Ghost vs Shopify
- ✦ Blog Publishing
- ✦ Newsletter
- ✦ Memberships & Subscriptions
- ✦ Sell online, in person, and in AI channels
- ✦ AI assistant for commerce (content, insights, store tasks)
- ✦ Built-in payment processing
Ghost and Shopify are both Website Builders tools. Ghost starts at $18/mo, Shopify at $5/mo. Compare features, pricing, and ratings below to find the best fit for your team.
When to Choose Ghost vs Shopify
The question that matters: “In what situation will I regret choosing A over B after 3 months?”
Ghost's Memberships & Subscriptions handle recurring billing natively, with Analytics surfacing churn and free-to-paid conversion rates in one dashboard.
Ghost's SEO Tools configure meta descriptions and structured data from within the editor. Automatic XML sitemaps help technical posts rank without extra plugin overhead.
Native Analytics shows which posts drive member signups and which newsletter segments open most - so content strategy stays grounded in real engagement data.
Ghost's API powers custom publishing workflows: push posts from external tools, sync subscribers to CRMs, or trigger webhooks when members join.
Shopify's POS System syncs in-store and online stock in real time. One product catalog covers web, mobile, and physical terminals without manual reconciliation.
Shopify's Payment Processing handles 135+ methods globally with built-in fraud detection - high-risk transactions get flagged without blocking legitimate buyers.
The Shipping & Fulfillment integration generates batch carrier labels and splits orders across warehouses, syncing barcoded packing slips directly to inventory.
Pricing Comparison & PlansHigh· Verified May 30, 2026
Ghost Plans
Paid plans only
Starter
$18/moBest for: $15/mo (billed yearly) gets you 1 staff user, Custom domain, Email newsletter, 1,000 members
- ✓Website & blog
- ✓Basic membership
- ✓Custom domain
- ✓Email newsletters
- ✓SEO tools
Publisher
$35/moBest for: $29/mo (billed yearly) gets you 3 staff users, Custom themes, Paid subscriptions, 1,000 members
- ✓All Starter features
- ✓Paid memberships
- ✓Advanced membership options
- ✓Email automation
- ✓Custom themes
Business
$239/moBest for: $249/mo (billed yearly) gets you 15 staff users, Priority support, 10,000 members
- ✓Premium themes
- ✓Advanced integrations
- ✓Priority support
- ✓Enhanced analytics
Enterprise
Contact Sales- ✓Dedicated support
- ✓Custom contract
- ✓Scaling assistance
Shopify Plans
Free trial available
Starter
$5/moBest for: Ideal for selling via social media or messaging apps with basic product links
- ✓Sell via social media and messaging apps
- ✓Shareable product links
- ✓Display product catalog on basic storefront
- ✓Sell unlimited products on existing website
- ✓Sell in physical locations via POS hardware
Basic
$39/moBest for: new online businesses needing a full store, blog, and basic reporting
- ✓Fully customizable online store
- ✓Unlimited products
- ✓Blog functionality
- ✓Ecommerce task automation tools
- ✓Shipping discounts up to 77%
Grow
$105/moBest for: Suited for growing businesses requiring more staff accounts and advanced reporting
- ✓All Basic features
- ✓5 staff accounts
- ✓Lower transaction fees
- ✓Shipping discounts up to 88%
- ✓Shipping insurance for US merchants ($5,000)
Advanced
$399/moBest for: Designed for larger businesses needing comprehensive reporting, lower transaction fees, and international selling tools
- ✓All Grow features
- ✓Deeper reporting
- ✓More automation options
- ✓Advanced capabilities
- ✓International selling
Plus
$2300/moBest for: For high volume enterprises requiring custom solutions, dedicated support, and advanced automation
- ✓Enterprise-level solutions
- ✓Unlimited staff accounts
- ✓International selling
- ✓Standard pricing for 'standard' setups and integrations
- ✓Negotiable variable fee based on monthly sales
Capability Breakdown
5 differences found across 18 standardized features
- •Blog Publishing
- •Newsletter
- •Memberships & Subscriptions
- •Custom Themes
- •SEO Tools
- •Native Analytics
- •Custom Domain
- •API
- •Integrations
- •Email Newsletters
- •Paid Content
- •Open Source
- •Markdown Editor
- •Member Portal
- •Custom Code Injection
- •Sell online, in person, and in AI channels
- •AI assistant for commerce (content, insights, store tasks)
- •Built-in payment processing
- •Customizable online store builder
- •Inventory management
- •Shipping discounts and label printing
- •Abandoned cart recovery
- •Multi-channel selling (social, marketplace)
- •Analytics and reporting dashboard
- •App marketplace with 8,000+ integrations
- •POS (point of sale) system
- •Sell wholesale/B2B (Plus)
- •Fully customizable checkout (Plus)
- •Unlimited staff accounts (Plus)
Strengths & Limitations
Evaluative strengths and weaknesses: not feature lists
- +Native memberships, subscriptions, and newsletters
- +Modern, fast tech stack (Node.js) for better site speed
- +Creator-first, non-profit model with no transaction fees
- +Clean, minimalist editor focused purely on writing
- +Fully open-source with robust API for custom development
- −Limited native e-commerce features beyond memberships
- −Smaller theme and plugin ecosystem compared to WordPress
- −Requires some technical comfort for self-hosting or advanced customization
- −Steeper pricing for official hosting than many shared hosting providers
- −No built-in visual page builder for complex, non-post layouts
- +Extensive app ecosystem (8,000+) for limitless customization
- +Integrated Shopify Payments simplifies checkout and reduces fees
- +Shopify POS unifies online and in-person retail sales seamlessly
- +Robust, scalable infrastructure handles high-traffic sales events
- +Shopify Shipping offers discounted rates with major carriers
- −Transaction fees (0.5-2%) apply if not using Shopify Payments
- −Limited native features require paid apps for advanced functionality
- −Basic blogging and content marketing (SEO) tools are weak
- −Product variant limit (100 per product) can be restrictive
- −Customization requires knowledge of Shopify's 'Liquid' code
At a Glance
Recent Price History
Ghost removed the "Team" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Ghost removed the "Creator" plan
Plan removed · May 30, 2026
Ghost lowered "Business" from $249/mo to $239/mo (-4%)
Price change · May 30, 2026
Ghost added a new "Publisher" plan at $35/mo
Plan added · May 30, 2026
Ghost raised "Starter" from $15/mo to $18/mo (+20%)
Price change · May 30, 2026
Shopify added a new "Grow" plan at $105/mo
Plan added · May 29, 2026
Shopify lowered "Starter" from $15/mo to $5/mo (-67%)
Price change · May 29, 2026
Shopify removed the "Shopify" plan
Plan removed · May 29, 2026
Shopify raised "Basic" from $25 to $39/mo (56%)
Price change · May 21, 2026
Shopify removed the "Grow" plan
Plan removed · May 21, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Comparisons
Sources & Data Trail · Ghost
- 1.Official Pricing Page·Source of verified tiers(Checked: 2026-05-30)
- 2.Official Website·Official vendor website
- 3.G2·G2 verified reviews · 4.1/5 · 39 reviews
- 4.Capterra·Capterra verified reviews · 4.6/5
- 5.TrustRadius·TrustRadius verified reviews
- 6.PeerSpot·PeerSpot enterprise peer reviews
- 7.StackShare·StackShare developer community
Sources & Data Trail · Shopify
- 1.Official Pricing Page·Source of verified tiers(Checked: 2026-05-29)
- 2.Official Website·Official vendor website
- 3.G2·G2 verified reviews · 4.4/5 · 5,096 reviews
- 4.Capterra·Capterra verified reviews · 4.5/5
- 5.TrustRadius·TrustRadius verified reviews
- 6.PeerSpot·PeerSpot enterprise peer reviews