Ghost vs Substack

Self-host swap-in for Substack. · Self-host Substack · Ghost on os-alt

Ghost is one of the open-source self-host replacements for Substack — license MIT, 20min docker-compose (Ghost + MySQL + nginx) to stand up, and $10-15/mo vps for ghost + mailgun/postmark/resend for email send (~$10/mo for 50k emails). Compare against Substack's Free to publish; Substack takes 10% of paid-subscription revenue + Stripe fees below.

	Ghostopen-source	Substackpaid SaaS
Category	Newsletter publishing + paid subscriptions	Newsletter publishing + paid subscriptions
License / pricing	`MIT`	Free to publish; Substack takes 10% of paid-subscription revenue + Stripe fees
Starting price	$0 self-host	free tier
GitHub	TryGhost/Ghost ★ 52.8k · last commit todayalive	closed source
Setup time	20min docker-compose (Ghost + MySQL + nginx)	SaaS — sign up + bill
Monthly cost	$10-15/mo VPS for Ghost + Mailgun/Postmark/Resend for email send (~$10/mo for 50k emails). No platform cut on Stripe revenue.	Free to publish; Substack takes 10% of paid-subscription revenue + Stripe fees

Switching from Substack to Ghost

Pull `ghost:5-alpine` and a `mysql:8` instance via compose. Substack export (Settings → Export) yields posts.csv + posts/ folder. Ghost has a community Substack importer (`@tryghost/substack-importer` npm package) that converts the export to Ghost's JSON format; subscriber CSV imports through Members → Import. Configure Stripe in Ghost admin → Membership and your existing paid subscribers' Stripe customer IDs migrate over.

Good fit for: Newsletters with paid subscribers — Ghost is the only mature OSS option that bundles editor + email + Stripe paid memberships.
Weak at: Discovery — no Substack-style recommendations engine; growth comes from your own audience and SEO.

Other open-source self-host alternatives to Substack

Listmonk
AGPL-3.015min docker-compose (Go binary + Postgres)$5 VPS for the app; SMTP relay (Amazon SES, Postmark, Resend) is the variable cost — SES at $0.
Writefreely
AGPL-3.015min single-binary or docker-compose$5 VPS for the app; ActivityPub-federated so no separate email cost line.

Ghost also replaces

Squarespace— Website builder + hosting

In a terminal? npx os-alt substack prints Substack's self-host options — how the CLI works →

FAQ

Is Ghost a free alternative to Substack?

Yes — Ghost is open source under MIT. Self-host cost: $10-15/mo VPS for Ghost + Mailgun/Postmark/Resend for email send (~$10/mo for 50k emails). No platform cut on Stripe revenue.. Substack pricing anchor: Free to publish; Substack takes 10% of paid-subscription revenue + Stripe fees.

How long does Ghost take to set up vs Substack?

Self-hosting Ghost: 20min docker-compose (Ghost + MySQL + nginx). Substack is a hosted SaaS — sign up and you're in.

What is Ghost good at, and what is it weak at?

Good fit for: Newsletters with paid subscribers — Ghost is the only mature OSS option that bundles editor + email + Stripe paid memberships.. Weak at: Discovery — no Substack-style recommendations engine; growth comes from your own audience and SEO..