters — only Stripe’s processing charge.
- +Comfort includes 10 websites and landing pages on your own domain, and 50 automations.
- −The free plan is small: 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month.
- −Paid newsletters and custom domains need a paid plan.
Common questions
Is Ghost cheaper than MailerLite?
Ghost starts at $18/mo (monthly; $15/mo billed yearly), and MailerLite starts at $19/mo (monthly; $17.10/mo billed annually) — so Ghost is the cheaper entry point. Compare what each includes at that tier, and what it renews at, rather than the headline figure alone.
Does Ghost or MailerLite have a free plan?
Ghost has no free plan, and MailerLite has a free plan.
Which is better, Ghost or MailerLite?
On our weighted scoring across the use cases in this category, MailerLite comes out ahead overall. The honest answer is that it depends on the use case — the tables above break the score down by dimension so you can weight it to your own priorities.
Other comparisons
Sources & verification
- ghost.org — checked 24 September 2026Founded April 2013.
- ghost.org — checked 24 September 2026No free plan on Ghost(Pro) — each plan starts with a free trial. Ghost is also open-source software you can host yourself.
- mailerlite.com — checked 24 September 2026
- mailerlite.com — checked 24 September 2026No sales fee on paid newsletters; Stripe processes the payments.
- mailerlite.com — checked 24 September 2026Free plan: up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 3 automations, 1 website and 1 landing page. Paid newsletters, custom domains and removing the MailerLite logo need a paid plan.