Ghost vs s2Member
Ghost
ghost.org
s2Member
s2member.comSide by side
| Figure | Ghost | s2Member |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $18/mo | $89/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 5 |
| Spec score · Membership Site Platforms | 8.9 (#10) | 8.4 (#27) |
| Content gating | post | full_site |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free Tier Limit | The page describes a free trial, not a permanent free plan. | The Framework is limited to four paid membership levels; s2Member Pro supports unlimited levels. |
| App Integrations | Ghost connects with services including Stripe, Zapier, Slack, YouTube, Google Analytics, and GitHub. | The maker documents Amazon S3 and CloudFront storage or streaming integrations, JW Player, bbPress, BuddyPress, and caching plugins. |
| Subscription billing | both | both |
Plans
Ghost
- Starter$18 a month
- Publisher$29 a month
- Business$199 a month
- CustomPriced on request
s2Member
- FrameworkFree
- Pro Single-Site License$89 a month
- Pro Unlimited-Site License$189 a month
- Pro Single-Site License$89, paid once
- Pro Unlimited-Site License$189, paid once
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.