beehiiv vs Ghost pricing: plans and cost at 1,000 readers
beehiiv vs Ghost: beehiiv is free up to 2,500 subscribers and Lite is $49 a month billed yearly. Ghost(Pro) starts at $15 a month billed yearly, and paid subscriptions start on Publisher at $29. Prices, limits and year-one cost at 1,000 readers, read October 31, 2026.
The short answer
beehiiv vs Ghost comes down to whether you charge readers. For a free newsletter, beehiiv costs less: its Free plan is $0 up to 2,500 subscribers, while Ghost(Pro) Starter is $15 a month billed yearly at 1,000 members. For paid subscriptions at 1,000 readers, Ghost costs less: Publisher is $29 a month billed yearly ($348 a year) against $49 a month billed yearly on beehiiv Lite ($588 a year).
Both state 0% fees on paid subscriptions: Ghost lists 0% transaction fees and beehiiv lists a 0% take rate.
Prices were read on beehiiv.com/pricing and ghost.org/pricing on October 31, 2026, in US dollars, at the 1,000 subscriber setting of each page. StackOnSale earns a commission if you buy beehiiv through our link. We have no partnership with Ghost and have not tested either product.
Price per plan, side by side
beehiiv sells Free, Lite, Pro and Enterprise. At 1,000 subscribers, Lite is $49 a month billed yearly or $59 billed monthly, and Pro is $95 a month billed yearly or $109 billed monthly. Enterprise has no published price. Plan limits: Free up to 2,500 subscribers, Lite up to 100,000 and Pro up to 250,000, with the price set by the subscriber count you choose on the page.
Ghost(Pro) sells Starter, Publisher, Business and Custom. At 1,000 members, Starter is $15 a month billed yearly or $18 billed monthly, and Publisher is $29 a month billed yearly or $35 billed monthly. Business is $199 a month billed yearly or $239 billed monthly and includes 10,000 members. Custom has no published price. Ghost also sets the price by member count.
beehiiv and Ghost(Pro) at 1,000 readers| Plan level | beehiiv | Ghost(Pro) |
|---|
| Free | Free: $0, up to 2,500 subscribers, 1 seat, no paid subscriptions | No free plan |
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| Entry plan | Lite: $49 a month billed yearly, or $59 monthly. Paid subscriptions, 2 seats, 3 publications | Starter: $15 a month billed yearly, or $18 monthly. 1 staff user, 1 newsletter, no paid subscriptions |
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| Second plan | Pro: $95 a month billed yearly, or $109 monthly. 10 seats, branding removed | Publisher: $29 a month billed yearly, or $35 monthly. Paid subscriptions, 3 staff users, custom themes |
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| Third plan | Enterprise, price on request | Business: $199 a month billed yearly, or $239 monthly. 10,000 members, 15 staff users |
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| Fee on paid subscriptions | 0% take rate | 0% transaction fees |
|---|
Read on beehiiv.com/pricing (1,000 subscribers, yearly and monthly) and ghost.org/pricing (1,000 members, yearly and monthly, comparison table), October 31, 2026. US dollars.
Paid subscriptions and fees
On beehiiv, paid subscriptions start on Lite. The Free plan does not list them. beehiiv lists a 0% take rate on paid subscriptions and ad monetization on Lite and Pro.
On Ghost(Pro), paid subscriptions start on Publisher. The comparison table marks them No on Starter and Yes on Publisher, Business and Custom, with 0% transaction fees on the paid plans. The payment processor charges its own fees on both platforms, which we did not verify.
Year-one cost at 1,000 readers
The yearly figures below are 12 times the monthly price shown on each page, before payment processor fees and tax. Each row uses the cheapest plan that covers the need.
Year one at 1,000 readers| Need | beehiiv | Ghost(Pro) |
|---|
| Free newsletter | Free: $0 | Starter: $180 billed yearly (12 x $15), or $216 billed monthly (12 x $18) |
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| Paid subscriptions | Lite: $588 billed yearly (12 x $49), or $708 billed monthly (12 x $59) | Publisher: $348 billed yearly (12 x $29), or $420 billed monthly (12 x $35) |
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| Team of up to 10 | Pro: $1,140 billed yearly (12 x $95), or $1,308 billed monthly (12 x $109) | Business: $2,388 billed yearly (12 x $199), or $2,868 billed monthly (12 x $239) |
|---|
StackOnSale arithmetic on the prices above, before payment processor fees and tax.
What each plan includes
beehiiv, from its comparison table: team seats at 1 on Free, 2 on Lite, 10 on Pro and unlimited on Enterprise; publications at 1, 3, 10 and custom; analytics lookback at 30 days on Free, 12 months on Lite and unlimited on Pro. Removing beehiiv branding starts on Pro. Every plan lists unlimited email sends, a website, landing pages and the recommendation network.
Ghost(Pro), from its comparison table: staff users at 1 on Starter, 3 on Publisher, 15 on Business and unlimited on Custom; newsletters at 1, 3, 10 and unlimited; registered members at 1,000 on Starter and Publisher and 10,000 on Business. Custom themes, a custom sending domain and paid subscriptions start on Publisher. Every plan includes a website and a free custom domain.
Which one fits
If your newsletter is free and under 2,500 subscribers, beehiiv Free costs $0 a year against $180 a year on Ghost Starter billed yearly.
If you charge readers and have about 1,000 of them, Ghost Publisher is $240 a year less than beehiiv Lite billed yearly: $348 against $588. beehiiv Lite adds ad monetization, automations and A/B testing in its plan list; Ghost Publisher adds custom themes and 3 staff users.
If you need more than 3 people on the account, compare beehiiv Pro (10 seats, $1,140 a year billed yearly) with Ghost Business (15 staff users, $2,388 a year billed yearly).
What we could not verify
We read both pages at 1,000 subscribers only. Prices at other list sizes, payment processor fees, the length of each free trial, and whether prices differ outside the United States were not verified. Ghost is also open source and can be self-hosted; we did not price self-hosting.
Questions
Is beehiiv cheaper than Ghost?
For a free newsletter, yes: beehiiv Free is $0 up to 2,500 subscribers and Ghost Starter is $15 a month billed yearly. For paid subscriptions at 1,000 readers, no: Ghost Publisher is $29 a month billed yearly and beehiiv Lite is $49. Read October 31, 2026.
Does Ghost have a free plan?
Ghost(Pro) has no free plan on its pricing page; Starter is the lowest at $15 a month billed yearly. beehiiv has a Free plan up to 2,500 subscribers.
Does beehiiv or Ghost take a cut of paid subscriptions?
Neither, on the published pages: beehiiv lists a 0% take rate and Ghost lists 0% transaction fees. Your payment processor charges its own fees.
Can I charge for subscriptions on Ghost Starter?
No. Ghost's comparison table marks paid subscriptions No on Starter and Yes from Publisher, at $29 a month billed yearly at 1,000 members.
Is there a beehiiv vs Ghost discount?
Both charge less on yearly billing: beehiiv Lite is $49 instead of $59 a month and Ghost Publisher is $29 instead of $35. We list the beehiiv Lite yearly offer. We found no Ghost coupon code on its pricing page.
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