Substack is free to start and stays free until you have paid subscribers — then it takes 10% of that revenue, forever, plus [Stripe](/entry/stripe-vs-paddle-vs-lemon-squeezy-fees-for-saas-merchant-of-record-explained-202) fees. Ghost and beehiiv charge you a predictable monthly fee up front and take nothing from your subscription income. That single difference decides which one is cheaper, and it flips as you grow.
| Small / free list | With paid subscribers | Revenue cut | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Substack | free | free platform, 10% of subscription revenue | 10% |
| beehiiv | free under 2,500 subs | Scale from ~$49/mo past 2,500 | 0% |
| Ghost | ~$9–11/mo (annual, small list) | climbs with member count past ~2,500 | 0% |
Run the math on a newsletter earning $2,000/month in subscriptions: Substack takes roughly $1,300–1,500 a year in fees. Ghost or beehiiv charge their flat monthly rate — call it $50/month — and that's it. Past a certain revenue point, Substack's cut is dramatically more expensive than either flat-fee competitor.
The flip side: when you're small, free, or just starting, Substack costs you literally nothing while Ghost and beehiiv are asking for $10–50/month before you've made a dollar. And Substack's built-in network and recommendation engine genuinely drives subscriber growth in a way self-hosted Ghost doesn't.
Ghost is the pick if you want to fully own your site and audience — it's open-source publishing software, not just a newsletter tool, and it can be self-hosted for hosting cost only. beehiiv sits between: hosted like Substack, flat-fee like Ghost, with a strong ad network and growth tooling aimed at media brands.
Just starting and unsure it'll make money: Substack — zero risk. Confident it'll earn real subscription revenue: beehiiv or Ghost, because a flat fee beats a 10% tax the moment the numbers get serious. Want to own the whole thing: self-hosted Ghost.