Does Substack or Ghost take less of my subscription revenue?

Ghost takes zero percent of your subscription revenue and charges a flat fee instead, while Substack takes a percentage of every paid subscription. For higher earners, Ghost almost always keeps more of your money.

Which gives me more control over my newsletter?

Ghost, because it is open source. You can edit code, customize themes, host anywhere, and move your data freely. Substack is a closed platform, though it does let you export your subscriber list.

Is Ghost harder to use than Substack?

It can be. Self-hosting Ghost requires managing installation, updates, and backups yourself. Ghost's official managed hosting removes most of that work, and Substack requires no setup at all.

Can I move my subscribers off either platform?

Yes. Both Substack and Ghost let you export your email list, so you keep your audience relationship regardless of which you choose. That portability is the most important thing to confirm before committing.

When does Substack become more expensive than Ghost?

As your paid revenue grows. Because Substack charges a percentage, its cost rises with earnings, while Ghost's flat fee scales only with subscriber count. High earners typically pay less on Ghost.

Where does beehiiv fit between the two?

beehiiv is a no-code, all-in-one platform for building and monetizing newsletters, websites, and more. It suits creators who want more control and tooling than Substack without the technical upkeep of self-hosted Ghost. Check its current pricing directly.

Substack vs Ghost for a Paid Newsletter: Fees & Control

For a paid newsletter, Ghost takes a smaller cut of your revenue but asks more of you technically, while Substack is easier to start but charges a percentage of every paid subscription on top of payment processing fees. If minimizing platform fees and maximizing control matter most, Ghost usually wins for creators comfortable managing hosting or paying for managed hosting. If you want to publish today with zero setup and accept a revenue share, Substack is simpler. Below we break down exactly how each charges, what control you keep, and where a third option fits if you want lower fees without the technical overhead.

The short answer: how Substack and Ghost differ on fees and control

Substack charges a percentage of your paid subscription revenue, plus standard payment processing fees through Stripe. There is no monthly platform fee, so it costs nothing until you earn. Ghost flips that model. It charges no cut of your subscription revenue at all. Instead you pay a flat fee, either to Ghost's official managed hosting service priced by subscriber count, or to your own host if you self-install the open-source software. On control, Ghost gives you more ownership over your site, code, and design because it is open source. Substack trades that flexibility for simplicity. Which is cheaper depends entirely on your revenue and list size.

How Substack's revenue cut works for paid newsletters

Substack does not charge a monthly subscription. It makes money by taking a fixed percentage of the revenue from your paid subscribers, and Stripe takes its own processing fee on each transaction on top of that. This means Substack costs you nothing while your newsletter is free or small, which is why it is popular for launching. The tradeoff shows up as you scale. Because the cut is a percentage of revenue, your absolute cost rises as your paid subscriber count and pricing grow. A newsletter earning six figures pays far more to Substack than the same newsletter would pay a flat-rate platform. The model rewards starting and penalizes success at scale.

How Ghost's flat pricing works and what you manage yourself

Ghost takes no percentage of your subscription revenue. You keep everything except the payment processor's fee. With Ghost(Pro), the official managed hosting, you pay a flat monthly or annual price that scales in tiers by subscriber count, and Ghost handles updates, security, and uptime. Alternatively, because Ghost is open source, you can self-host it on your own server and pay only for infrastructure, which can be very cheap but means you manage installation, updates, backups, and troubleshooting yourself. Either way, the flat model means your cost does not climb with your revenue, only with your list size. That makes Ghost predictable and often cheaper for higher earners, at the cost of more responsibility.

Control compared: ownership, customization, and audience data

Ghost gives you more control by design. It is open source, so you can modify themes, edit code, host it anywhere, and move your data freely. You own the full stack and are not locked into one company's roadmap. Substack owns the platform and hosting. You can export your subscriber list, which protects your audience relationship, but you cannot deeply customize the reading experience, run it on your own domain infrastructure the same way, or change how the underlying software behaves. Both let you leave with your email list, which is the most important portability point. The difference is everything else: design, functionality, and independence from a single vendor's decisions.

Where beehiiv fits as a third option for paid newsletters

beehiiv is worth considering if you want more control and monetization flexibility than Substack without the technical maintenance of self-hosting Ghost. It is an all-in-one platform for creators, publishers, and media brands to build, grow, and monetize newsletters, websites, podcasts, and digital products without code. That means you get managed infrastructure like Substack's convenience, but with more of the site and product tooling you would otherwise build yourself on Ghost. Evaluate beehiiv against its own pricing and current terms directly, and compare its fee structure to Substack's revenue cut and Ghost's flat tiers for your specific revenue and list size before deciding.

Which platform to pick based on your revenue and technical comfort

If you are just starting, want zero setup, and your paid revenue is small, Substack's no-monthly-fee model is the easiest on-ramp. If you earn meaningful subscription revenue and are comfortable with managed hosting or self-hosting, Ghost's flat pricing keeps more of your money and gives you full ownership. If you want lower long-term fees and more built-in monetization and site tooling but do not want to manage servers or code, look at beehiiv as a no-code middle ground. The honest deciding factors are your monthly revenue, your list size, and how much technical work you are willing to own.

Bottom line

Pick Ghost if you earn real subscription revenue and want to keep the most of it with full ownership, and you can handle managed or self-hosting. Pick Substack if you are starting out and value zero setup over a lower long-term cut. If you want lower fees and more built-in tooling without managing servers or code, evaluate beehiiv against both on your actual revenue and list size.

Frequently asked questions

Does Substack or Ghost take less of my subscription revenue?: Ghost takes zero percent of your subscription revenue and charges a flat fee instead, while Substack takes a percentage of every paid subscription. For higher earners, Ghost almost always keeps more of your money.
Which gives me more control over my newsletter?: Ghost, because it is open source. You can edit code, customize themes, host anywhere, and move your data freely. Substack is a closed platform, though it does let you export your subscriber list.
Is Ghost harder to use than Substack?: It can be. Self-hosting Ghost requires managing installation, updates, and backups yourself. Ghost's official managed hosting removes most of that work, and Substack requires no setup at all.
Can I move my subscribers off either platform?: Yes. Both Substack and Ghost let you export your email list, so you keep your audience relationship regardless of which you choose. That portability is the most important thing to confirm before committing.
When does Substack become more expensive than Ghost?: As your paid revenue grows. Because Substack charges a percentage, its cost rises with earnings, while Ghost's flat fee scales only with subscriber count. High earners typically pay less on Ghost.
Where does beehiiv fit between the two?: beehiiv is a no-code, all-in-one platform for building and monetizing newsletters, websites, and more. It suits creators who want more control and tooling than Substack without the technical upkeep of self-hosted Ghost. Check its current pricing directly.