Ghost vs Ko-fi
Ghost
ghost.orgKo-fi
ko-fi.comSide by side
| Figure | Ghost | Ko-fi |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $18/mo | $12/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 3 |
| Spec score · Membership Site Platforms | 8.9 (#10) | 8.2 (#38) |
| Content gating | post | post |
| Founded | 2013 | 2017 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | Singapore | Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, UK |
| App Integrations | Ghost connects with services including Stripe, Zapier, Slack, YouTube, Google Analytics, and GitHub. | Ko-fi lists integrations or connections for YouTube, Twitch, Discord, WordPress, Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, Medium, and GitHub. |
| Subscription billing | both | recurring |
| Transaction fee | 0% Ghost fee; payment processor fees apply | 5% service fee on membership payments, plus PayPal or Stripe processing fees |
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.