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GhostvsSimplero

Ghost is open-source publishing with a fast site, newsletters, and fee-free paid subscriptions. Simplero runs courses, coaching, email, CRM, and checkout from one login.

How Ghost and Simplero 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.

Simplero is built for coaches, course creators, and teachers who are tired of paying for a stack of tools that do not talk to each other. Courses with drip schedules, quizzes, and certificates, memberships and communities, email and a CRM that remembers every purchase and lesson, scheduling links, and a checkout with payment plans, upsells, and order bumps all share one contact record, and Simplero takes no transaction fee on sales. Its AI, Simplero Coach, can draft a course, a sales page, and the welcome sequence inside your account. For a coach whose business is a program people pay for and finish, Simplero covers the whole job.

Where they are different

Choose Ghost when writing is the business and you want paid subscriptions with no platform cut, on open-source software.

Choose Simplero when the business is a program: courses, coaching, or a membership people pay for and work through, sold with funnels and affiliates, with an AI that builds inside the account.

Compare features

What's on Ghost and Simplero

A check means that capability is available. Ghost and Simplero are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.

Site and brand

  • Workspace site
    Ghost: Included
    Simplero: Included
  • Custom domain
    Ghost: Included
    Simplero: Included
  • Theme and fonts
    Ghost: Included
    Simplero: Included

Public content

  • Blog
    Ghost: Included
    Simplero: Included
  • Reader engagement
    Ghost: Included
    Simplero: Included
  • Shop pages
    Ghost: Not included
    Simplero: Included

Reach and quality

  • SEO
    Ghost: Included
    Simplero: Included

Audience and email

  • Audience
    Ghost: Included
    Simplero: Included
  • Marketing emails
    Ghost: Included
    Simplero: Included
  • Bulk email workflows
    Ghost: Included
    Simplero: Not included
  • Campaign workflows
    Ghost: Not included
    Simplero: Included

Messaging

  • Built-in chat
    Ghost: Not included
    Simplero: Included
  • Messaging Center
    Ghost: Not included
    Simplero: Included

Commerce

  • Shop payments
    Ghost: Not included
    Simplero: Included
  • Scheduling and bookingsLink to external scheduling available on Starter.
    Ghost: Not included
    Simplero: Included

Team

  • Admin users
    Ghost: Included
    Simplero: Included
  • AI Assistant
    Ghost: Not included
    Simplero: Included

* Note: This table does not capture every feature of Ghost or Simplero, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but Ghost or Simplero may add or remove features that are not shown here.

Ghost vs Simplero pricing

Compare plans, prices, and what it costs to get started.

  • Ghost

    Current plans and prices

    See what Ghost charges on their pricing page.

  • Simplero

    Current plans and prices

    See what Simplero charges on their pricing page.

Cardel: An alternative to
Ghost and Simplero

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 Simplero?

    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 Simplero when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where Ghost and Simplero are marked.

  • Can I use Cardel with Ghost or Simplero?

    Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep Ghost or Simplero for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.

  • How much does Cardel cost compared with Ghost and Simplero?

    You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. Ghost and Simplero set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.

  • How do I switch from Ghost or Simplero 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.