Ghost is widely used for publishing with a clean editorial workflow and built-in ways to run memberships and email newsletters. If you are exploring alternatives to Ghost, the usual goal is not “better vs worse” — it is finding a platform that matches your content format, design needs, monetization model, and day-to-day operations.
How This Guide Stays Practical
This article compares Ghost-style publishing to other approaches: site builders (design-first), creator platforms (membership-first), and newsletter tools (email-first). You will see concrete differences in fees, pricing structures, and ownership and portability.
Table of Contents
Ghost and the Problem It Solves
Ghost is positioned for creators and teams who want a focused publishing stack with members, subscriptions, and email newsletters built into the platform. It also states a 0% cut of membership revenue (payment processing fees still apply). [Source-1✅]
For managed hosting, Ghost(Pro) publishes tiered plans, starting at $9/month when billed annually, and scaling across higher tiers for larger teams and operational needs. [Source-2✅]
If you value self-hosting or deep customization, Ghost also documents that the core software is open source under the MIT License. [Source-3✅]
Alternatives Compared
This table keeps numbers out (because prices and fees can change), and instead shows the shape of each option: what it is optimized for, and what you typically get “out of the box.” Specific published prices and fee rates are shown later in the platform notes.
| Platform | Primary Category | Best Fit | Publishing & SEO | Email / Newsletter | Monetization Model | Typical Setup Style |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress.com | Hosted CMS | Blog + site with a large ecosystem mindset | Strong publishing foundation | Varies by configuration | Depends on plan + add-ons | Managed platform |
| Webflow | Design-First Builder | Marketing sites and visual teams | Strong for structured pages | Often integrated via tools | Paid site plans + add-ons | Visual design system |
| Squarespace | Site Builder | Smaller teams wanting a polished site fast | Solid standard publishing | Not a newsletter-first tool | Subscriptions and commerce plans | Template-led setup |
| Wix | Site Builder | All-in-one website + business tools | Standard publishing tools | Often via built-in marketing tools | Plan-based; features vary by tier | Drag-and-drop editor |
| Substack | Newsletter Platform | Email-first publishing with paid subscriptions | Web + email publishing | Core feature | Revenue share on paid subs | Minimal setup |
| beehiiv | Newsletter Platform | Newsletters with growth and monetization tooling | Web presence for issues | Core feature | Plan-based; focuses on take-rate simplicity | Newsletter-led setup |
| Kit | Creator Email | Email automation + audience management | Often paired with a site | Core feature | Subscriber-based pricing tiers | Automation and segments |
| Patreon | Membership Platform | Fan memberships + community features | Not a full CMS replacement | Can support email touchpoints | Revenue share + processing fees | Membership-first |
What to Compare Before You Switch
Content control: exports, URL structure, and how easy it is to keep your archive intact.
Publishing workflow: drafts, review steps, roles, and how teams collaborate on edits.
Deliverability surface: whether email is built in, or connected through another tool.
Monetization mechanics: platform fee vs subscription pricing, plus payment processing.
Design system needs: template-led branding vs component design vs custom code.
Operational fit: analytics depth, integrations, and how much maintenance you want to own.
Platform-by-Platform Notes
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a managed path for people who want a familiar publishing model with flexible site structure. It is commonly chosen when you want a broad ecosystem approach and prefer not to manage servers.
- Publishing range: from simple blogs to business sites depending on plan and configuration.
- Extensions: capabilities often depend on plan level and optional tools.
- Operational profile: managed hosting reduces infrastructure work.
Published Plan Pricing Signal
On the official pricing page, annual-billing examples include Personal at $4/month, Premium at $8/month, Business at $25/month, and Commerce at $45/month. Regional currency and billing options can vary. [Source-6✅]
Webflow
Webflow is typically selected when design precision and a visual build system are central. Teams that think in components, layouts, and brand systems often prefer this approach.
- Design workflow: visual editing and structured site building.
- CMS capability: suitable for collections and content-driven pages.
- Newsletter handling: commonly paired with dedicated email platforms via integrations.
Published Plan Pricing Signal
Webflow lists a free Starter option, and shows Workspace plans such as Freelancer at $16/month billed yearly and Agency at $35/month billed yearly (site plans are separate for custom domains). [Source-7✅]
Squarespace
Squarespace is a strong match for people who want a cohesive, managed website experience with a polished template base and straightforward operations.
- Setup pace: fast to launch, especially for brochure sites and standard blogs.
- Commerce path: plan tiers map to selling needs and operational tooling.
- Workflow: template-led structure keeps decisions simple.
Published Plan Pricing Signal
Squarespace publishes plan examples including Personal at $8/month billed annually, Business at $18/month, and Commerce at $26/month billed annually. [Source-8✅]
Wix
Wix is often chosen for an all-in-one builder that bundles website creation with a wide set of business features. It fits well when you want a single dashboard for many site tasks.
- Editor style: drag-and-drop layout with many built-in business modules.
- Operational breadth: combines web, marketing, and management features.
- Plan differences: storage and collaboration limits can matter early.
Published Plan Pricing Signal
Wix shows a Light plan example at $17.77/month and notes that displayed pricing can include taxes such as GST, depending on billing region and context. [Source-9✅]
Substack
Substack is built for email-first publishing. It is commonly picked when your core product is the newsletter itself, and the website is the companion archive and discovery surface.
- Primary channel: email distribution is central, not an add-on.
- Paid subscriptions: built-in billing and subscriber management.
- Cost structure: platform fee on paid revenue, plus payment processing.
Published Fee Signal
Substack states that enabling paid subscriptions applies a platform fee of 10% of each transaction, plus separate payment processing fees from Stripe. [Source-10✅]
beehiiv
beehiiv is another newsletter-centered alternative, typically considered when you want a modern creator email platform with growth tooling and a direct focus on newsletter operations.
- Newsletter-first: the product is the email relationship and subscriber base.
- Monetization: supports paid subscriptions without emphasizing a platform take rate.
- Site layer: web publishing exists, but the newsletter is usually the lead channel.
Published Plan Pricing Signal
beehiiv lists plans including a free option, with examples such as Scale at $42/month billed annually and Max at $87/month billed annually, and it also highlights a 0% take rate on paid subscriptions. [Source-11✅]
Kit
Kit is often selected as the email system of record when you want segmentation, automation, and creator-friendly email workflows. Many teams pair it with a separate website platform for publishing.
- Email operations: segmentation, automations, and subscriber management are core.
- Publishing model: commonly works alongside a CMS or site builder.
- Pricing: typically scales with subscriber counts.
Published Plan Pricing Signal
Kit’s pricing page shows a free tier at $0/month, plus examples like Creator at $25/month and Creator Pro at $50/month (illustrated at up to 1,000 subscribers). [Source-12✅]
Patreon
Patreon is primarily a membership platform, often considered when your content business needs structured tiers, community tools, and native billing — while your main website can remain separate.
- Membership-first: tiers and fan relationships are central.
- Publishing scope: supports creator updates and content posts, but is not a full CMS replacement.
- Cost structure: revenue share plus additional fees like payment processing and payout fees.
Published Fee Signal
Patreon states it is free to start and highlights a fee of 10% of the income you earn on Patreon, with additional fees such as payment processing and currency conversion. [Source-13✅]
Market Context
If you care about talent availability, plugins, and third-party integrations, it helps to understand how common a platform is across the web. In January 2026, W3Techs reports WordPress is used by 42.8% of all websites. [Source-5✅]
In the same W3Techs dataset, Ghost is reported at 0.1% of all websites. That does not indicate quality — it mostly signals a more specialized footprint with a tighter ecosystem. [Source-4✅]
Practical takeaway: larger ecosystems can make it easier to find integrations and specialists, while specialized ecosystems can reduce decision fatigue by staying focused on a narrower publishing model.
Migration and Portability
Most migrations succeed or fail on content formats and URLs. Before committing to a new platform, map how it handles:
- Posts, pages, and tags (and whether the new system supports the same taxonomy depth).
- Membership states (free members vs paid members, tiers, and access rules).
- Email list export (and what metadata you can keep, like source tags or segments).
- Redirect strategy (how you preserve search traffic when slugs change).
A common approach is to run the old and new systems in parallel for a short period, so you can validate RSS feeds, redirects, and email sending before switching the primary domain.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Which alternative is closest to Ghost’s “site + newsletter + memberships” bundle?
Ghost is relatively distinctive because it combines publishing, email newsletters, and memberships in one product. If you want a similar business model with a different workflow, newsletter-first platforms (like Substack or beehiiv) keep the paid subscription model central, while site builders (like Webflow, Squarespace, or Wix) often rely on integrations for email and memberships.
Do newsletter platforms replace a full CMS?
They can, depending on your content. If your output is mostly newsletter issues and lightweight web pages, a newsletter platform may be enough. If you need complex page structures, extensive SEO templates, or many content types, a CMS or site builder is often a better fit.
How should I compare fees fairly across platforms?
Compare the full stack: platform fee (if any), payment processing, and any email sending costs. A “0% platform fee” model can still have meaningful operational costs depending on your email volume and tooling choices.
If I care most about design control, which category is usually strongest?
Design-first builders are typically optimized for brand systems and layout control. They usually treat email newsletters as an integrated workflow with external tools, rather than as a built-in publishing channel.
If I care most about paid subscriptions, which category is usually simplest?
Newsletter-first and membership-first platforms generally minimize setup steps for subscriptions. They can be a strong match when the membership relationship is the product and the website is supportive rather than primary.
What is the safest way to protect SEO when switching from Ghost?
Preserve URLs where possible, and implement 301 redirects where URLs must change. Also validate internal links, canonical settings, and your RSS feed behavior before pointing the primary domain to the new platform.