Side by side
| beehiiv | Ghost | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes. Free for up to 2,500 subscribers, with 1 publication, 1 team seat and a 30-day analytics lookback. beehiiv branding stays on the newsletter. | No. There is no free tier. Starter, Publisher and Business each have a Try for free button, and a 14-day free trial is offered. |
| Starting price | Lite is $49 a month, billed yearly. | Starter is $18 a month, billed yearly. No monthly billing price is published. |
| How it charges | By plan tier, with subscriber count setting the limits: Free up to 2,500, Lite up to 100,000, Pro up to 250,000, and Enterprise at a custom price. | By plan and member count. Publisher, Business and Custom charge 0% Ghost transaction fees, and payment processor fees still apply. |
| Works with | Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Overcast for podcast distribution. It also offers an API, a Send API and an MCP connection compatible with Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini. | Stripe, Slack, Zapier, Mailchimp, GitHub, Google Analytics, Discord and Spotify, among a long integrations library that also includes Buttondown, ConvertKit, Mailerlite and Patreon. |
| AI features | beehiiv AI is part of the Publish tools, and AI can create a website or landing page from a prompt. beehiiv MCP is included on Lite and up, and AI Credits are available on Pro. | Not published. |
Prices and plans change. We checked these figures on October 10, 2026, so confirm them before you buy.
What beehiiv is
beehiiv is an all-in-one platform for newsletters, podcasts, digital products, communities and websites. The tools are grouped into Publish, Grow, Earn, Analyze and Connect.
A newsletter operator can use it to write and send issues, build a website, run a referral program and recommendations, sell paid subscriptions, and earn from ads. It also offers a free plan.
Paid subscriptions carry a 0% take rate, with Stripe's processing fees still applying.
What Ghost is
Ghost is an app for professional publishers to create, share and grow a business around their content. It bundles a website, publishing, newsletters and paid subscriptions.
A newsletter operator can publish to the web and by email, offer free or paid membership tiers, and send different newsletters to different audience segments.
Ghost is open source, independent and funded 100% by its users, and is run by a non-profit foundation.
Which one fits
Both are flat-fee publishing platforms that take none of your paid subscription revenue, with processor fees still applying. The difference is where you start and what comes built in.
beehiiv has a free plan for up to 2,500 subscribers, and it includes a referral program, recommendations and an ad network. Ghost has no free tier, and its Starter plan is $18 a month billed yearly, with 0% Ghost transaction fees on Publisher and above. Starting at no cost points to beehiiv. A lower first paid price points to Ghost.
Does beehiiv have a free plan?
Yes. The free plan costs $0 and supports up to 2,500 subscribers, 1 publication and 1 team seat. It includes unlimited email sends, landing pages and templates, and beehiiv branding stays on the newsletter.
Does beehiiv take a cut of paid subscriptions?
Paid subscriptions on Lite and up carry a 0% take rate. Stripe's 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction still applies.
Does Ghost have a free plan?
No. There is no free tier. The Starter, Publisher and Business plans each have a Try for free button, and a 14-day free trial is offered.
Can I take paid subscriptions on every plan?
No. Starter does not include paid subscriptions. Publisher, Business and Custom do, with 0% Ghost transaction fees.