Campaign Monitor vs Ghost: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Campaign Monitor and Ghost to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Campaign Monitor
6.3/10
Campaign Monitor by Marigold is an email marketing platform for designing, automating and tracking branded email campaigns. It is aimed at small businesses, marketing teams and agencies.
Ghost
6.9/10
Open-source publishing platform that combines a website, newsletters, and paid memberships for independent publishers, creators, and media businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.3/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Scalability | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $11/mo Lite | Contact for pricing |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Free trial | Contact for pricing |
| Features | ||
| A/B Testing | ||
| Email Marketing | ||
| Landing Pages | ||
| Segmentation | ||
| E-commerce Features | Not listed | |
| Webinars | Not listed | |
Campaign Monitor vs Ghost cost by team size
| Team size | Campaign Monitor | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree trial | Contact for pricing |
| 5 users | FreeFree trial | Contact for pricing |
| 10 users | FreeFree trial | Contact for pricing |
| 25 users | FreeFree trial | Contact for pricing |
| 50 users | FreeFree trial | Contact for pricing |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Campaign Monitor
- Has a free plan (Ghost does not)
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for agencies (8/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for marketing teams (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Includes A/B Testing, which Ghost lacks
Why choose Ghost
- Higher Cost score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Scalability score (7/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for freelancers (8/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
Campaign Monitor
Pros
- The drag-and-drop editor and mobile-ready templates let non-technical users build polished emails quickly.
- Agencies get multi-brand and white-label client account features.
- Essentials includes unlimited sends at a moderate starting price.
- The integration directory lists more than 100 connections, including Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify and Zapier, plus a REST API.
Cons
- The price jumps sharply from Essentials to Premier, and reviewers call the tier structure confusing.
- Automation lacks advanced branching, lead scoring and cross-channel logic.
- There is no live chat on any plan, and phone support is limited to Premier.
- Reviewers report that the Salesforce connector is unreliable and the Shopify sync is shallow.
- There is no permanent free plan, only a 30-day trial.
Ghost
Pros
- Ghost takes no percentage of membership revenue, unlike Substack's 10% fee, so publishers pay only the plan price and Stripe fees.
- Website, newsletter, and paid memberships work together without plugins.
- The open-source core can be self-hosted for free, and APIs and webhooks support custom builds.
- More than 100 listed integrations, including Zapier, Stripe, Mailchimp, and privacy-focused analytics tools.
Cons
- Email features are basic: segmentation is limited and there is no built-in A/B testing or SMS.
- Email delivery depends on Mailgun, which users say can be costly or unreliable when self-hosting.
- Lower plans get email-only support with no weekend coverage, and Trustpilot reviews complain about billing and refunds.
- The Starter plan excludes paid subscriptions, custom themes, and integrations.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Ghost scores higher on our Marketing criteria: 6.9/10 against 6.3/10 for Campaign Monitor. The largest gap is in Cost: 5/10 for Campaign Monitor and 7/10 for Ghost.
Campaign Monitor has a free plan; Ghost does not list one.
Campaign Monitor is the better fit for agencies: we rate it 8/10 for them, against 4/10 for Ghost.
Campaign Monitor has A/B Testing, which Ghost lacks.
