Ghost vs Substack

Ghost9.2Visit Substack8.9Visit

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

vs

Substack #4 in Membership Site Platforms 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 2 features Visit Substack

• Ghost fits best

  Publishers building paid member publications

• Substack fits best

  Newsletter-first paid communities

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Side by side

Feature	Ghost 9.2/10 Visit ↗	Substack 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	8.9
Ranking	#2 in Membership Site Platforms	#4 in Membership Site Platforms
Best for	Publishers building paid member publications	Newsletter-first paid communities
Pricing model	Paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	$18/mo	Free plan
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	14 days	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Mobile
Platforms	Web	Web, iOS, Android
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Docs
Integrations	8,000+ integrations	10 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Ghost 1/2 · Substack 0/2
Custom domain	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Drip content	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Content gating	Post	Not checked yet
Subscription billing	Both	Not checked yet
Member limit	1000 members	Not checked yet
Transaction fee	0% Ghost fee; payment processor fees apply	Not checked yet
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	Paid subscriptions, segmentation, lifecycle email, and analytics are available together. Podcast hosting includes RSS distribution and audience discovery features. Web, iOS, and Android apps support publishing and subscriber access.
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	Membership-site controls are narrower than those in many alternatives. Fixed creator plan tiers are not part of the pricing structure. Its broader publishing focus may not suit teams needing conventional email software.
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 →	Substack is a publishing and subscription platform for writers, podcasters, video creators, and media organizations. It combines newsletter delivery, web publishing, subscriber management, paid subscriptions, analytics, audience discovery,… 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

• Substack — where it wins

  • Paid subscriptions, segmentation, lifecycle email, and analytics are available together.
  • Podcast hosting includes RSS distribution and audience discovery features.
  • Web, iOS, and Android apps support publishing and subscriber access.

  Where it doesn't

  • Membership-site controls are narrower than those in many alternatives.
  • Fixed creator plan tiers are not part of the pricing structure.
  • Its broader publishing focus may not suit teams needing conventional email software.

• Ghost9.2/10 · 14-day trial

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

  Visit GhostFull verdict →
• Substack8.9/10 · Free plan

  A newsletter-first platform combining publishing, paid subscriptions, and community tools.

  Visit SubstackFull verdict →