Ghost (Pro) vs Substack: 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 | Ghost (Pro) | Substack | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting out — 1,000 subscribers, 50 paid at $8/mo | $400 | $55.60/mo | $69.40/mo | Ghost (Pro) |
| Growing — 5,000 subscribers, 250 paid at $10/mo | $2,500 | $210.50/mo | $415/mo | Ghost (Pro) |
| Established — 25,000 subscribers, 1,000 paid at $10/mo | $10,000 | $731/mo | $1,660/mo | Ghost (Pro) |
Assumes monthly billing for every paid subscriber; platform fees use annual-billed rates where cheaper. Run your own numbers in the calculator.
Ghost (Pro)
- Revenue share: 0%
- Processing: Stripe 2.9% + $0.30
- Paid plans: from $29/mo
Substack
- Revenue share: 10%
- Processing: Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 + 0.7% recurring
- Paid plans: free (platform monetizes via revenue share)
Fine print that changes the math
- 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.
- Substack: Effective all-in cost on paid revenue is roughly 13-16% of gross once Stripe card + recurring billing fees are included.
- Substack: Annual subscriptions incur fewer per-transaction fees than monthly ones, so all-in percentage varies with billing mix.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ghost (Pro) or Substack cheaper for a paid newsletter?
For a 5,000-subscriber list with 250 paid subscribers at $10/month ($2,500/month gross), Ghost (Pro) costs $210.50/month all-in versus $415/month — based on each platform's published pricing as of 2026-07-25. The cheaper platform flips at roughly $590/month in paid-subscription revenue.
What fees does Ghost (Pro) charge?
Ghost (Pro) takes 0% of paid-subscription revenue, with paid plans from $29/month (annual billing).
What fees does Substack charge?
Substack takes 10% of paid-subscription revenue, with no monthly platform fee.
At what revenue does Ghost (Pro)'s flat fee beat Substack's 10% cut?
Holding a 5,000-subscriber list at $10/month per subscriber, the flat fee wins above about $590/month in gross paid-subscription revenue (59 paid subscribers). Below that, Substack's pay-as-you-earn model costs less in absolute dollars.
Sources
- https://ghost.org/pricing/ (accessed 2026-07-25)
- https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360037607131-How-much-does-Substack-cost (accessed 2026-07-14)
- https://www.schoolmaker.com/blog/substack-pricing (accessed 2026-07-07)