Beehiiv vs Ghost: Which Platform Actually Works for Creators in 2025?
Our expert reviewers combine real-world testing with insights from user reviews across Capterra, G2, Trustpilot, and Reddit to create an objective evaluation.
So you’re trying to choose between Beehiiv and Ghost. Smart move doing your research first. These two platforms get thrown around a lot in creator circles, but they’re actually solving different problems. One’s built for people who live and breathe newsletters. The other’s for folks who want to publish serious content and happen to need email capabilities too.
Here’s what I found after digging deep into both: Beehiiv wins if growing your newsletter is job #1. Ghost takes it if you’re building a real publishing business. But let’s get into the details because your specific situation probably matters more than any general recommendation.
The short version: Beehiiv feels like it was made by newsletter people, for newsletter people. Ghost feels like it was made by publishers who take their craft seriously. Neither is wrong—they’re just aimed at different creators.
Beehiiv vs Ghost — Quick Comparison
| Feature | Beehiiv | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| What it’s really for | Growing newsletters fast | Publishing great content |
| Free option | 2,500 subscribers, no strings | Self-host if you can code |
| Cheapest paid plan | $49/month | $9/month |
| Learning curve | Pretty easy | Takes some time |
| Customization | Limited but clean | Go wild if you want |
| SEO game | Decent | Really strong |
| Growth tools | Tons of them | Not really the focus |
Beehiiv vs Ghost — Features Comparison
| Feature | Beehiiv | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Writing experience | Visual editor with templates | Markdown + rich text |
| Website situation | Basic but works | Full-blown CMS |
| Email automation | Simple workflows | Pretty limited |
| Analytics | Newsletter-focused, detailed | Web analytics + member data |
| Making money | Ad network, referrals, subs | Memberships, direct payments |
| Growing your list | Built-in referral magic | Some discovery features |
| Plays well with others | Getting better | Lots of integrations |
| Mobile editing | Yes, has an app | No |
| A/B testing | Standard feature | Not available |
Beehiiv
Think of Beehiiv as the platform built by people who actually grew a newsletter to millions of subscribers. Morning Brew’s team started this after they figured out what actually works in the real world.
The magic is in how everything connects. You write a newsletter, it automatically becomes a blog post. Someone shares it, your referral program kicks in. A reader loves it, they can subscribe with one click through “magic links.” It’s like they thought through every step of newsletter growth and built tools for each one.
The editor isn’t fancy, but it doesn’t need to be. You drag, you drop, you add a poll or two. The templates are clean without being boring. And here’s the thing—fast loading times happen automatically. No tweaking server settings or optimizing images. It just works.
Ghost
Ghost started as “WordPress but simpler” and evolved into something more interesting. It’s what you get when developers who actually write decide to build a publishing platform.
The editor is probably the best you’ll find anywhere. Markdown support means you can write fast. Rich formatting means your content looks professional. You can embed anything, create product review cards, add member-only sections. It feels like a tool built for people who care about their words.
SEO comes baked in. The sites load incredibly fast because they’re built on Node.js instead of the PHP that powers most of the web. You get real control over how everything looks and works. The catch? You need to want that control, because it comes with complexity.
Beehiiv vs Ghost — Pricing Comparison
| Feature | Beehiiv | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 2,500 subscribers | Self-hosting only |
| Getting started | $49/month (1,000 subs) | $9/month (500 members) |
| Growing | $69/month (2,500 subs) | $25/month (1,000 members) |
| Serious business | $99/month (remove branding) | $50/month (team features) |
| Enterprise | Custom (100k+ subs) | $199/month (10k members) |
Beehiiv’s free plan is genuinely useful—2,500 subscribers is enough to build something real. Ghost’s pricing starts lower, but remember you’re comparing apples to oranges. Beehiiv includes hosting, design, and all the newsletter tools. Ghost assumes you know what you’re doing.
Pros & Cons
| Feature | Beehiiv | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Pros | - Actually growing newsletters |
- Built-in money-making tools
- Generous free plan
- Just works out of the box | - Beautiful, fast websites
- Amazing writing experience
- Complete control
- SEO without plugins
- Open source freedom | | Cons | - Website customization limits
- Basic automation
- Pricey once you scale
- Fewer integrations
- Can feel limiting | - No easy free option
- Takes time to learn
- Growth tools aren’t built-in
- Need Stripe for payments
- More focused on publishing |
Which One Should You Pick?
Here’s how I’d think about it: If your main goal is growing a newsletter and you want tools that help with that specific job, Beehiiv is probably your answer. The growth features work, the monetization options are real, and you can focus on writing instead of managing technology.
But if you’re building something bigger—a publication, a membership business, a content brand that happens to include newsletters—Ghost gives you more room to grow. The SEO is better, the content management is more sophisticated, and you own the whole stack.