Ghost vs Substack
Both are newsletter platforms aimed at writers, creators and independent publishers. They differ most on free plan, publication website and low transaction fees.
At a glance
| Ghost | Substack | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 73/100 Higher | 71/100 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Paid from | $18/mo monthly; $15/mo billed yearly | No paid plan; 10% of paid revenue |
| Positioning | publishing platform | publishing network |
| Launched | 2013 | — |
| Best for | Writers and publications that want a real website with the newsletter attached, and to keep all subscription revenue. | Writers starting a paid newsletter who would rather give up a share of revenue than pay a monthly bill. |
Where each one leads
| Dimension | Ghost | Substack | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 1/5 | 5/5 | Substack |
| Paid subscriptions | 4/5 | 5/5 | Substack |
| Value for money | 4/5 | 3/5 | Ghost |
| Ease of use | 3/5 | 5/5 | Substack |
| Low transaction fees | 5/5 | 1/5 | Ghost |
| Audience growth tools | 4/5 | 5/5 | Substack |
| Automation | 2/5 | 1/5 | Ghost |
| Publication website | 5/5 | 2/5 | Ghost |
Scores are 1–5 per dimension. Ghost leads on 4 dimensions, Substack 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 | |
| Substack | Free | Free | 10% of paid-subscription revenue |
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%. Substack: Stripe adds 2.9% + $0.30 per payment, plus 0.7% on recurring billing.
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.
Substack
- +Free to publish at any size, with no monthly fee even once readers pay.
- +Paid subscriptions work from day one, with nothing to pay until you earn.
- +Other writers can recommend your publication, and new recommendations reach their subscribers in a digest email.
- −Keeps 10% of every paid-subscription payment, on top of Stripe’s fees, and no plan removes it.
- −At $1,000 a month in subscriptions the 10% share is $100 a month, and it grows with every paying reader.
Common questions
Does Ghost or Substack have a free plan?
Ghost has no free plan, and Substack has a free plan.
Which is better, Ghost or Substack?
On our weighted scoring across the use cases in this category, Ghost 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.
- support.substack.com — checked 24 September 2026Publishing is free however many subscribers you have. Paid subscriptions cost nothing a month; Substack takes 10% of each payment.
- support.substack.com — checked 24 September 2026One-time $50 fee to use your own domain.
- support.substack.com — checked 24 September 2026Writers recommend other publications; new recommendations reach their subscribers in a digest email.