Ghost(Pro) Pricing (2026): Starter, Publisher, Business vs Newsletter SaaS
Contains affiliate links; your price doesn't change · Disclosure · How we research
TL;DR
Ghost(Pro) Starter is about $18/mo billed yearly (1 staff, 1,000 members, no paid subscriptions). Publisher is about $29/mo (paid subscriptions and tips, 0% Ghost transaction fee, 3 staff). Business is about $199/mo (15 staff, 10,000 members in the comparison table). All plans list unlimited email sends. Ghost wins when you want a membership site with 0% platform cut and full theme control. beehiiv, Moosend or systeme.io still win on free tiers, ads, or all-in-one funnels. Prices checked November 2, 2026 (Taipei).
How this article was made: This article is research-based. Ghost plan prices and limits come from ghost.org/pricing (yearly toggle), re-fetched November 2, 2026 Taipei time. beehiiv, Moosend and systeme.io figures are taken only from our live site reviews that cite their official pages. We have no Ghost referral link and have not run Ghost(Pro) hands-on. Confirm every number on the vendor site before you buy.
Ghost(Pro) is Ghost's official managed hosting for the open-source Ghost CMS. The pricing question for newsletter and membership builders is simple: when does a fixed Ghost bill beat a newsletter SaaS, and when does the SaaS still win on price, ads or free tiers?
Ghost(Pro) plans and prices
Ghost shows Starter, Publisher, Business and Custom. The figures below are the yearly-billed monthly equivalents as shown on the pricing page with the yearly toggle on.
| Plan | Price (yearly billing) | Staff users | Registered members | Paid subscriptions | Ghost transaction fee | Email sends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | about $18/mo | 1 | 1,000 | No | — | Unlimited |
| Publisher | about $29/mo | 3 | 1,000 | Yes (tips too) | 0% | Unlimited |
| Business | about $199/mo | 15 | 10,000 (Audience table) | Yes | 0% | Unlimited |
| Custom | Contact | Unlimited | Unlimited | Yes | 0% | Unlimited |
Source: Ghost(Pro) pricing, yearly toggle, checked November 2, 2026.
Business member cap note: the Audience comparison table lists Business at 10,000 members. The Business plan card on the same page still shows a 1,000 members bullet. Use the table until Ghost aligns the card, and re-open the page before you commit.
Other limits that show up often in the comparison tables:
- Newsletters: Starter 1, Publisher 3, Business 10, Custom unlimited
- Premium tiers: none on Starter; Publisher 3; Business 10; Custom unlimited
- Custom sending domain: Publisher and up
- Marketplace / custom themes: Publisher and up (Starter uses the built-in default theme)
- File upload size per file: Starter 5 MB, Publisher 100 MB, Business 250 MB, Custom 1 GB
When Ghost(Pro) beats a newsletter SaaS
Ghost wins on paper when these three line up:
- You need paid memberships with 0% platform cut. Publisher and up list 0% Ghost fees. You still pay Stripe.
- You want a real site and theme control, not only a hosted newsletter UI. Custom themes start on Publisher.
- Unlimited sends matter and you accept a fixed hosting bill. Every Ghost(Pro) plan lists unlimited email sends. The bill does not scale with send volume the way some email tools do.
A rough decision cut: if you already know you will charge readers and care about theme ownership, Publisher at about $29/mo yearly is the first Ghost plan that unlocks paid subscriptions. Starter is fine for a free blog or free newsletter under 1,000 members, but it cannot take paid subs.
When beehiiv, Moosend or systeme.io still win
Ghost is not free. There is no forever-free Ghost(Pro) tier on the pricing page we checked. That alone pushes many starters elsewhere.
- beehiiv (affiliate link): Free up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends and a publication website. Lite (about $49/mo at 1,000 subscribers on yearly billing in our beehiiv review) adds paid subscriptions at 0% take rate plus an ad network. Pick beehiiv when ads, recommendations and a free start matter more than Ghost's theme stack.
- Moosend (affiliate link): contact-priced Pro email with unlimited sends and a 30-day free trial. No free-forever plan. Stronger as a campaign and automation tool than as a membership CMS. See our Moosend review.
- systeme.io (affiliate link): free forever for 2,000 contacts with unlimited emails, plus funnels and a course. All plans list 0% transaction fees. Better when you sell courses or digital products through funnels, not when you need a Ghost-style publication CMS. See our systeme.io review.
Also see Substack alternatives if your main pain is Substack's 10% cut.
Quick pick
| You need | Prefer |
|---|---|
| Paid memberships + custom themes + 0% Ghost fee | Ghost(Pro) Publisher or higher |
| Free start + ads + newsletter website | beehiiv Free, then Lite |
| Cheap contact-priced email automation | Moosend trial → Pro |
| Free funnels, courses and email in one bill | systeme.io free or Startup |
Try beehiiv free (affiliate link)
Start Moosend's 30-day trial (affiliate link)
Try systeme.io free (affiliate link)
Sources
- https://ghost.org/pricing/ (yearly toggle; Website, Audience, Email Newsletters tables) — checked November 2, 2026 Taipei
- https://ghost.org/features/
- Live site cross-checks only: beehiiv review, Moosend review, systeme.io review, Substack alternatives
FAQ
How much does Ghost(Pro) cost?
On yearly billing Ghost lists Starter at about $18/mo, Publisher at about $29/mo and Business at about $199/mo. Custom is contact sales. Figures are USD from ghost.org/pricing, checked November 2, 2026. Toggle monthly billing on that page for the higher month-to-month rates.
Does Ghost take a cut of paid subscriptions?
Ghost lists 0% transaction fees on Publisher, Business and Custom. Stripe (or your processor) still charges its own fees. Starter does not include paid subscriptions.
Are Ghost(Pro) email sends limited?
Ghost's Email Newsletters comparison table lists unlimited email sends on Starter, Publisher, Business and Custom. Newsletter count differs by plan (1 / 3 / 10 / unlimited).
Ghost(Pro) or beehiiv for a paid newsletter?
Ghost(Pro) Publisher fits membership sites that want custom themes and 0% Ghost fees from about $29/mo yearly. beehiiv Free covers up to 2,500 subscribers with a publication website; Lite adds paid subscriptions at 0% take rate plus an ad network. Pick beehiiv if ads and a free start matter more than Ghost's theme stack.
Ghost(Pro) or Moosend or systeme.io?
Moosend is contact-priced email automation with a 30-day trial and no free-forever plan. systeme.io free covers 2,000 contacts with unlimited emails plus funnels and a course. Ghost(Pro) is a full publication and membership CMS on managed hosting, not a funnel builder.
What is the Business member limit on Ghost(Pro)?
Ghost's Audience comparison table lists Business at 10,000 registered members. The Business plan card on the same pricing page still shows a 1,000 members bullet. This article uses the comparison table and notes the card inconsistency. Re-check ghost.org/pricing before you buy.
Key takeaways
- Ghost(Pro) Starter is about $18/mo billed yearly (1 staff, 1,000 members, no paid subscriptions).
- Publisher is about $29/mo (paid subscriptions and tips, 0% Ghost transaction fee, 3 staff).
- Business is about $199/mo (15 staff, 10,000 members in the comparison table).
Sourcesghost.org/pricing
Last updated
Cite this pageGhost(Pro) Pricing (2026): Starter, Publisher, Business vs Newsletter SaaS — https://www.agentcomm.net/articles/ghost-pro-pricing/