Ghost vs Write.as
Ghost
ghost.orgWrite.as
write.asSide by side
| Figure | Ghost | Write.as |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $18/mo | $6/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 8 |
| Spec score · Blogging Platforms | 8.9 (#9) | 9.0 (#7) |
| Spec score · Writing Apps | 8.9 (#15) | 9.0 (#10) |
| Spec score · Blog Software | 8.7 (#3) | 8.3 (#10) |
| Custom Domain | Ghost(Pro) includes a free ghost.io subdomain and supports custom domains. | Yes |
| Founded | 2013 | 2015 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free Trial | Ghost offers a completely free 14-day trial. | Pro has a 14-day free trial, while Team has a 30-day free trial. |
| Headquarters | Singapore | New York City, United States |
| App Integrations | Ghost connects with services including Stripe, Zapier, Slack, YouTube, Google Analytics, and GitHub. | Write.as supports RSS, ActivityPub federation, Web Monetization, APIs, email, and command-line publishing. |
| Paid from | 18 | 6 |
Plans
Ghost
- Starter$18 a month
- Publisher$29 a month
- Business$199 a month
- CustomPriced on request
Write.as
- FreeFree
- Pro$6 a month
- Team$25 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
- Pro Annual$6 a month
- Pro Monthly$9 a month
- Team Annual$25 a month
- Team Monthly$30 a month
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.
Write.as
Write.as is a publishing service for blogs and posts, with Markdown and Rich Text editing. It automatically saves work in the browser as users write. Readers can access posts in browsers, by email or RSS, on e-readers and through Mastodon; publishing and reader experiences are ad-free. The Free plan includes one personal blog and three posts per day, but is listed as closed for now. Pro supports up to three blogs on Write.as or a user's own domain; annual billing is $6 a month and monthly billing is $9 a month. Team supports collaborative editing, roles and up to five team members, at $25 a month billed yearly or $30 a month billed monthly. Other listed capabilities include scheduling, memberships, blog analytics, custom-code themes, APIs and command-line publishing. Users can export work or self-host with WriteFreely. The service says it does not track users or gather excessive data, but does not state encryption details or security certifications. Write.as has been founder-owned and operated in New York City since 2015.