Ghost Pricing 2026
Complete pricing guide with plans, hidden costs, and negotiation tips
Ghost pricing varies by team size and features, ranging from $0 to $199 per month in 2026. Your actual cost depends on the tier you choose, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: Yes
- Billing: Monthly and annual (save 15-20%)
- Hidden costs: Add ~35% for implementation, support, and training
Ghost offers 5 pricing tiers: Self-Hosted, Starter, Publisher, Business, Custom. Standard paid plans include Self-Hosted at $0/month, Starter at $18/month, Publisher at $29/month. The Starter plan is solo creators just getting started.
Compared to other content management system (cms) software, Ghost is positioned at the mid-market price point.
All Ghost Plans & Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-Hosted | Free | $undefined 0 | Developers and technical users who can manage their own hosting |
| Starter | $18 /month | $216 /month | Solo creators just getting started |
| Publisher | $29 /month | $348 /month | Professional publishers monetizing content |
| Business | $199 /month | $2388 /month | Growing publications with larger audiences |
| Custom | Contact | Contact | Large organizations needing enterprise features |
View all features by plan
Self-Hosted
- Open-source software
- Full feature access
- Complete customization
- No platform fees
Starter
- Up to 1,000 members
- Newsletter functionality
- Basic design settings
- Ghost(Pro) managed hosting
Publisher
- Up to 1,000 members
- Custom themes
- Paid subscriptions enabled
- 3 staff users
Business
- Up to 10,000 members
- 15 staff users
- Priority support
- Early feature access
Custom
- Unlimited members
- Unlimited staff
- Dedicated infrastructure
- 99.9% uptime SLA
Get a custom Ghost quote
Enter your work email and we'll send you a detailed cost breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
01 What is the difference between Ghost.org and self-hosted Ghost?
Ghost.org (Ghost Pro) is the managed hosting service starting at $9/month with hosting, backups, SSL, and updates handled for you. Self-hosted Ghost is free open-source software you install on your own server, giving you complete control but requiring technical setup, maintenance, and separate hosting costs. Choose Ghost Pro for simplicity or self-hosting for maximum control.
02 Does Ghost charge fees on paid memberships?
No, Ghost charges 0% platform fees on paid memberships and subscriptions. This is a major advantage over platforms like Substack (10% fee) or Patreon (5-12% fees). You only pay standard Stripe payment processing fees (2.9% + 30¢), meaning you keep significantly more of your earnings.
03 Can I use Ghost for eCommerce?
Ghost is designed for publishing and memberships, not traditional eCommerce. It handles paid subscriptions and memberships excellently, but selling physical products or complex digital goods requires workarounds or external shopping carts. For content monetization through memberships, Ghost is ideal. For product sales, consider Shopify or WooCommerce instead.
04 How does Ghost compare to Substack?
Ghost offers more control, customization, and ownership with 0% platform fees (vs. Substack's 10% fee). Ghost also provides better SEO, custom domains on all paid plans, and the ability to self-host. Substack is simpler with no setup required but takes a larger cut of earnings and offers less flexibility. Choose Ghost for ownership and profitability, Substack for maximum simplicity.
05 What payment processors does Ghost support?
Ghost currently supports Stripe as the only payment processor for paid memberships. This may be limiting in countries where Stripe is unavailable or restricted. For self-hosted Ghost, you can potentially integrate other payment systems with custom development, but it requires technical expertise.
06 Is Ghost good for SEO?
Yes, Ghost has exceptional SEO built-in without needing plugins. It includes automatic sitemaps, meta tags, structured data, clean semantic HTML, lightning-fast page loads, and mobile optimization. Many users report Ghost sites rank better than WordPress equivalents due to superior performance and clean code structure.