Kit vs Ghost
Two of the top three newsletter platforms, compared rule by rule on published facts.
In short
- Kit has 94 points and Ghost 77, 17 apart on our newsletter platforms rules.
- Kit earns more on earning, your list and growth; Ghost earns more on nothing.
- Cost at 1,000 subscribers: Kit $0, Ghost $0.
- Only Kit 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 | Kit | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Earning of 25 | 22 | 18 |
| Your list of 32 | 29 | 27 |
| Growth of 26 | 26 | 15 |
| Price of 17 | 17 | 17 |
| Total | 94 | 77 |
Rule by rule
What each vendor publishes, and the points it earns. Sources are on each product page.
| Rule (points) | Kit | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Paid subscriptions (8) | Yes 8 | Yes 8 |
| Fee on paid subscriptions (10) | 0.6 7 | 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 |
Kit
Kit suits creators who want a free plan that scales to 10,000 subscribers and who sell products or subscriptions, since Kit says it keeps only 0.6% of sales. Your newsletter site can use your own domain. Automations and sponsorships need a paid plan, and referrals and the source breakdown of new subscribers need Pro.
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.