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.

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 2026-06-18 · figures link to their source below

Side by side

Ghost

$0/mo entry
Entry price$0/mo (Self-hosted (open source))
Free tierYes
HIPAA (BAA)
SOC 2
GDPR
Best forindependent publishers

beehiiv

$0/mo entry
Entry price$0/mo (Launch)
Free tierYes
HIPAA (BAA)
SOC 2Yes
GDPRYes
Best fornewsletter 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

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