Beehiiv vs Ghost: Full Feature and Pricing Comparison
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Compare Beehiiv and Ghost for Your Publishing Needs
Beehiiv and Ghost solve different problems. Beehiiv is a newsletter platform with a free Launch plan (up to 2,500 subscribers) and subscriber-based pricing that scales to $43 and $96/month tiers, unlocking automations, landing pages, and AI content assist as you grow. It suits newsletter creators who want to start free and add functionality gradually. Ghost is a publishing platform with no free plan listed, starting at $15/month for a single staff user, and pricing based on staff seats and member counts rather than subscriber volume alone. It suits teams running a full website/blog with membership monetization who need multiple staff accounts (up to 15 on Business) and are comfortable using integrations like Zapier or n8n for automation rather than native workflows. Choose Beehiiv if you want free-tier access and subscriber-based scaling for a newsletter-first product. Choose Ghost if you need a publishing site with staff collaboration and are willing to pay from day one.
Review the pricing tiers, automation options, deliverability tools, and API access listed above to determine which platform fits your subscriber base, team size, and budget.
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | Beehiiv | Ghost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing automation workflows | 4/5 | 3/5 | Beehiiv offers native automations starting on the $43/month Scale plan (not available on the free Launch plan). Ghost does not have native automation but supports Zapier and n8n integrations from its $29/month Publisher plan up, with no automation on the entry-level Starter plan. |
| Deliverability tools (warm-up, monitoring) | 5/5 | 4/5 | Beehiiv lists 'optimized deliverability' as included on all plans, including the free Launch tier. Ghost includes managed deliverability on all plans, but dedicated IP addresses and deliverability consultations are reserved for the custom-priced Custom plan. |
| Public REST API | 5/5 | 4/5 | Beehiiv includes API access (excluding the Send API) on all plans, including the free tier. Ghost provides Content API access on all plans, but Admin API and Webhooks require the $29/month Publisher plan or higher. |
Frequently asked questions
How does Beehiiv pricing compare to Ghost pricing?
Beehiiv prices by subscriber count, starting with a free Launch plan (up to 2,500 subscribers) and scaling to $43/month (Scale, up to 100,000 subscribers, 3 publications) and $96/month (Max, up to 100,000 subscribers, unlimited seats), with custom Enterprise pricing above that. Ghost prices by staff seats and member counts, starting at $15/month (Starter, 1,000 members, 1 staff user), then $29/month (Publisher, 3 staff users) and $199/month (Business, 10,000 members, 15 staff users), with a Custom plan for unlimited members and staff.
Does Beehiiv or Ghost offer a free plan?
Beehiiv offers a free-forever Launch plan for up to 2,500 subscribers. Ghost does not have a free plan listed in its pricing; its lowest tier, Starter, costs $15/month.
Can I migrate from Ghost to Beehiiv or from Beehiiv to Ghost?
The provided data does not include specifics on migration tools or import processes for either platform, so check current vendor documentation for migration support before switching.
Who is Beehiiv best suited for?
Based on its features, Beehiiv fits newsletter creators who want to start on a free plan and add capabilities like automations, landing pages, and AI content assist as they grow, since these are gated behind the Scale plan and up.
Who is Ghost best suited for?
Ghost fits teams building a full publishing site or membership business that need multiple staff accounts (up to 15 on the Business plan) and can work with third-party automation tools like Zapier or n8n rather than needing native automation.
Is marketing automation available on the entry-level plan of either platform?
No. Beehiiv's automations are not available on its free Launch plan and require the Scale plan ($43/month) or higher. Ghost's automation integrations (Zapier, n8n) are not available on the Starter plan ($15/month) and require the Publisher plan ($29/month) or higher.