Ghost vs MailerLite
Ghost combines a publication site, newsletter and memberships, with code under the MIT licence. MailerLite is a conventional email tool with a free plan for 250 subscribers that also includes a website builder and paid newsletter subscriptions. The choice is between owning a publishing stack and renting a cheap all-in-one sender.
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Choose Ghost ifyou are building a publication, want open source code you can host yourself, and expect to grow into paid memberships.
Choose MailerLite ifyou want a free start at 250 subscribers, a website builder and landing pages included, and do not need to run your own publishing software.
Ghost and MailerLite side by side
| Ghost | MailerLite | |
|---|---|---|
| Our newsletter platform rank | #2 of 12 | #5 of 12 |
| Established in | Singapore | Lithuania |
| List price, 2 November 2026 | Billed yearly: Starter $18, Publisher $29, Business $199 per month | Free (250 subscribers); Comfort and Power priced by list size; Enterprise custom |
| Free tier | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | A publication with paid subscriptions | A growing list that needs the fundamentals at a low entry price |
| Not for | A company website with services, cases and forms | A team that needs multi-branch lifecycle automation |
Both are reviewed in full in our newsletter platform ranking: Ghost and MailerLite.
Where they differ
Ghost 1 · MailerLite 2 · open 1- 01
What the free tier offers
MailerLite's Free plan allows up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails and 2 user seats. Ghost's pricing page lists Starter at $18 per month billed yearly and a free trial button, but no free tier. MailerLite wins for anyone testing an idea.
Edge: MailerLite
- 02
Open source and exit
Ghost publishes its code under the MIT licence and lists member import and export on its plans. MailerLite is a proprietary hosted service. If you may want to leave with everything, Ghost has the clearer route.
Edge: Ghost
- 03
Sending by API
MailerLite states that sending by API and its MCP server needs a paid plan, and the free account excludes sending. Ghost lists its Content API as available on all four plans, though that API is read-only for published content. They solve different integration problems.
Depends on the buyer
- 04
Seats and limits at the top
MailerLite's Power plan has unlimited emails and unlimited seats, while Ghost limits staff to 3 on Publisher and 15 on Business, with Custom unlimited. A large editorial team will hit Ghost's seat counts sooner.
Edge: MailerLite
When neither fits
If you want advanced multi-branch lifecycle automation, MailerLite's builder is described as running out at complex branching, and Ghost has little automation. Compare Kit or Mailchimp.
Ghost or MailerLite: questions
3 answersIs MailerLite free?
The Free tier allows 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month and 2 seats. Beyond that you move to Comfort or Power, priced by list size.
Which one has paid subscriptions?
Both. MailerLite lists paid newsletter subscriptions as a feature, and Ghost offers them from the Publisher plan upward.
Where is MailerLite based?
Our category data says Lithuania. The terms of use name MailerLite Limited in Ireland for the EEA, UK and Switzerland, and MailerLite, Inc. (Delaware) elsewhere.
Sources
Checked 2 November 2026- Ghost pricing page: plan prices, staff users, Content API on all plans, member import and export.
- Ghost repository: MIT licence.
- MailerLite pricing page: free plan limits, Power unlimited emails and seats, paid newsletter, API sending on paid plans.
- MailerLite terms: contracting entities by region.