Ghost
HubSpot CRM
| Feature | Ghost | HubSpot CRM |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $9/mo | Free / from $20/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 |
| Best For | professional-bloggers, independent-publishers, news-sites, creators | startups, small-businesses, marketing-teams, sales-teams |
| Founded | 2013 | 2006 |
| Publishing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Newsletters | ✓ | ✗ |
| Memberships | ✓ | ✗ |
| Seo | ✓ | ✗ |
| Themes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Contact Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pipeline Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Live Chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| Forms | ✗ | ✓ |
| Reporting | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Ghost Pros
- Open-source and self-hostable (free)
- Native membership and paid subscription support
- Fast and SEO-friendly by default
- Clean writing experience without bloat
✗ Ghost Cons
- Themes require code knowledge to customize
- Smaller plugin ecosystem than WordPress
- Self-hosting requires technical maintenance
✓ HubSpot CRM Pros
- Generous free tier
- All-in-one platform
- Great documentation
- Easy to use
✗ HubSpot CRM Cons
- Gets expensive quickly
- Limited customization on free plan
- Contract lock-in
The Verdict
Ghost is built for professional bloggers and independent publishers, with a focus on publishing and newsletters. HubSpot CRM targets startups and small businesses and leads with contact-management and email-tracking.
On pricing, Ghost is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $9/mo compared to $20/mo for HubSpot CRM. That $11/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Ghost offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while HubSpot CRM takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.