Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover newsletter & email. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Ghost | Kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $15 | From $29 |
| Pricing model | Paid subscription | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | None | 3.5% of what you earn |
| Runs on | Web | Not stated |
| Covers | Website Builders, Memberships & Subscriptions, Newsletter & Email | Newsletter & Email, Affiliate & Referral |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Publishing and paid subscriptions, open source
Ghost is what a writer picks who wants Substack's economics without Substack's cut, and it takes nothing from subscription revenue beyond the hosting fee. The editor is quiet and fast, and the whole thing is open source, so a technical creator can host it themselves for the cost of a server. Doing that means you are the support team.
Our note
Against Substack the maths is simple: Ghost costs a fixed fee and Substack costs 10 percent of everything, so Ghost wins above roughly $300 a month in subscriptions and loses below it. What Substack sells that Ghost cannot is the network that finds you readers.
Only on this side
Email marketing built around automation
Kit is the one to pick when the sequences matter more than the newsletter. Visual automations, tagging and conditional content are genuinely good, and the creator network sends real signups. The editor is plainer than its competitors.
Our note
Kit against beehiiv is the real decision here, and it turns on which half of the job matters more. Kit is better at what happens after somebody subscribes, beehiiv at getting them to subscribe at all.
Only on this side
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.