Ghost Review

Ghost is a Node.js publishing platform focused on professional publishers and creators. Its README stresses the managed Ghost(Pro) service: a site launches in about two minutes with a worldwide CDN, backups, security, and maintenance included, and 100% of revenue funds the Ghost Foundation. For self-hosting, a CLI tool installs and manages the software, with automatic SSL through Let's Encrypt on a server, and the documentation recommends a hosting stack and covers upgrades, themes, and an API. The pricing page shows what the hosted product includes: custom domains, email newsletters with unlimited sends, marketplace and custom themes and paid subscriptions on higher plans, tiers and special offers, native analytics, integrations with Zapier, n8n, webhooks, and the Admin API, and SSO and a 99.9% SLA on Custom plans. Copyright runs 2013 to 2026 under the Ghost Foundation, and the license is MIT, with trademark rules on the Ghost name and logo.

Install the Ghost CLI globally with npm install ghost-cli -g. For a local install, run ghost install local; on a server, run ghost install for the full production setup including SSL via Let's Encrypt. The official docs describe a recommended hosting stack (a Linux server with a supported Node version, a database, and a reverse proxy) and how to upgrade properly. Alternatively, Ghost(Pro) is hosted for you. We did not run the CLI for this review.

Writers get a clean editor and a publishing workflow centered on posts, newsletters, and members, while site owners configure design settings and, on higher plans, upload custom themes. The product is intentionally focused rather than a general website builder. This is based on the README and pricing page.

• Publishing with an editor, tags, and themes
• Built-in email newsletters
• Memberships, paid subscriptions, tips and donations
• Native analytics on paid plans
• Admin API, webhooks, Zapier and n8n integrations
• Self-hosting with the Ghost CLI and automatic SSL
• Custom themes on the Publisher plan and above

• Combines blog, newsletter, and paid memberships in one product
• Revenue from official hosting funds a non-profit foundation rather than investors
• Simple self-host path via CLI and long history since 2013
• Large community: about 55,500 stars and recent commits

• The cheapest Starter plan lacks custom themes and paid subscriptions
• Self-hosting a production site with email delivery requires you to arrange a sending service and handle deliverability
• The pricing page showed inconsistent member limits for the Business plan (1,000 on the card and 10,000 in the comparison table)
• It is a publishing platform, not a general-purpose CMS, so complex content models require extra work

Self-hosting is free under MIT. Ghost(Pro) billed yearly is Starter $18 per month (1,000 members, 1 staff user, 5 MB files), Publisher $29 per month (3 staff users, themes, paid subscriptions, analytics), Business $199 per month (15 staff users, 10 newsletters, priority support), and Custom with unlimited members, dedicated IP, SSO, and an uptime SLA.

Substack is a hosted newsletter network with a built-in audience discovery effect and a revenue share on paid subscriptions. Ghost gives you your own site, theme control, and direct Stripe-based memberships with no platform cut from the software itself, but you build your own audience without Substack's network.

• Independent writers and publications that want ownership of their site and list
• Creators monetizing through memberships
• Teams who want a fast, focused CMS

• Businesses needing a flexible multi-purpose website builder
• Writers who depend on Substack's recommendation network
• Anyone unwilling to manage email deliverability when self-hosting