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Ghost vs Beehiiv: Choosing a Newsletter Platform
Beehiiv has ads and referrals. Ghost has 0% fees and full design control. Compare pricing, features, and ownership to find the right newsletter platform.
Two Newsletter Platforms, Two Different Philosophies
Beehiiv and Ghost both power newsletters. Both take 0% of your subscription revenue. Both include website publishing and custom domains.
But the similarities end at the business model. Beehiiv has raised $49.7 million from venture capital firms including NEA and Lightspeed Venture Partners, reaching a $225 million valuation in 2025. Ghost is run by a nonprofit foundation that legally cannot be acquired, cannot issue stock, and reinvests 100% of revenue into the product.
This isn’t a philosophical nitpick. It shapes the product. Beehiiv earns 20% of revenue from its Boosts marketplace (where newsletters pay to acquire subscribers from other newsletters). Ghost earns revenue exclusively from hosting fees. These different incentive structures lead to fundamentally different products.
What Beehiiv Gets Right
Beehiiv was founded in 2021 by ex-Morning Brew employees, and it shows. The platform is built around newsletter growth.
Built-in ad network. Beehiiv connects newsletters directly to brand advertisers (Netflix, Notion, HubSpot). Ads pay on CPM or CPC basis and are available on the Scale plan ($43/month) and up. Ghost has no equivalent.
Boosts subscriber marketplace. Pay a fixed cost-per-subscriber to acquire readers from other newsletters, or earn money by promoting other newsletters to your list. Matt Navarra’s Geekout newsletter reportedly earned $25,000 through Boosts referrals alone. One creator grew from 4,000 to 50,000 subscribers in 7 months using Boosts combined with Beehiiv’s other growth tools.
Referral program. Built-in referral tracking with customizable rewards — exclusive content, discounts, merchandise — with automated distribution. Ghost doesn’t have a native referral system.
Recommendation network. Cross-promotion with other Beehiiv newsletters at signup, similar to Substack’s network effect.
Free plan with 2,500 subscribers. Beehiiv’s Launch plan includes a website builder, custom domain, up to 3 publications, and the recommendation network. Ghost’s cheapest plan is $15/month.
These growth tools are Beehiiv’s real differentiator. If your primary challenge is growing a newsletter audience from zero, Beehiiv’s growth toolkit is the most complete in the market.
What Beehiiv Gets Wrong
VC funding creates misaligned incentives. $49.7 million from institutional investors creates obligation to return capital. Beehiiv earns 20% of Boosts GMV — which means the platform benefits financially when you spend money acquiring subscribers, regardless of whether those subscribers convert to paying members or engaged readers. Ghost’s nonprofit structure means the only revenue is your hosting fee.
Limited design customization. Beehiiv has a basic website customizer, but you can’t install custom themes or significantly alter the layout. Every Beehiiv publication looks similar. For anyone building a brand identity beyond a newsletter, this is a hard constraint.
SEO gaps. Beehiiv lacks redirect management (broken links when you delete or move posts), has no per-post canonical tag control, and no noindex controls for specific posts. These matter once you start caring about search traffic.
Steep pricing cliff. There’s no intermediate tier between the free plan (2,500 subscribers, no monetization) and the $43/month Scale plan. If you want to charge for your newsletter, you jump from $0 to $43/month instantly.
Beehiiv branding on cheaper plans. The “Powered by Beehiiv” badge is only removable on the Max plan ($96/month and up).
Newer platform, less proven. Founded 2021 vs. Ghost’s 2013. Beehiiv ships features rapidly, but some are described by users as “experimental with a tendency to break.” Ghost’s 12-year track record provides more stability.
100,000 subscriber ceiling. Both Scale and Max plans cap at 100,000 subscribers. Beyond that requires Enterprise pricing negotiation.
What Ghost Offers
Ghost is an open-source publishing platform that combines a full CMS, email newsletters, and paid memberships. It’s been in active development since 2013 and is run by a nonprofit foundation.
Full design control via themes. Ghost has an entire theme ecosystem — open-source themes, commercial themes, and the ability to build completely custom designs. Your publication can look like nothing else on the internet.
When I browse our Homa theme demo, the difference from Beehiiv’s template is obvious. Custom dropdown navigation, featured post layouts, photo galleries — a publication that looks like it belongs to you.
Superior SEO. Ghost generates XML sitemaps, canonical URLs, structured data, meta tags, and Open Graph tags automatically. Every post is a permanent, indexable web page. Combined with a custom theme, Ghost posts rank and drive organic traffic indefinitely.
Open source under MIT license. Ghost’s code is publicly available. You can self-host it on your own server for $6-12/month, modify it however you want, and leave Ghost(Pro) for your own infrastructure at any time. Beehiiv is entirely proprietary — if you outgrow it or disagree with a policy change, your options are limited.
12 years of stability. Ghost was founded in 2013. It has shipped features methodically for over a decade. The Ghost Foundation can’t be acquired, can’t pivot to appease investors, and can’t shut down because an exit strategy didn’t work out.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Ghost | Beehiiv |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue share on subscriptions | 0% | 0% |
| Built-in ad network | No | Yes (Scale plan+) |
| Subscriber marketplace (Boosts) | No | Yes (Scale plan+) |
| Referral program | Via third-party | Built-in |
| Recommendation network | ActivityPub federation (v6.0) | Built-in cross-promotion |
| Website/CMS | Full CMS with custom themes | Basic website customizer |
| Design control | Complete (themes, custom CSS) | Limited customizer |
| SEO tools | Full (sitemaps, schema, canonical, meta) | Basic (no redirects, limited controls) |
| Custom domain | Included free (all plans) | Included (all plans) |
| Remove platform branding | All paid plans | Max plan only ($96+/mo) |
| Multiple membership tiers | Yes | Yes (Scale plan+) |
| Self-hosting | Yes (open-source, MIT) | No |
| Business structure | Nonprofit foundation | VC-backed ($49.7M raised) |
| Free plan | No ($15/mo minimum) | Yes (2,500 subscribers) |
Pricing Comparison
Beehiiv Pricing (as of February 2026)
| Plan | Starting Price | Subscribers | Monetization |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch (Free) | $0 | 2,500 | No |
| Scale | $43/mo | Up to 100,000 | Yes (ads, subs, Boosts) |
| Max | $96/mo | Up to 100,000 | Yes + remove branding |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | Full features |
Prices scale within each tier based on subscriber count.
Ghost(Pro) Pricing (as of February 2026)
| Plan | Monthly (billed annually) | Members | Staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $15/mo | 1,000 | 1 |
| Publisher | $29/mo | 1,000 | 3 |
| Business | $199/mo | 10,000 | 15 |
All plans include unlimited email sends, SSL, CDN, backups, and a free custom domain. No branding on any paid plan.
When Ghost Is Cheaper
Ghost Publisher ($29/month) is cheaper than Beehiiv Scale ($43/month) for newsletters that want paid subscriptions and don’t need Beehiiv’s ad network or Boosts marketplace. Both take 0% of subscription revenue, so the cost comparison is straightforward.
If your revenue model is subscriptions rather than advertising, Ghost’s lower hosting fee and full design control make it the better value.
When Beehiiv Is Cheaper
Beehiiv’s free plan (2,500 subscribers) beats Ghost’s $15/month Starter for newsletters just getting started. And if you actively use the ad network and Boosts, the $43/month Scale plan pays for itself through advertising revenue — something Ghost simply can’t offer.
Who Should Choose Beehiiv
Beehiiv is the better fit if:
- Growing your subscriber count quickly is your top priority
- You plan to monetize through ads, not just paid subscriptions
- Boosts (paying to acquire subscribers from other newsletters) fits your growth strategy
- You want the simplest possible setup with no theme decisions
- You’re starting from zero and the free plan matters
Who Should Choose Ghost
Ghost is the better platform if:
- Your primary revenue model is paid memberships, not advertising
- Design and brand identity matter — your publication should look distinctly yours
- You write SEO-driven content that should rank in Google long-term
- You want full ownership — open-source code, self-hosting option, nonprofit operator
- Platform independence matters more than built-in growth tools
- You’re building a content archive, not just a newsletter
The Ownership Question
This is the real decision point. Beehiiv’s growth tools are impressive, but they come with the tradeoffs of VC-backed infrastructure: the company will eventually need to show returns to investors. That might mean higher prices, new fees, or features that serve Beehiiv’s business model more than yours.
Ghost’s nonprofit structure means the platform’s incentives are permanently aligned with yours. No investor pressure. No exit strategy. Just a publishing tool that gets better over time.
Both are good platforms. The question is whether you value growth tools or ownership more.
Start with the Right Foundation
If you choose Ghost, the theme you pick defines your reader’s experience. A premium theme gives you what Beehiiv’s basic customizer can’t: a publication that looks professional and uniquely yours.
Our Nio theme includes 5 hero alignment options, dropdown navigation, photo galleries, and dark mode — all configurable without code.
Recommended Themes
These themes excel at the features discussed in this article.
