beehiiv vs Ghost (Pro): real cost comparison
All-in monthly cost — platform fee, revenue share, and card processing — computed from each platform's own published pricing (last verified 2026-07-25).
Cost at three list sizes
| Scenario | Gross / mo | beehiiv | Ghost (Pro) | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting out — 1,000 subscribers, 50 paid at $8/mo | $400 | $69.68/mo | $55.60/mo | Ghost (Pro) |
| Growing — 5,000 subscribers, 250 paid at $10/mo | $2,500 | $190.58/mo | $210.50/mo | beehiiv |
| Established — 25,000 subscribers, 1,000 paid at $10/mo | $10,000 | $633.08/mo | $731/mo | beehiiv |
Assumes monthly billing for every paid subscriber; platform fees use annual-billed rates where cheaper. Run your own numbers in the calculator.
beehiiv
- Revenue share: 0%
- Processing: Stripe 2.9% + $0.30
- Paid plans: from $43.08/mo
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Rankings are data-driven; see methodology.
Ghost (Pro)
- Revenue share: 0%
- Processing: Stripe 2.9% + $0.30
- Paid plans: from $29/mo
Fine print that changes the math
- beehiiv: PARTIAL DATA: Scale/Max prices were read at the pricing page's default list-size; beehiiv has historically scaled plan price with subscriber count via a slider. Scraper must capture price-by-subscriber-count brackets before we publish cost claims above ~2,500 subs.
- beehiiv: Annual prices shown are the page's advertised yearly totals (Scale $517/yr, Max $1,151/yr).
- Ghost (Pro): All bracket prices captured 2026-07-14 by reading the pricing page's own product/price data (the Alpine membersSlider component's _products array, the same data Ghost drives checkout from) via tools/slider-capture, 1,000-100,000 members. Rendered card prices are NOT used: Ghost only binds a reactive price element to Starter, so the Publisher/Business cards keep displaying the annualized rate even when the toggle reads 'Billed monthly'.
- Ghost (Pro): Ghost counts 'members' (free + paid email subscribers); annualUsd here = advertised yearly-billed monthly rate × 12.
- Ghost (Pro): Ghost is open source — self-hosting is $0 platform fee + infra cost, an option no hosted-only platform has.
- Ghost (Pro): Starter tier's lack of paid-subscription support read from the pricing page feature list — re-verify if Ghost restructures plans.
Frequently asked questions
Is beehiiv or Ghost (Pro) cheaper for a paid newsletter?
For a 5,000-subscriber list with 250 paid subscribers at $10/month ($2,500/month gross), beehiiv costs $190.58/month all-in versus $210.50/month — based on each platform's published pricing as of 2026-07-25.
What fees does beehiiv charge?
beehiiv takes 0% of paid-subscription revenue, with paid plans from $43.08/month (annual billing).
What fees does Ghost (Pro) charge?
Ghost (Pro) takes 0% of paid-subscription revenue, with paid plans from $29/month (annual billing).
Sources
- https://www.beehiiv.com/pricing (accessed 2026-07-25)
- https://www.beehiiv.com/support/article/23352840006167-Partner-Program-FAQ (accessed 2026-06-10)
- https://ghost.org/pricing/ (accessed 2026-07-25)