7 Best Ghost Alternatives in 2026

Last updated: February 2026 · 10 min read

Ghost is excellent software. Open-source, fast, clean, and purpose-built for publishing. But it is not the right fit for everyone. Self-hosting requires server management skills. Ghost(Pro) managed hosting starts affordable but scales to $199/month or more at higher tiers. And while Ghost handles newsletters, it lacks the growth-specific tools that newer platforms offer.

If you want a managed platform with zero server maintenance, built-in growth features, or a different approach to publishing entirely, these are the strongest alternatives in 2026.

Short Answer

Beehiiv is the best Ghost alternative if you want managed ease with newsletter growth tools - referral programs, ad networks, and cross-promotions that Ghost does not offer. If you want a full CMS with unlimited extensibility and do not mind complexity, WordPress with a newsletter plugin gives you the most flexibility.

Why People Leave Ghost

Self-hosting is real work. Running Ghost on your own server means managing updates, security patches, backups, SSL certificates, and server scaling. Most creators do not want to be sysadmins.
Ghost(Pro) pricing scales steeply. Managed hosting starts at $9/month but jumps to $25, $50, and $199/month as you grow. At the higher tiers, you are paying significantly more than Beehiiv's flat $39/month for 100K subscribers.
No built-in growth tools. Ghost has no referral program, no recommendation network, no ad marketplace, and no boost system. Growing your audience requires external tools and manual effort.
Theme development requires Handlebars. Customizing Ghost beyond the default themes means learning Handlebars templating. The theme ecosystem is smaller than WordPress, and hiring Ghost developers is harder.
Limited integrations. Ghost's integration ecosystem is growing but remains small compared to WordPress or Kit. Many integrations require Zapier as middleware.

1. Beehiiv - Best Managed Newsletter Platform

Best for: Newsletter creators who want growth tools without server management

Beehiiv is the easiest transition from Ghost if your primary use case is newsletters. You get a managed platform with zero maintenance, plus growth tools that Ghost lacks entirely: a referral program where subscribers earn rewards for sharing, a boost network for cross-promotions, and a native ad marketplace. The SEO-optimized web hosting means you do not lose the searchable content archive that Ghost provides. The trade-off: you give up open-source ownership and full theme control.

Fully managed, zero server maintenance
Built-in referral program, boost network, and ad marketplace
SEO-optimized website included
$39/month for up to 100,000 subscribers
Free tier with 2,500 subscribers

Try Beehiiv Free

2. Kit (ConvertKit) - Best for Creator Businesses

Best for: Creators selling digital products who also need email automation

Kit is the better choice if you are leaving Ghost because you need stronger email automation and commerce features. Ghost handles basic memberships, but Kit offers a visual automation builder, conditional email sequences, native digital product sales, and tag-based segmentation that goes far deeper. The free tier covers 10,000 subscribers. Kit does not give you a full website or CMS, so you lose Ghost's publishing capabilities, but you gain a superior email engine.

Best-in-class visual automation builder
Native digital product and course sales
Free tier with 10,000 subscribers
Tag-based organization instead of rigid lists
Strong integration ecosystem

Try Kit Free

3. Substack - Best for Zero-Config Publishing

Best for: Writers who want the simplest possible setup with built-in distribution

If you are leaving Ghost because the setup and maintenance are too involved, Substack is the simplest alternative. No configuration, no design decisions, no technical management. Write and publish. The Substack network gives you discoverability through recommendations, which is something Ghost cannot match. The downsides are significant: 10% revenue cut on paid subscriptions, almost no customization, no automations, and limited data portability.

Zero setup, publishing in under five minutes
Built-in reader network and recommendations
Paid subscriptions with minimal configuration
No customization or automations
10% revenue cut on paid subscriptions

4. Buttondown - Best Indie Alternative

Best for: Developers and writers who want a simple, ethical newsletter tool

Buttondown shares Ghost's independent spirit but takes a different approach. It focuses purely on newsletters rather than full publishing. Markdown-first editor, clean API, paid subscriptions, and RSS-to-email. If you liked Ghost's ethos of being independent and open but want something lighter for newsletters specifically, Buttondown is the closest match. It does not include a website or CMS.

Markdown-native editor
Paid subscriptions via Stripe
Strong API and webhooks
RSS-to-email automation
From $9/month

Try Buttondown

5. WordPress - Best Full CMS Replacement

Best for: Publishers who need unlimited extensibility and the largest plugin ecosystem

WordPress powers over 40% of the web, and for good reason. If you are leaving Ghost because you need more than a publishing platform - e-commerce, membership sites, forums, directories, course hosting - WordPress can do all of it through its plugin ecosystem. Thousands of themes, tens of thousands of plugins, and an enormous developer community. The trade-off is complexity: WordPress requires more setup, more maintenance, and more security attention than Ghost. For newsletters specifically, you will need a plugin like Newsletter Glue or a connected service like Kit.

Unlimited extensibility via plugins
Thousands of themes available
Massive developer and support community
Full e-commerce, memberships, courses via plugins
Managed hosting from $5-30/month

6. Hugo - Best for Static Site Performance

Best for: Developers who want maximum speed and minimal infrastructure

Hugo is a static site generator written in Go. If you loved Ghost's speed but want to go even faster with zero server costs, Hugo generates your entire site as static HTML files that you host on Netlify, Vercel, or Cloudflare Pages for free. Build times are measured in milliseconds. There is no database, no server, and nothing to hack. The trade-off is significant: Hugo has no built-in newsletter or membership features. You write in Markdown, build locally, and deploy via Git. You will need a separate email service for newsletters.

Blazing fast static sites with zero server costs
Markdown-based content management
Free hosting on Netlify, Vercel, or Cloudflare
No database or dynamic server to maintain
Requires separate newsletter tool

7. WordPress + Mailchimp - Best Combined Approach

Best for: Publishers who want a traditional CMS with mature email marketing

If you want to replace Ghost's combined website-and-email functionality with mainstream tools, WordPress plus Mailchimp is the most established combination. WordPress handles your website and content management. Mailchimp handles your email list, automations, and sending. The integration between them is deep and well-documented. This approach gives you the largest ecosystem of themes, plugins, and email templates. It costs more than Ghost in total and is more complex to manage, but it is the path with the most available resources, tutorials, and developer support.

Largest ecosystem of themes and plugins
Mature email marketing with A/B testing
Deep integration between CMS and email
Extensive documentation and community support
Combined cost starts around $20-40/month

Try Mailchimp

How to Migrate From Ghost

Export your content. In Ghost Admin, go to Settings > Labs > Export. This gives you a JSON file with all your posts, pages, tags, and metadata.
Export your members. Go to Members > Export. You will get a CSV with email addresses, membership tiers, and subscription status.
Download your images. Ghost stores images in the content/images directory. If self-hosted, copy this directory directly. On Ghost(Pro), you may need to download images individually or use the API.
Choose your new platform. For managed newsletters with growth tools, use Beehiiv. For a full CMS, use WordPress.
Import your content. Most platforms accept Ghost's JSON export or individual post imports. WordPress has Ghost importers available as plugins.
Set up redirects. If you are keeping the same domain, configure URL redirects to maintain your SEO. If changing domains, set up 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones.
Migrate paid members. If you have paying members, coordinate the Stripe subscription migration. Beehiiv and other platforms can connect to the same Stripe account and transfer existing subscriptions.