beehiiv vs Ghost
Two of the top three newsletter platforms, compared rule by rule on published facts.
In short
- beehiiv has 97 points and Ghost 77, 20 apart on our newsletter platforms rules.
- beehiiv earns more on earning, your list and growth; Ghost earns more on nothing.
- Cost at 1,000 subscribers: beehiiv $0, Ghost $0.
- Only beehiiv meets: built-in sponsorship or ad network, sell digital products, send from your own domain, referral program, automated email sequences and subject-line A/B tests.
- Only Ghost meets: open source.
Ghost77/100 #3 of 12
Best for: Writers who want open-source software and no cut of paid-subscription revenue.
Points by group
| Group | beehiiv | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Earning of 25 | 25 | 18 |
| Your list of 32 | 29 | 27 |
| Growth of 26 | 26 | 15 |
| Price of 17 | 17 | 17 |
| Total | 97 | 77 |
Rule by rule
What each vendor publishes, and the points it earns. Sources are on each product page.
| Rule (points) | beehiiv | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Paid subscriptions (8) | Yes 8 | Yes 8 |
| Fee on paid subscriptions (10) | 0 10 | 0 10 |
| Built-in sponsorship or ad network (4) | Yes 4 | Not published 0 |
| Sell digital products (3) | Yes 3 | No 0 |
| Export your subscriber list (8) | Yes 8 | Yes 8 |
| Import subscribers (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Website on your own domain (7) | Yes 7 | Yes 7 |
| Send from your own domain (5) | Yes 5 | Not published 0 |
| Open source (3) | Not published 0 | Yes 3 |
| Public API (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Recommendation network (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Referral program (4) | Yes 4 | No 0 |
| Send to a tag or segment (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Automated email sequences (4) | Yes 4 | No 0 |
| Subscriber source reports (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Subject-line A/B tests (3) | Yes 3 | Not published 0 |
| Free plan (8) | Yes 8 | Yes 8 |
| Cost at 1,000 subscribers (9) | $0 9 | $0 9 |
beehiiv
beehiiv suits writers who want to start free and grow, since the free plan covers 2,500 subscribers and the platform keeps no cut of paid subscriptions. Most growth and money tools, including the ad network, referrals, A/B tests and a custom domain, sit behind Lite at $49 a month. Paid subscriptions are not listed on the free plan.
Ghost
Ghost suits writers who want to own the software and keep all paid-subscription revenue apart from Stripe's fees. Recommendations, members export and open code are built in. The catch: the cheapest hosted plan lacks paid memberships, referrals need a separate FirstPromoter account, and automations are in beta.
Both products are scored by the same rules: how we score newsletter platforms.