Thoughts tagged "Ghost"

Short thoughts, notes, links, and musings by . RSS

Newsletter platform cost comparisons, August 2025 update

I've updated my past newsletter platform cost comparison to incorporate Ghost's recent pricing changes for Ghost Pro. (Note that past Ghost users are grandfathered in.)

Free Substack Ghost Pro Self-hosted Ghost* Beehiiv Buttondown Mailchimp** 10 subscribers $0 $15 $12 $0 $0 $0 50 subscribers $0 $15 $12 $0 $0 $0 100 subscribers $0 $15 $12 $0 $9 $0 250 subscribers $0 $15 $27 $0 $7.50 $0 500 subscribers $0 $15 $27 $0 $7.50 $20 1,000 subscribers $0 $15 $27 $0 $24.17 $45 5,000 subscribers $0 $63 $27 $78 $65.83 $100 10,000 subscribers $0 $88 $27 $96 $115.83 $135 25,000 subscribers $0 $141 $87 $149 $199.17 $310 50,000 subscribers $0 $208 $217 $219 $265.83 $450 100,000 subscribers $0 $274 $412 $290 - $800 7% paid @ $5/mo Substack Ghost Pro Self-hosted Ghost* Beehiiv Buttondown Mailchimp** 10 subscribers (1 paid) $0.50 $29 $12 $43 $7.50 $0 50 subscribers (4 paid) $2 $29 $12 $43 $7.50 $0 100 subscribers (7 paid) $3.50 $29 $12 $43 $7.50 $0 250 subscribers (18 paid) $9 $29 $12 $43 $7.50 $0 500 subscribers (35 paid) $17.50 $29 $27 $43 $7.50 $20 1,000 subscribers (70 paid) $35 $29 $27 $43 $24.17 $45 5,000 subscribers (350 paid) $175 $63 $27 $78 $65.83 $100 10,000 subscribers (700 paid) $350 $88 $27 $96 $115.83 $135 25,000 subscribers (1,750 paid) $875 $141 $87 $149 $199.17 $310 50,000 subscribers (3,500 paid) $1,750 $208 $217 $219 $265.83 $450 100,000 subscribers (7,000 paid) $3,500 $274 $412 $290 - $800 * Assuming $12 hosting fees, but you can get this number down lower. Assumes ~weekly email sending. ** There may be additional fees to monetize MailChimp newsletters since it’s not built-in. This also assumes ~weekly email sending. Flat fees are calculated based on cheapest plans, but ignoring introductory offers. Also calculated based on annual billing, if month-to-month amounts differ. All of these options have an additional payment processor fee for paid subscriptions (usually $0.30 + 2.9% for each transaction), but those fees vary based on factors including payment method/location/etc and so are challenging to accurately estimate. These fees are not reflected in this chart, but should be roughly equivalent regardless of platform choice.

On "What I learned in year four of Platformer"

Really cool to see Casey Newton's update on how things are going over at the Platformer newsletter after they left Substack. A lot of it resonates with my own experiences:

It also feels like more honest, durable growth than we saw in 2023. ...
 First and foremost, we have an honest-to-goodness website now. One where we can easily modify the design, add new features, and grow our offering over time. One reason why I write so often about the decline of the web is that I love websites as products. And our new setup gives us almost unlimited flexibility as Platformer evolves. ...
Another key benefit of leaving: We’re much less vulnerable to platform shifts than we were before. I had long worried that Substack’s unprofitable business would eventually lead it to make decisions that were not in the best interest of our readers or our business. (Besides not removing literal 1930s Nazi content, I mean.) I still have that worry for my friends who choose to build their businesses on Substack anyway. But whatever happens, it will no longer affect Platformer, and that gives me me real peace of mind. ...
It’s a decision I’m proud of — because it’s a decision we made as a community. ... Having principles can be annoying and expensive. (And make you insufferable to talk to at parties.) But it beats the alternative.

It's also cool to hear that Platformer has enjoyed solid growth, which I know a lot of people worried about when leaving the promised network effects of the Substack ecosystem:

I’m proud to report that despite leaving Substack, revenue was up about 11 percent year over year. 

Not many newsletters operate on the scale of Platformer (mine certainly included), so I'm sure their experience is unique in many ways, but it's great to have another success story from a newsletter choosing to go the even more independent route.

“What I learned in year four of Platformer”.
Casey Newton in Platformer.
Ever since Platformer left Substack in January, readers have been asking us how it’s been going. Today, in keeping with our annual tradition of anniversary posts (here are one, two, and three), I’ll answer that question — and share some other observations on the state of independent media over the past year.

So excited to hear that the Ghost blogging software is going to support federation via ActivityPub! https://activitypub.ghost.org/

If you sign up for updates, they have a survey where they're asking for feedback. Now's your chance to get your suggestions in!

Cool to see Ghost taking this step, while Substack is over there trying to build walls around their product to trap people in.

Ghost's post is also how I learned that Buttondown is working on ActivityPub support! 🙌 Exciting times.