Ghost is cheaper than Substack once paid revenue passes about $350 a month on a list of 1,000 members. On 100 payments of $10, Ghost’s Publisher plan leaves $899 and Substack leaves $834. Ghost also gives you full ownership, down to open source code you can host yourself. What Substack sells for its 10% is readers, through Notes, recommendations and an app. We think Substack is the right start with no audience, and Ghost is the right home once you have one.
How much do Substack and Ghost take?
Substack takes 10% of paid subscriptions and charges no plan fee. Ghost takes 0%, but paid memberships need Ghost(Pro) Publisher at $35 a month billed monthly for up to 1,000 members, or $29 billed yearly. Both pay Stripe the same 2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment plus 0.7% for recurring billing.
Ghost(Pro) counts every member, free or paid. As of October 2026, Publisher costs $35 at 1,000 members, $55 at 2,500, $75 at 5,000 and $105 at 10,000, billed monthly. The cheaper Starter plan, $18 a month, cannot take payments at all.
The table is arithmetic on published fees, assuming $10 monthly payments from US cards and Publisher billed monthly.
| Paying readers and list size | Monthly revenue | Substack keeps | Ghost keeps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 paying, 1,000 members | $300 | $250 | $245 |
| 100 paying, 1,000 members | $1,000 | $834 | $899 |
| 100 paying, 10,000 members | $1,000 | $834 | $829 |
| 300 paying, 10,000 members | $3,000 | $2,502 | $2,697 |
The break-even is Substack’s 10% against Ghost’s plan price. That is $350 a month at 1,000 members and $1,050 at 10,000. Ghost wins clearly when a large share of your list pays. A big free list with few paying readers can make Substack the cheaper option.
Self-hosting changes the sums. Ghost’s software is open source under the MIT license, with the same 0% fees, and Ghost’s hosting guide prices a basic server from $10 a month before email delivery, a CDN and backups. We think most writers should pay for Ghost(Pro) and self-host only if they already run servers.
Who owns the audience on Substack and Ghost?
Ghost gives you full ownership, and we score it 10 out of 10, the top of our scale, against Substack’s 7. Both bill paying web subscribers through a Stripe account in your name.
Ghost runs on your own domain with no Ghost branding, and Publisher includes a custom sending domain for email. You can export content and settings as JSON, members with labels and subscription status as CSV, plus analytics, themes and redirects. Substack exports your list as a CSV without names, iOS in-app subscribers stay behind when you leave, and newsletters send from a substack.com address even after you pay $50 for a custom domain.
Moving from Substack to Ghost is well documented. Ghost’s migration guide says to connect the same Stripe account you used on Substack, which is how paying subscribers carry over. The same guide warns that “Substack will continue to take 10% fees on your existing paid subscriptions”, and Ghost’s concierge team offers help getting those fees removed.
Which platform helps new readers find you?
Substack does far more, and we score its discovery 7 against Ghost’s 4. Notes puts your posts, restacks and comments in a feed on the web and in the Substack app, and recommendations pass new subscribers between publications, with a dashboard showing what each one brought in.
Ghost’s discovery is thin. Every Ghost(Pro) site is listed in the Ghost Explore directory, and you can recommend other publications to new members in a pop-up after signup. Ghost also connects to the social web through ActivityPub, so people can follow you from Bluesky, Threads, Flipboard, Mastodon and WordPress, though Ghost still labels that feature a beta. Plan to bring your own readers to Ghost.
What features differ between Substack and Ghost?
Ghost is a full publishing platform and website, and Substack is a newsletter inside a reader network.
Ghost’s Publisher plan includes:
- Up to 3 paid tiers with monthly and yearly prices, and up to 15 offers with discounts or free trials
- One-off tips and donations without readers signing up, and gift subscriptions
- Ads from any network, such as Google AdSense
- Custom themes, 3 staff users and 3 newsletters
Substack’s tools center on subscriptions:
- Founding member plans that let readers pay any amount above your annual price
- iOS in-app subscriptions, where Apple takes 30% in the first year and 15% after, and Substack raises the in-app price by default to cover it
- Boost, which can offer engaged free readers 20% off a paid plan
- Sales tax and VAT calculated, collected and remitted for you from December 1, 2026, at no extra cost
Payouts are close. Both send subscription money to your Stripe account, Substack says web payments usually reach your bank within 48 hours, and Ghost leaves the schedule to your Stripe settings. Stripe is the only processor for web payments on either platform.
Which should you choose?
Start on Substack if nobody reads you yet, and move to Ghost when paid revenue is steady above your break-even. Our Substack vs beehiiv comparison covers the ad-supported middle ground, best platforms for writers ranks all of them, and the guide to starting a paid newsletter covers setup.
- Pick Substack if you are starting from zero and need Notes, recommendations and the app to find readers.
- Pick Substack if you want no monthly bill while you test whether readers will pay.
- Pick Substack if your list is large and few readers pay, which can keep Substack’s 10% below Ghost’s plan price.
- Pick Ghost if paid revenue is above about $350 a month at 1,000 members, or the matching break-even for your list size.
- Pick Ghost if you want your own website, your own sending domain and a complete export.
- Pick Ghost if you want the option to self-host open source software later.