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Ghost alternatives · Email Marketing

Free alternatives to Ghost

Ghost has no free plan. 46 of the 102 other email marketing and newsletter tools in this directory are free or have a free plan.

Ghost is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly). 3 of them have no paid plan at all; the rest pair a free plan with paid ones.

46 tools · Listings checked up to Nov 13, 2026 · Where the facts come from

The 12 closest to Ghost

  1. Substack

    Newsletter, podcast and video publishing with paid subscriptions

    What is free: Everything. There is no paid plan.

    • Substack is free. Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).
    • Substack has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Only Substack lists iOS and Android apps.
    • Ghost is open source, according to its own site.
    Substack vs GhostSubstack pricing and details

  2. beehiiv

    Newsletter platform with paid subscriptions, ads, website and podcast

    What is free: Up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends, 1 seat, 1 publication, a website, a podcast and 30 days of analytics. No paid subscriptions or automations.

    • beehiiv starts at $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($59 monthly). Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).
    • beehiiv has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Ghost is open source, according to its own site.
    • beehiiv also covers marketing automation and forms.
    beehiiv vs Ghostbeehiiv pricing and details

  3. Buttondown

    Newsletter software priced by active subscribers, with add-ons

    What is free: Free for up to 100 subscribers, with a rich text or markdown editor, custom sending domain and hosted archives.

    • Buttondown starts at $9 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers. Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).
    • Buttondown has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Ghost is open source, according to its own site.
    • Buttondown also covers marketing automation.
    Buttondown vs GhostButtondown pricing and details

  4. Kit

    Email marketing and paid newsletters for creators

    What is free: Up to 10,000 subscribers, 1 user, unlimited landing pages, forms and broadcasts, tagging and segments, and sales of digital products. No automations.

    • Kit starts at $33 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($39 monthly). Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).
    • Kit has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Ghost is open source, according to its own site.
    • Kit also covers marketing automation and forms.
    Kit vs GhostKit pricing and details

  5. MailerLite

    Email newsletters, automations, sites and paid subscriptions

    What is free: Up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats, automations, 1 website, 1 landing page and 3 forms. No sending through the API.

    • MailerLite starts at $12 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed monthly. Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).
    • MailerLite has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Only MailerLite lists an iOS app.
    • Ghost is open source, according to its own site.
    MailerLite vs GhostMailerLite pricing and details

  6. Curated

    Newsletter platform for link-based, editorial issues

    What is free: Free up to 1,500 subscribers with every feature included, including sending. A card is added before the first issue is sent.

    • Curated starts at $39 per month for up to 2,500 subscribers, billed monthly. Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).
    • Curated has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Ghost is open source, according to its own site.
    • Curated also covers reports.
    Curated vs GhostCurated pricing and details

  7. Paragraph

    AI agents that draft and publish posts, newsletters and social

    What is free: 500 agent credits a month (two agent runs), a hosted blog and newsletter, 2,500 newsletter emails a month and 3 connected tools.

    • Paragraph starts at $167 per month, billed annually ($199 billed monthly). Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).
    • Paragraph has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Ghost is open source, according to its own site.
    • Paragraph also covers AI agents and long-form writing.
    Paragraph vs GhostParagraph pricing and details

  8. GetResponse

    Email marketing with automation, webinars, courses and landing pages

    What is free: Free account: up to 500 contacts and 2,500 emails a month with a GetResponse badge, landing pages capped at 1,000 visits a month. No scheduling or autoresponders.

    • GetResponse starts at $19 per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed monthly. Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).
    • GetResponse has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Only GetResponse lists iOS and Android apps.
    • Ghost is open source, according to its own site.
    GetResponse pricing and details

  9. listmonk

    Free self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager

    What is free: Everything. There is no paid plan.

    • listmonk is free. Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).
    • listmonk has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
    • listmonk is self-hostable, according to its own site.
    • listmonk also covers transactional email.
    listmonk pricing and details

  10. Mautic

    Open source marketing automation you can self-host

    What is free: The open source software is free to self-host on your own infrastructure.

    • Mautic starts at €247.50 per month, billed annually (€275 billed quarterly). Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).
    • Mautic has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Mautic is self-hostable, according to its own site.
    • Mautic also covers marketing automation.
    Mautic pricing and details

  11. SendFox

    Email newsletters and list building for creators on a budget

    What is free: 1,000 contacts and 3,000 sends a month, with 1 smart page, 1 form and 1 automation. SendFox branding stays on emails.

    • SendFox starts at $19 per month for up to 5,000 contacts, billed monthly. Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).
    • SendFox has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Ghost is open source, according to its own site.
    • SendFox also covers marketing automation and transactional email.
    SendFox pricing and details

  12. Keila

    Open-source newsletter tool, self-hosted or EU-hosted cloud

    What is free: No free cloud plan; the open-source edition is free to run on your own server.

    • Keila starts at €8 per month for 2,000 emails a month. Ghost starts at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).
    • Keila has a free plan. Ghost does not, though it has a free trial.
    • Keila is self-hostable, according to its own site.
    • Keila also covers Markdown and forms.
    Keila pricing and details

34 more that are free or have a free plan

All 46 in one table

Common questions

Is there a free alternative to Ghost?

Yes. Substack, beehiiv, Buttondown, Kit, MailerLite, Curated, Paragraph, GetResponse and 38 more are free or have a free plan.

Does Ghost have a free plan?

Ghost has no free plan. Ghost is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $15 per month for up to 1,000 members, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly).

When was this checked?

Each listing shows its own date. On this page they run from Oct 17, 2026 to Nov 13, 2026. Vendors change prices and plans without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.

This page is built from the listings. A tool is here because its listing says so, and the order is how close each is to Ghost: the alternatives its listing names first, then the tools that share the most features with it.