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 vendor's own page and the date we captured it.
At a glance
- Price: Ghost $0/mo vs beehiiv $0/mo — Ghost is cheaper to start.
- Free tier: Ghost Yes; beehiiv Yes.
- HIPAA: Ghost —; beehiiv —.
Side by side
| Ghost | beehiiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $0/mo (Self-hosted (open source)) | $0/mo (Launch) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| HIPAA (BAA) | — | — |
| SOC 2 | — | Yes |
| GDPR | — | Yes |
| Best for | independent publishers | newsletter monetization |
Sources — Ghost: ghost.org (verified 2026-06-18). beehiiv: beehiiv.com (verified 2026-06-18).
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