Ghost
Ulysses
| Feature | Ghost | Ulysses |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $9/mo | From $5.99/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| Best For | professional-bloggers, independent-publishers, news-sites, creators | authors, bloggers, journalists, apple-users |
| Founded | 2013 | 2013 |
| Publishing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Newsletters | ✓ | ✗ |
| Memberships | ✓ | ✗ |
| Seo | ✓ | ✗ |
| Themes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Markdown Editor | ✗ | ✓ |
| Library Organization | ✗ | ✓ |
| Goals And Deadlines | ✗ | ✓ |
| Icloud Sync | ✗ | ✓ |
| Split View | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ 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
✓ Ulysses Pros
- Beautiful distraction-free writing
- Excellent library management
- Direct publishing to blogs
- iCloud sync across devices
✗ Ulysses Cons
- Apple ecosystem only
- Subscription model controversial
- No Windows support
The Verdict
Ghost is built for professional bloggers and independent publishers, with a focus on publishing and newsletters. Ulysses targets authors and bloggers and leads with markdown-editor and library-organization.
Pricing is close: Ulysses starts at $5.99/mo versus $9/mo for Ghost — not a deciding factor on its own.
Ghost has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Ulysses requires a paid subscription from day one.
Feature-wise, Ghost offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Ulysses 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.