How Ghost and Heartbeat compare
Ghost is what serious independent publishing looks like. A fast, beautifully themed site, newsletters sent from your own domain, paid memberships with zero platform fees, comments, and a clean editor, all open source and portable. Ghost(Pro) hosting removes the ops, and the whole thing respects the writer and the reader.
Heartbeat is a friendly place to start a paid community without a big budget. For $49 a month you get channels, threads, chat, voice rooms, DMs, unlimited courses and events, a custom domain, checkout pages, five automation workflows, and Pulse, an AI that actually sets up channels, offers, and pages for you. Grow adds unlimited workflows, DM rules, an affiliate program, and white-label email; Scale adds a branded app. For a founder with a small group who wants courses and calls next to the conversation, Heartbeat covers a lot for the price.
Where they are different
Ghost
- Ghost monetises by membership.
- Ghost sends email and stops.
- Ghost is publishing-first.
Heartbeat
- Heartbeat's landing page is the door to a private space.
- Heartbeat emails members through workflows and a weekly digest.
- Heartbeat's events sync to members' calendars.
- Heartbeat charges 5% to 1.25% on payments.
Choose Ghost when writing is the business and you want paid subscriptions with no platform cut, on open-source software.
Choose Heartbeat when a small paid community with courses, calls, and member chat is the product.
Compare features
What's on Ghost and Heartbeat
A check means that capability is available. Ghost and Heartbeat are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.
Site and brand
- Workspace siteGhost: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Custom domainGhost: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Theme and fontsGhost: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
Public content
- BlogGhost: IncludedHeartbeat: Not included
- Reader engagementGhost: IncludedHeartbeat: Not included
- Showcase pagesGhost: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
Audience and email
- AudienceGhost: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Email on your domainGhost: IncludedHeartbeat: Not included
- Marketing emailsGhost: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Bulk email workflowsGhost: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Campaign workflowsGhost: Not includedHeartbeat: Included
Messaging
- Built-in chatGhost: Not includedHeartbeat: Included
Commerce
- Shop paymentsGhost: Not includedHeartbeat: Included
Team
- Admin usersGhost: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- Per-admin permissionsGhost: IncludedHeartbeat: Included
- AI AssistantGhost: Not includedHeartbeat: Included
* Note: This table does not capture every feature of Ghost or Heartbeat, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but Ghost or Heartbeat may add or remove features that are not shown here.
Ghost vs Heartbeat pricing
Compare plans, prices, and what it costs to get started.
Ghost
Current plans and prices
See what Ghost charges on their pricing page.
Heartbeat
Current plans and prices
See what Heartbeat charges on their pricing page.
Cardel: An alternative to
Ghost and Heartbeat
You don't pay until you publish.
Cardel provides a home for your craft. Share and sell your work, grow your audience, and bring your community together on a site of your own.
Common questions
Is Cardel an alternative to Ghost or Heartbeat?
Cardel is a home for your craft: a site of your own with a blog, newsletter, shop, community, and one inbox. It can replace Ghost or Heartbeat when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where Ghost and Heartbeat are marked.
Can I use Cardel with Ghost or Heartbeat?
Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep Ghost or Heartbeat for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.
How much does Cardel cost compared with Ghost and Heartbeat?
You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. Ghost and Heartbeat set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.
How do I switch from Ghost or Heartbeat to Cardel?
Start with Build Your Site, set up your home, and bring your work over at your own pace. You do not have to move everything on day one.