Gately vs Ghost
Gately
usegately.comGhost
ghost.orgSide by side
| Figure | Gately | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $39/mo | $18/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 4 |
| Spec score · Membership Site Platforms | 7.3 (#78) | 8.9 (#10) |
| Authentication | The platform offers social logins, magic links, and SSO, along with tools to view and manage members’ plans, activity, and billing status. | All plans include device verification and email-based two-factor authentication. |
| Free trial | The site says Pro includes a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. | Ghost offers a completely free 14-day trial. |
| Integrations | Listed integrations include Stripe, Zapier, Slack, Mailchimp, ClickUp, Circle, GitHub, Notion, Webflow, WordPress, Discord, and Intercom. | Ghost connects with services including Stripe, Zapier, Slack, YouTube, Google Analytics, and GitHub. |
| Payment fees | Gately says it charges a flat monthly fee with no revenue share; members pay through the customer’s Stripe account. | Ghost states that publications earn revenue with 0% payment fees; processor fees still apply. |
Plans
Ghost
- Starter$18 a month
- Publisher$29 a month
- Business$199 a month
- CustomPriced on request
In their own words
Ghost
Ghost is an open-source blog and newsletter platform for professional publishers, with tools for publishing, memberships, analytics, and editorial workflows. It runs on the web and supports custom domains, theme customization, SEO tools, multilingual content, and CSV export. Publishers can send multiple email newsletters and offer free or paid memberships with monthly or yearly billing. The editor supports galleries, GIFs, video, audio, products, files, and bookmarks. Integrations include Stripe, Zapier, Slack, YouTube, Google Analytics, and GitHub. Paid plans start at $18/mo (annual), with a 14-day trial and no permanent free plan. Starter costs $18 a month, billed yearly, and includes 1,000 members, one staff user, and a 5 MB file upload limit. Ghost charges a 0% fee on publication revenue; payment processor fees still apply. Ghost(Pro) includes security protections, while all plans include device verification and email-based two-factor authentication.