Ghost vs MailerSend: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Ghost and MailerSend 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.
MailerSend
6.9/10
MailerSend is a transactional email and SMS API with SMTP relay and a template builder, aimed at developers and businesses sending app-triggered messages.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.9/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 8/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | $7/mo Hobby |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | $110/mo Professional |
| Features | ||
| Email Marketing | ||
| A/B Testing | Not listed | |
| Landing Pages | Not listed | |
| Segmentation | Not listed | |
Ghost vs MailerSend cost by team size
| Team size | Ghost | MailerSend |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Contact for pricing | FreeFree |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | $7/moHobby |
| 10 users | Contact for pricing | $110/moProfessional |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | $110/moProfessional |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | $110/moProfessional |
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 Customization score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Security score (7/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for freelancers (8/10 vs 6/10)
Why choose MailerSend
- Has a free plan (Ghost does not)
- Higher Support score (8/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for agencies (7/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for startups (9/10 vs 6/10)
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.
MailerSend
Pros
- Developers can send through a REST API or an SMTP relay, with SDKs and connectors for Laravel, Django, Rails, Symfony, Supabase and Firebase.
- A free tier of 500 emails and a $7 Hobby plan make it cheap to start.
- Capterra reviewers repeatedly praise its responsive support and clear documentation.
- Built-in blocklist and DMARC monitoring help teams protect deliverability.
- Starter and higher plans add an SMS API, and a WhatsApp add-on is available.
Cons
- It is built for transactional email, not full marketing campaign management.
- Reviewers report sudden throttling or account suspensions after bounce or complaint thresholds are crossed.
- Free and Hobby plans keep only one day of activity history.
- SMS is limited to the USA and Canada.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Ghost and MailerSend both score 6.9/10 on our Marketing criteria. The largest gap is in Support: 5/10 for Ghost and 8/10 for MailerSend.
MailerSend has a free plan; Ghost does not list one.
MailerSend is the better fit for agencies: we rate it 7/10 for them, against 4/10 for Ghost.
