Ghost vs Teachable: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of Ghost and Teachable 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.
Teachable
5.4/10
Teachable is a hosted platform where creators and small businesses build, market and sell online courses, coaching and digital products under their own brand.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.9/10 | 5.4/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 5/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | $39/mo Starter |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| Features | ||
| Segmentation | ||
| Email Marketing | ||
| A/B Testing | Not listed | |
| E-commerce Features | Not listed | |
| Landing Pages | Not listed | |
Ghost vs Teachable cost by team size
| Team size | Ghost | Teachable |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Contact for pricing | $39/moStarter |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | $189/moGrowth |
| 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 5/10)
- Higher Security score (7/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (5/10 vs 3/10)
- Better fit for marketing teams (5/10 vs 3/10)
- Includes Segmentation, which Teachable lacks
Why choose Teachable
Our data shows no clear advantage over Ghost.
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.
Teachable
Pros
- Builder and Growth charge no Teachable transaction fee when you use Teachable Payments.
- Teachable Payments handles sales tax and VAT for creators.
- Abandoned cart recovery, one-click upsells and coupons are built in.
- Every plan includes branded iOS and Android student apps and up to 1TB of video storage.
- A 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee lower the risk of trying it.
Cons
- Built-in email is basic, with no visual automation builder or advanced segmentation.
- Starter takes a 7.5% cut per sale and limits you to 5 products.
- There is no free plan, and the 2025 pricing changes raised costs for many creators.
- Reviewers report slow support replies on lower plans.
- Plans allow only a few Zapier or webhook connections, and API access starts on Growth.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Ghost scores higher on our Marketing criteria: 6.9/10 against 5.4/10 for Teachable. The largest gap is in Customization: 8/10 for Ghost and 5/10 for Teachable.
No, neither Ghost nor Teachable lists a free plan.
Ghost is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 5/10 for them, against 3/10 for Teachable.
Ghost has Segmentation, which Teachable lacks.
