Ghost vs beehiiv pricing: which is cheaper for your team?
Ghost's cheapest paid tier (Starter) lists at $18/month, which beats the other on entry pricing. Mid-tier and enterprise math can flip the answer — use the per-tier table below to see the real cost for your team size at each tier.
Calculate the cost for your team
Ghost pricing tiers
| Tier | Monthly | Annual (eq) | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $18 | $18 | month | 1,000 members, 1 staff user, 5mb file uploads, billed yearly only. |
| Publisher | $29 | $29 | month | 1,000 members, 3 staff users, 100mb file uploads, paid subscriptions enabled. |
| Business | $199 | $199 | month | 10,000 members, 15 staff users, 250mb file uploads, 10 newsletters and tiers. |
beehiiv pricing tiers
| Tier | Monthly | Annual (eq) | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch (Free) | $0 | $0 | month | Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends, no per-send charges. |
| Scale | $43 | $43 | month | Up to 100,000 subscribers, $517 annual saves $71 per year, 0% take of paid subscription revenue. |
| Max | $96 | $96 | month | Up to 100,000 subscribers, $1,151 annual saves $157 per year, advanced features. |
Feature by feature
The non-pricing differences that drive the real decision.
| Capability | Ghost | beehiiv |
|---|---|---|
| Billing model | month | month |
| Pricing model | Member-tiered hosted publishing | Subscriber-tiered with free starter |
| Cheapest paid tier | Starter at $18/month | Scale at $43/month |
| Mid-tier benchmark | Publisher at $29/month | Max at $96/month |
| Total paid tiers published | 3 | 2 |
| Last verified | 2026-05-17 | 2026-05-17 |
Best for…
Hand-picked use cases mapped to the winner.
| Use case | Winner |
|---|---|
| Lowest entry price (10-person team) | Ghost Starter |
| Most pricing tiers (room to grow) | Ghost (3 tiers) |
| Predictable per-seat billing | Neither (both flat/usage) |
| Most recently verified pricing | Ghost |
Choose Ghost when
- Ghost(Pro) offers hosted publishing starting at $18 per month billed yearly for 1,000 members, scaling to Business at $199 per month for 10,000 members.
- Entry tier (Starter) at $18/month is your budget ceiling.
- Custom plan unlocks unlimited members, staff users, newsletters, and 1gb file uploads under a sales-quoted rate.
Choose beehiiv when
- beehiiv is a newsletter platform with a free Launch tier up to 2,500 subscribers and paid Scale at $43 per month for up to 100,000 subscribers.
- Entry tier (Scale) at $43/month is your budget ceiling.
- Enterprise plan is custom-priced for 100,000-plus subscribers with no hidden monetization fees disclosed.
Switching considerations
Watch the hidden fees on both sides. Ghost: Custom SSL certificate add-on costs $50 per month on Business and up beehiiv: Standard Stripe fees of 2.9% plus $0.30 apply to paid subscriptions Always confirm with the vendor before purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper for a 10-person team, Ghost or beehiiv?
At entry tier and 10 seats on annual billing: Ghost Starter comes to $18/mo; beehiiv Scale comes to $43/mo. Ghost is the cheaper entry-tier choice at this team size.
Does Ghost have more pricing tiers than beehiiv?
Ghost publishes more paid tiers (3 vs 2). More tiers usually means more granular ways to grow without re-platforming.
Which pricing was verified more recently?
Ghost's pricing was last verified 2026-05-17; beehiiv's on 2026-05-17. Both pages link to the vendor's official pricing source so you can re-check before committing.