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Ghost self-hosted vs Ghost(Pro) (2026): real monthly cost by list size, Mailgun included
Last verified against official pricing pages · published 1 Nov 2026
Prices change often. Each price was checked on the platform's official pricing page on the date shown; plans, promos and taxes vary. Confirm on the official site before you buy. Not financial advice.
Short answer: the Ghost software is free, but self-hosting a Ghost newsletter means paying for a server and for Mailgun, the only bulk-email service Ghost supports. With Ghost's cheapest server and a weekly send that's about $25 a month at 1,000 members: more than Ghost(Pro) Starter ($18 a month, $15 billed yearly) but less than Publisher ($35), the cheapest Ghost(Pro) plan with paid subscriptions. That bare minimum stays below Publisher up to 50,000 members ($195 vs $249) and costs more at 100,000 ($360 vs $329). Add the CDN, backups, analytics and image editor Ghost(Pro) includes, at Ghost's own "from" prices, and Publisher is cheaper below 10,000 members and at 100,000, all before counting your time.
Every price on this page is from Ghost's own hosting docs and pricing page and from Mailgun's pricing page (USD, checked 2026-11-01). Ghost(Pro) prices from data/pricing.json (checked 2026-10-27). Totals are our arithmetic and are labelled as such; what a real server costs for your traffic is not stated by Ghost. No platform pays us for this page; some buttons elsewhere on the site are paid links.
Monthly cost by list size
Assumption: one newsletter a week, counted as 4 sends a month to every member. "Minimum self-hosted" is Ghost's cheapest server (from $10) plus the cheapest Mailgun plan for that volume. "With Ghost's full list" adds the other items Ghost prices for self-hosters: CDN and firewall $20, analytics $10, backups $5, image editor $12 (all "from" prices, +$47).
| Members | Emails / month | Cheapest Mailgun plan | Minimum self-hosted | With Ghost's full list | Ghost(Pro), monthly billing | Ghost(Pro), per month billed yearly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 4,000 | Basic: $15 | $25 | $72 | $18 Starter / $35 Publisher | $15 / $29 |
| 2,500 | 10,000 | Basic: $15 | $25 | $72 | $55 Publisher | $46 |
| 5,000 | 20,000 | Basic + 10,000 extra: $33 | $43 | $90 | $75 Publisher | $63 |
| 10,000 | 40,000 | Foundation 50k: $35 | $45 | $92 | $105 Publisher | $88 |
| 25,000 | 100,000 | Foundation 100k: $75 | $85 | $132 | $169 Publisher | $141 |
| 50,000 | 200,000 | Foundation 100k + 100,000 extra: $185 | $195 | $242 | $249 Publisher | $208 |
| 100,000 | 400,000 | Scale 250k + 150,000 extra: $350 | $360 | $407 | $329 Publisher | $274 |
Our arithmetic. Mailgun extras are counted in whole thousands at the overage rate Mailgun lists for that plan. Ghost(Pro) Starter (up to 1,000 members) has no paid subscriptions and 1 newsletter; Publisher adds paid subscriptions, custom themes and a custom sending domain, so compare like with like. Self-hosted Ghost has every feature regardless of list size. Sources: Ghost hosting docs, Ghost pricing, Mailgun pricing.
Ghost's own self-hosting price list
| Item | Ghost(Pro) | Self-hosting, from |
|---|---|---|
| Base hosting | From $15/mo | $10/mo |
| Global CDN & firewall | Included | $20/mo |
| Email newsletter delivery | Included | $15/mo |
| Analytics | Included | $10/mo |
| Full site backups | Included | $5/mo |
| Image editor | Included | $12/mo |
| Payment processing fees | 0% | 0% |
| Total of the above | From $15/mo | $72/mo (our sum) |
Source: the "Ghost(Pro) vs self-hosting" table in Ghost's hosting docs, checked 2026-11-01. Ghost's $15 email figure matches Mailgun's Basic plan ($15/mo for 10,000 emails); larger lists need a bigger Mailgun plan, as in the table above.
Newsletters on self-hosted Ghost: the Mailgun rule
- Mailgun only: Ghost's built-in newsletters need a bulk-mail API, and "currently the only bulk mail API we support is Mailgun". Plain SMTP can't send newsletters (Ghost docs). Ghost says it has no affiliation with Mailgun.
- Transactional email (member login links and similar) can go through any SMTP provider. Ghost's FAQ notes that DigitalOcean blocks outbound SMTP ports by default (Ghost FAQ).
- Mailgun Free: 100 emails a day on Mailgun's pricing page. Ghost's newsletter docs still say "free for up to 600 emails per month"; the two don't match, and Mailgun's own page is the one that bills you.
- No newsletters, no Mailgun: if you only run a website or send email from another platform, you can skip Mailgun entirely.
What else self-hosting involves
- Supported stack: Ubuntu 22.04/24.04/26.04 LTS, Node.js 22 LTS, MySQL 8.0 or 8.4, NGINX, systemd, a server with at least 1 GB of memory, installed with Ghost-CLI. Other setups can work but aren't officially supported (Ghost docs).
- Manual work: install, weekly updates, server maintenance and SSL are yours; Ghost(Pro) handles them and adds a 24/7 on-call team. Self-hosters get forum support instead of email support.
- Social web (ActivityPub): self-hosters can use Ghost's hosted service up to 2,000 followers, 2,000 following and 100 interactions a day; beyond that you self-host it with the newer Docker Compose install, which Ghost calls a preview. Self-hosted web analytics also need that install.
- What you gain: SSH and database access, custom edge routing, the ability to modify Ghost's core, and no member-count pricing.
Related: Ghost pricing · Ghost alternatives · Substack vs beehiiv vs Ghost cost · beehiiv vs Ghost · Substack vs Ghost · Ghost to Substack migration
Sources
- Ghost: Hosting Ghost (Ghost(Pro) vs self-hosting table, supported stack, ActivityPub limits), Email newsletters, Why do I have to set up Mailgun?, Developer FAQ, Pricing, MIT licence, checked 2026-11-01
- Mailgun: Mailgun Send pricing (Free 100/day; Basic, Foundation and Scale plans with included emails and overage per 1,000, USD), checked 2026-11-01
FAQ
Is self-hosted Ghost free?
The software is: Ghost is open source under the MIT licence, so there is no licence fee. Running it is not free. Ghost's own hosting docs list a server "from" $10 a month, and to send posts as newsletters you need Mailgun, the only bulk-mail service Ghost supports (Mailgun's cheapest paid plan, Basic, is $15 a month for 10,000 emails). If you only publish a website and send no newsletters, you don't need Mailgun.
Is Ghost self-hosted cheaper than Ghost(Pro)?
It depends on list size and on what you count. At 1,000 members sending weekly, Ghost's cheapest server plus Mailgun is about $25 a month: more than Ghost(Pro) Starter ($18, or $15 billed yearly) but less than Publisher ($35), which you need for paid subscriptions. Against Publisher, that bare minimum is lower up to 50,000 members (e.g. $45 vs $105 at 10,000) and higher at 100,000 ($360 vs $329). It leaves out the CDN, analytics, backups and image editor Ghost(Pro) includes (another $47 a month at Ghost's "from" prices), any bigger server a large list needs, and your time. Ghost itself says self-hosting usually costs more for heavy users but can be cheaper for lightweight blogs. Our arithmetic from prices checked 2026-11-01.
Can self-hosted Ghost send newsletters without Mailgun?
Not with Ghost's built-in newsletter feature. Ghost's docs say bulk email needs a bulk-mail API, plain SMTP can't be used, and "currently the only bulk mail API we support is Mailgun". Login and other transactional emails can use any SMTP service. The alternative Ghost names is to skip its built-in newsletters and sync members to a separate email platform (for example via Zapier), which you then pay for separately.
Is Mailgun free for Ghost newsletters?
Only for tiny lists. Mailgun's pricing page shows a Free plan with 100 emails per day, so one send to more than 100 members won't go through in a day. Ghost's newsletter docs still say "Mailgun is free for up to 600 emails per month", which doesn't match Mailgun's current page; we go by Mailgun's page. Paid plans start at $15 a month (Basic, 10,000 emails, then $1.80 per extra 1,000).
What do you get with Ghost(Pro) that self-hosting lacks?
Ghost says product features are identical. Ghost(Pro) adds managed install, weekly updates, server maintenance, SSL, backups, a global CDN and firewall, email delivery, analytics, an image editor, a 24/7 on-call team and email support. Self-hosting adds direct SSH and database access, custom edge routing and the ability to modify Ghost's core; support is the community forum. Both charge 0% payment fees (Stripe's own fees still apply).
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