Ghost vs Kartra

Ghost9.2Visit Kartra7.3Visit

Higher score Ghost #2 in Membership Site Platforms 9.2/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 1 of 2 features Visit Ghost

vs

Kartra #20 in Membership Site Platforms 7.3/10 30-day trial Free trial✓ 2 of 2 features Visit Kartra

• Ghost fits best

  Publishers building paid member publications

• Kartra fits best

  Marketing-led membership businesses

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Side by side

Feature	Ghost 9.2/10 Visit ↗	Kartra 7.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	7.3
Ranking	#2 in Membership Site Platforms	#20 in Membership Site Platforms
Best for	Publishers building paid member publications	Marketing-led membership businesses
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	$18/mo (best)	$52/mo
Free plan	—	—
Free trial	14 days	30 days
Free trial length	14 days	30 days
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Integrations	8,000+ integrations	15 integrations
Features Ghost 1/2 · Kartra 2/2
Custom domain	✓	✓
Drip content	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Content gating	Post	Post
Subscription billing	Both	Both
Member limit	1000 members	Not checked yet
Transaction fee	0% Ghost fee; payment processor fees apply	5% on Essentials; 0% on Starter and Growth
Our review
Pros	Paid and tiered memberships with Stripe billing Protected posts for free, paid, and tier-based access Open-source core with self-hosting and developer APIs	Post-level gating and scheduled or member-age-based content dripping Recurring, one-time, installment, and subscription pricing options Email, SMS, webinars, analytics, and payment integrations in one platform
Cons	No courses or drip content No free plan, although Ghost(Pro) offers a 14-day trial Advanced plans become costly at $199 per month annually	Essentials limits accounts to 500 contacts and one membership or course Essentials charges a 5% transaction fee The broad feature set may exceed the needs of focused membership sites
Our verdict	Ghost combines website publishing, email newsletters, member management, protected posts, paid subscriptions, and tiered access in one platform. It is designed for writers, creators, independent publishers, and media teams building… Read the review →	Kartra is a hosted platform for coaches, consultants, creators, and service providers that sell memberships, courses, and digital products. It combines membership and course portals with website and funnel building, email and SMS… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Ghost — where it wins

  • Paid and tiered memberships with Stripe billing
  • Protected posts for free, paid, and tier-based access
  • Open-source core with self-hosting and developer APIs

  Where it doesn't

  • No courses or drip content
  • No free plan, although Ghost(Pro) offers a 14-day trial
  • Advanced plans become costly at $199 per month annually

• Kartra — where it wins

  • Post-level gating and scheduled or member-age-based content dripping
  • Recurring, one-time, installment, and subscription pricing options
  • Email, SMS, webinars, analytics, and payment integrations in one platform

  Where it doesn't

  • Essentials limits accounts to 500 contacts and one membership or course
  • Essentials charges a 5% transaction fee
  • The broad feature set may exceed the needs of focused membership sites

• Ghost9.2/10 · 14-day trial

  A focused membership platform for paid publications, newsletters, and protected posts.

  Visit GhostFull verdict →
• Kartra7.3/10 · 30-day trial

  A broad membership platform for businesses that sell through marketing and funnels.

  Visit KartraFull verdict →