Ghost
Mailchimp
| Feature | Ghost | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $9/mo | Free / from $13/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | professional-bloggers, independent-publishers, news-sites, creators | small-businesses, startups, solopreneurs, e-commerce |
| Founded | 2013 | 2001 |
| Publishing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Newsletters | ✓ | ✗ |
| Memberships | ✓ | ✗ |
| Seo | ✓ | ✗ |
| Themes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email Campaigns | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Landing Pages | ✗ | ✓ |
| Audience Segments | ✗ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
| Templates | ✗ | ✓ |
| A B Testing | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Mailchimp Pros
- Free tier for up to 500 contacts
- Easy drag-and-drop email builder
- Built-in automation workflows
- Good reporting and analytics
✗ Mailchimp Cons
- Gets expensive as list grows
- Automation less powerful than competitors
- Limited A/B testing on lower plans
The Verdict
Ghost is built for professional bloggers and independent publishers, with a focus on publishing and newsletters. Mailchimp targets small businesses and startups and leads with email-campaigns and automation.
Pricing is close: Ghost starts at $9/mo versus $13/mo for Mailchimp — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
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.
