Ghost vs MemberPress: Pricing and Ratings Compared (2026)
Entry prices and free plans as read on each vendor's pricing page, and user ratings as published on review sites, for Ghost and MemberPress side by side. This page compares data; it is not a hands-on review.
On the data: On the data below, Ghost leads on a free plan; MemberPress leads on higher user rating and lower entry price. We do not name an overall winner for this pair.
Short on time? Here's the quick answer
Based on published vendor pricing and features and on public review data, here's who should pick what:
Ghost
Professional publishing platform
Best for you if:
- • You want a free tier before you commit
MemberPress
Sell memberships, courses, and downloads on WordPress
Best for you if:
- • You want comprehensive suite of features for membership, courses, coaching, and community building within WordPress
| At a Glance | Ghost | MemberPress |
|---|---|---|
Starts at | Free plan, paid from $18/mo, billed yearly Starter plan | From $16.63/mo, billed yearly Launch plan |
Category | Blogging Platforms CMS | Membership Sites E-commerce |
Rating | 3.9/5 Capterra 4.8 · SourceForge 2.4 · G2 4.5 264 reviews | 4.7/5 Capterra 4.8 · G2 4.6 644 reviews |
Free plan | Yes | No |
Choose Ghost or MemberPress?
Choose Ghost if
- You want a free tier before you commit
- You want zero platform transaction fees on paid memberships, only standard Stripe fees apply
- You want purpose-built for content monetization with native newsletters and subscriptions
- You work in blogging platforms, not membership sites
Choose MemberPress if
- You want comprehensive suite of features for membership, courses, coaching, and community building within WordPress
- You want easy setup and user-friendly interface with tools like ReadyLaunch™ and a Setup Wizard, requiring no coding skills
- Budget matters ($16.63/mo, billed yearly vs $18/mo, billed yearly)
- You work in membership sites, not blogging platforms
In-Depth Analysis
Ghost
Professional publishing platform
Ghost's pricing is quite generous, especially with the robust free self-hosted option.
Strengths
- Pro: Zero platform transaction fees on paid memberships, only standard Stripe fees apply
- Pro: Purpose-built for content monetization with native newsletters and subscriptions
- Pro: Open source and fully self-hostable with no vendor lock-in
- Pro: Clean, fast editor that stays out of the way for long-form writing
- Pro: Strong SEO defaults including structured data, canonical URLs, and sitemaps
Weaknesses
- Con: Managed Ghost(Pro) pricing scales with member count, which gets expensive at scale
- Con: Theme customization requires Handlebars knowledge, no drag-and-drop page builder
- Con: Plugin ecosystem is limited compared to WordPress
- Con: Self-hosting requires Node.js server management and manual updates
- Con: No built-in commenting system, requires third-party integration
Key features
MemberPress
Sell memberships, courses, and downloads on WordPress
MemberPress offers a tiered pricing structure that, while initially appearing high, provides significant value for dedicated membership site owners.
Strengths
- Pro: Comprehensive suite of features for membership, courses, coaching, and community building within WordPress.
- Pro: Easy setup and user-friendly interface with tools like ReadyLaunch™ and a Setup Wizard, requiring no coding skills.
- Pro: Extensive content access control (paywalling) for various content types, including posts, pages, and custom post types.
- Pro: Supports a wide range of payment gateways, including credit cards, digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Wallet), PayPal, Square, and Authorize.net.
- Pro: Includes advanced features like content dripping, customizable coupons, order bumps, and bulk membership sales (Corporate Accounts).
Weaknesses
- Con: Transaction fees are applied to the lowest-tier plan (Launch), which can reduce profit margins.
- Con: Some advanced features like the complete Easy Affiliate™ Platform, full API access, and Amazon S3 integration are only available on the highest-tier plan (Scale).
- Con: While offering extensive features, the sheer number of options might present a learning curve for absolute beginners despite the ease-of-use claims.
Key features
Plans and prices: Ghost vs MemberPress
| Tool | Plans and prices | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost |
| ghost.org/pricingread Oct 14, 2026 |
| MemberPress |
| memberpress.comread Oct 3, 2026 |
Prices as read on each vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. Plans are listed per tool and are not matched against the other tool's plans: a plan name or price in one column says nothing about the same row in the other. Details on Ghost pricing and MemberPress pricing.
Key Takeaways
Ghost
- Has a free plan
MemberPress
- Higher user rating: 4.7/5 vs 3.9/5
- Lower entry price: $16.63/mo, billed yearly vs $18/mo, billed yearly
What the data shows
On the data below, Ghost leads on a free plan; MemberPress leads on higher user rating and lower entry price. We do not name an overall winner for this pair.
- MemberPress has the higher user rating (3.9/5 from 264 reviews for Ghost, 4.7/5 from 644 reviews for MemberPress).
- MemberPress has the lower entry price: $16.63/mo, billed yearly (Launch) against $18/mo, billed yearly (Starter) for Ghost.
- Only Ghost has a free plan.
Criteria: user rating (only above 20 reviews on both sides, gap of 0.2 or more), entry price (only on the same billing basis), free plan. How we rate
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Ghost and MemberPress compare in 2026?
On the data below, Ghost leads on a free plan; MemberPress leads on higher user rating and lower entry price. We do not name an overall winner for this pair. MemberPress has the higher user rating (3.9/5 from 264 reviews for Ghost, 4.7/5 from 644 reviews for MemberPress). MemberPress has the lower entry price: $16.63/mo, billed yearly (Launch) against $18/mo, billed yearly (Starter) for Ghost. Only Ghost has a free plan.
What are Ghost and MemberPress used for?
Ghost: Professional publishing platform. MemberPress: Sell memberships, courses, and downloads on WordPress.
What does Ghost cost vs MemberPress?
Ghost's cheapest paid plan is Starter at $18/mo, billed yearly; it also has a free plan. MemberPress's cheapest paid plan is Launch at $16.63/mo, billed yearly. Prices read on the vendors' pricing pages, latest check Oct 14, 2026.
What's the main difference between Ghost and MemberPress?
Ghost's main strength: zero platform transaction fees on paid memberships, only standard Stripe fees apply. MemberPress's main strength: comprehensive suite of features for membership, courses, coaching, and community building within WordPress.