Ghost vs Keila: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Ghost and Keila to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
Ghost
6.9/10
Open-source publishing platform that combines a website, newsletters, and paid memberships for independent publishers, creators, and media businesses.
Keila
5.8/10
Open-source, AGPL-licensed newsletter platform from Germany for sending email campaigns and running sign-up forms, available as an EU-hosted cloud service or self-hosted with Docker.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.9/10 | 5.8/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 4/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 9/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 3/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 4/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | €8/mo Keila XS |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | €8/mo Keila XS |
| Features | ||
| Email Marketing | ||
| Segmentation | ||
| A/B Testing | Not listed | |
| Landing Pages | Not listed | |
Ghost vs Keila cost by team size
| Team size | Ghost | Keila |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Contact for pricing | €8/moKeila XS |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | €8/moKeila XS |
| 10 users | Contact for pricing | €8/moKeila XS |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | €8/moKeila XS |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | €8/moKeila XS |
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 Ghost
- Higher Integration score (7/10 vs 3/10)
- Higher Scalability score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (5/10 vs 3/10)
- Better fit for freelancers (8/10 vs 6/10)
Why choose Keila
- Higher Cost score (9/10 vs 7/10)
Pros & Cons
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.
Keila
Pros
- Fully open source under AGPLv3, with no proprietary premium features, so it can be self-hosted free with Docker.
- Pricing is based on emails sent and every plan includes unlimited contacts, which helps large lists that send rarely.
- The cloud is hosted in Germany and France, which suits organisations with GDPR concerns.
- Several editing modes are available, including a block editor, Markdown, MJML and plain text, plus Liquid personalisation.
- Mail can go out through your own SMTP, SES, Mailgun, Postmark or SendGrid account.
Cons
- There is no free cloud plan, and pricing is listed only for monthly billing.
- Automation is basic, and the template library is small, according to comparison reviews.
- There are few integrations, and the Zapier connector is still in private beta.
- No security certifications are published.
- It has no e-commerce, SMS or landing page builder features.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Ghost scores higher on our Marketing criteria: 6.9/10 against 5.8/10 for Keila. The largest gap is in Integration: 7/10 for Ghost and 3/10 for Keila.
No, neither Ghost nor Keila lists a free plan.
Ghost is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 5/10 for them, against 3/10 for Keila.
