Ghost vs SE Ranking: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Ghost and SE Ranking 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.
SE Ranking
6.5/10
SE Ranking is an SEO platform for rank tracking, keyword research, site audits, backlink analysis and AI search visibility, built for agencies, freelancers and in-house marketing teams.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.9/10 | 6.5/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 6/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | $129/mo Core |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| Features | ||
| Landing Pages | ||
| A/B Testing | Not listed | |
| Email Marketing | Not listed | |
| Segmentation | Not listed | |
Ghost vs SE Ranking cost by team size
| Team size | Ghost | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Contact for pricing | $129/moCore |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| 10 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | 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 Ghost
- Higher Customization score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Security score (7/10 vs 5/10)
Why choose SE Ranking
- Higher Analytics score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Support score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for agencies (9/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for marketing teams (7/10 vs 5/10)
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.
SE Ranking
Pros
- The Core plan costs $129 a month ($103.20 on annual billing), well below the comparable Semrush and Ahrefs plans reviewers compare it with.
- Daily rank tracking is included on every plan and covers multiple search engines and locations.
- Agencies can add white-label reports, 30 client seats and an embeddable lead-capture audit form through the $69-a-month Agency Pack.
- Includes AI search visibility tracking and an MCP connector for assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor.
- The 14-day free trial does not require a credit card.
Cons
- Reviewers say its backlink index is noticeably smaller than Ahrefs'.
- It is limited to SEO, with no email, SMS or social campaign tools and only limited PPC tools.
- Core caps you at 10 projects and one manager seat, and the jump to Growth is steep.
- Trustpilot reviewers complain about recent price rises and moves off legacy plans.
- Reviewers say the navigation takes time to learn.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Ghost scores higher on our Marketing criteria: 6.9/10 against 6.5/10 for SE Ranking. The largest gap is in Analytics: 6/10 for Ghost and 8/10 for SE Ranking.
No, neither Ghost nor SE Ranking lists a free plan.
SE Ranking is the better fit for agencies: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 4/10 for Ghost.
