Ghost vs WordPress.com
Which is better for newsletters?
WordPress.com has a built-in audience network of millions of readers, fair pricing, and a real website when you’re ready for one.
How they compare
WordPress.com is best for most newsletter creators: it’s free to start, allows unlimited subscribers, and has a built-in audience. Ghost suits technical users who want a smaller list. Here’s a direct comparison of features, pricing, and target users.
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Best forCreators who want to grow beyond a newsletter | Best forPublishing for technical creators |
| G2 rating | G2 rating4.4/5 (2,669 reviews) ↗ | G2 rating4.1/5 (39 reviews) ↗ |
| Subscriber limits | Subscriber limitsUnlimited on every plan, including free | Subscriber limitsCapped: 1,000 on Starter/Publisher, 10,000 on Business |
| Monthly plan cost | Monthly plan cost$0–$45/mo, you pick what level works for you | Monthly plan cost$18–$199/mo, based on your audience size |
| Transaction fees | Transaction fees0–10% (depends on plan) | Transaction fees0% (but paid subs require $29/mo+ plan) |
| Paid subscriptions | Paid subscriptionsBuilt-in on every plan, including free | Paid subscriptionsNot available on Starter. Requires Publisher ($29/mo+) |
| Full website | Full websiteBlog, store, podcasts, custom pages, landing pages | Full websiteBlog and membership pages |
| Design control | Design controlVisual editor, themes, custom CSS. No coding needed. | Design controlCode-based templates. Requires a developer for most changes. |
| Discovery | DiscoveryBuilt-in network with millions of readers | DiscoverySeparate explore directory |
| Track record | Track recordFounded 2003 | Track recordFounded 2013 |
| Ecosystem | Ecosystem59,000+ plugins, thousands of themes | EcosystemLimited |
Sending a newsletter
For free newsletters, WordPress.com always charges the same price, no matter how many subscribers you have. Ghost charges more as your list grows—at 10,000 subscribers, it’s 50 times more expensive than WordPress.com.
| Subscribers | |  |
|---|---|---|
| 501 | 501 subscribers$4/mo (Personal) | 501 subscribers$18/mo (Starter) |
| 1,001 | 1,001 subscribers$4/mo | 1,001 subscribers$199/mo (Business) |
| 10,001 | 10,001 subscribers$4/mo | 10,001 subscribersCustom pricing |
Monetizing a newsletter
If you charge for your newsletter, Ghost is usually cheaper than WordPress.com, except when your subscriber list becomes very large—then WordPress.com can save you thousands of dollars.
| Paid subscribers | | |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | 15 paid subscribers$14/mo (Premium, 4% fee) | 15 paid subscribers$29/mo (Publisher) |
| 30 | 30 paid subscribers$20/mo (Premium, 4% fee) | 30 paid subscribers$29/mo (Publisher) |
| 500 | 500 paid subscribers$45/mo (Commerce, 0% fee) | 500 paid subscribers$29/mo (Publisher) |
| 1,001 | 1,001 paid subscribers$45/mo | 1,001 paid subscribers$199/mo (Business) |
| 10,001 | 10,001 paid subscribers$45/mo | 10,001 paid subscribersCustom pricing |
Both platforms use Stripe for payment processing (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction). Pricing as of March 2026.
Choose WordPress.com, and get:
Everything in one place
Get a newsletter, website, and even a store on one platform.
Access to millions of readers
Reach millions of new readers through the WordPress.com Reader and the Fediverse.
Flat pricing
Your price doesn’t increase if your subscriber list grows.
Visual design tools
Access easy to use visual design tools instead of coding themes.
A stable platform
WordPress offers a stable platform that powers 43% of the web.
Thousands of themes & plugins
Access to an ecosystem with 59,000+ plugins and themes.
Frequently asked questions
Ghost vs WordPress.com, explained.
What’s the relationship between WordPress.com and Jetpack Newsletter?
WordPress.com and Jetpack are both made by Automattic. WordPress.com hosts your website. Jetpack provides the newsletter functionality: sending emails to subscribers, managing paid subscriptions, and audience analytics.
When you create a newsletter on WordPress.com, you’re
using Jetpack Newsletter on a WordPress.com-hosted site. You don’t need to install or configure anything separately. Jetpack Newsletter is also available as a plugin for self-hosted WordPress.org sites.
Is Ghost better than WordPress.com for blogging?
Ghost CMS has a simpler editor with fewer options. WordPress.com has a full visual editor, more design control, and the ability to build an entire website around your blog. For most creators, WordPress.com is the better long-term choice. Ghost works if a minimal blog and newsletter is all you’ll ever need.
Is WordPress.com cheaper than Ghost?
WordPress.com starts free. Ghost’s cheapest plan is $18/month and doesn’t even include paid subscriptions. For 0% platform fees, WordPress.com Commerce costs $45/month (unlimited members) and Ghost Publisher costs $29/month (capped at 1,000 members). Above 1,000 members, Ghost jumps to $199/month. WordPress.com stays at $45.
WordPress.com pricing also compares favorably to Substack and Beehiiv.
How much does Ghost cost?
Ghost Pro starts at $18/month (Starter), which includes up to 1,000 members but no paid subscriptions. Publisher costs $29/month and adds paid subscriptions, still capped at 1,000 members. Business is $199/month for up to 10,000 members. Above that, Ghost requires custom pricing. WordPress.com starts free with unlimited subscribers on every plan.
Can I move from Ghost to WordPress.com?
Yes. Ghost exports content as JSON, which you convert to WordPress XML using a free tool like WPGhostImport.com. Then import via WordPress.com’s standard importer. Subscribers export as CSV and import separately.
Does WordPress have better SEO than Ghost?
WordPress has a larger ecosystem of SEO tools, a longer track record with search engines, and powers 43% of the web. Ghost generates clean markup by default, but its smaller ecosystem means fewer SEO tools and integrations. For most creators, WordPress.com offers more SEO capability.
Does WordPress.com have a discovery network?
Yes. WordPress.com has Reader, an integrated feed for millions of WordPress.com users, and Fediverse support via ActivityPub — people on Mastodon, Threads, Flipboard, and other federated platforms can follow your blog and see your posts in their feeds. Ghost launched Explore in late 2025, a directory where readers can browse Ghost publications by category. The difference: WordPress.com’s discovery connects you to readers across platforms. Ghost’s requires readers to visit a separate directory.
Is Ghost faster than WordPress.com?
Ghost’s marketing claims it is « 1,900% faster than WordPress, » but that comparison is against self-hosted WordPress sites loaded with plugins, not WordPress.com’s managed infrastructure. WordPress.com includes a global CDN, edge caching, and optimized hosting. The claim is misleading.
Can I use Ghost for free?
Ghost Pro (the managed version of Ghost CMS) starts at $18/month. You can self-host Ghost for free, but you’ll need to pay for hosting ($5–20/month), handle updates and security yourself, and set up your own email delivery (e.g., Mailgun). WordPress.com has a fully managed free tier with newsletters and paid subscriptions included.
Which is easier to use, WordPress.com or Ghost?
WordPress.com is easier for anyone who isn’t a developer. WordPress.com has more features, but its visual editor doesn’t require any coding knowledge. Ghost’s theme customization requires editing code templates, which most creators can’t do without a developer.
