Best Newsletter Platforms · head-to-head
Ghost vs beehiiv
A sourced, side-by-side comparison for newsletter platforms. Ghost has the lower entry price. Every figure links to the public page it was captured from — the vendor's own wherever the vendor publishes the number, otherwise the named public source — with the date we captured it.
Ghost has the lower entry price — Ghost starts at $0/mo, beehiiv at $0/mo. Free tier: Ghost Yes, beehiiv Yes. HIPAA: Ghost —, beehiiv —.
As of 2026-09-03 · figures link to their source below
Side by side
Ghost
$0/mo entrybeehiiv
$0/mo entrySources — Ghost: ghost.org (verified 2026-09-03) · beehiiv: beehiiv.com (verified 2026-09-03)
Key features
Ghost: 0% transaction fee on paid memberships (all Ghost Pro plans); Open-source self-hosted option at no license cost; Custom themes and full design control on Publisher+; Built-in membership and paid subscription management
beehiiv: Built-in Ad Network and Boosts for monetization; 0% take rate on paid subscriptions (all paid plans); Web + podcast + audio newsletter in one platform; Referral and growth tools built-in