Ghost vs HubSpot Email Marketing
Ghost is a newsletter platform while HubSpot Email Marketing is a all-in-one marketing platform. HubSpot Email Marketing has been around since 2006, giving it a 7-year head start over Ghost (founded 2013). Ghost starts at $18/mo, while HubSpot Email Marketing starts at $20/seat/mo. Their pricing is not measured the same way, so we don't rank them on price. Both offer free plans to get started. HubSpot Email Marketing has the edge with marketing automation, A/B testing, landing pages.
Quick Verdict
HubSpot Email Marketing wins on deliverability, rating, integrations.
Best for most users: HubSpot Email Marketing (b2b).
Ghost
Open-source publishing platform with built-in newsletters and memberships
Ghost is an independent, open-source publishing platform built for professional content creators who want full control over their audience and revenue. It combines a beautiful writing editor, built-in newsletters via Mailgun, and native membership/subscription billing with zero platform fees. Available as a free self-hosted solution or as managed Ghost(Pro) hosting starting at $18/month.
HubSpot Email Marketing
Email marketing powered by CRM data
HubSpot's email marketing is part of its complete Marketing Hub. While the free and Starter tiers offer competitive email marketing, the real power comes with Professional tier and above, where HubSpot's CRM data feeds into sophisticated automation and personalization.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Ghost | HubSpot Email Marketing |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.1/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Starting Price | $18/mo | $20/seat/mo |
| Free Plan | Self-hosted open-source version is completely free; no free tier on Ghost(Pro) | 2,000 emails/month |
| Founded | 2013 | 2006 |
| Email Templates | 50 | 80 |
| Integrations | 1,000 | 1,500 |
| Deliverability Rate | 95% | 97% |
| Marketing Automation | No | Yes |
| A/B Testing | No | Yes |
| Landing Pages | No | Yes |
| Segmentation | Yes | Yes |
| Drag & Drop Editor | No | Yes |
| SMS Marketing | No | Yes |
| Ecommerce Features | Yes | Yes |
| API Access | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Language | Yes | Yes |
| Web Push Notifications | No | No |
| Live Chat | No | Yes |
| Advanced Analytics | Yes | Yes |
Ghost: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Completely open-source with self-hosting option at zero cost
- + Built-in membership and paid subscription system with 0% platform fees on revenue
- + Distraction-free professional editor optimized for long-form writing
- + Significantly faster page load times compared to WordPress, boosting SEO and reader engagement
- + Native newsletter delivery integrated directly into the publishing workflow
Cons
- − Newsletter emails are limited to Mailgun as the sending provider, which is no longer free
- − No plugin ecosystem or marketplace unlike WordPress — limited extensibility
- − Analytics are basic and only show the last 90 days on the dashboard
- − No drag-and-drop email builder or A/B testing for email campaigns
- − Starter plan limited to only 1 staff user and 1 newsletter with no paid subscription support
HubSpot Email Marketing: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Best-in-class CRM integration
- + 1,500+ integrations (largest ecosystem)
- + Powerful marketing automation
- + All-in-one marketing, sales, and service platform
- + Excellent analytics and attribution
Cons
- − Professional plan is very expensive ($890/mo)
- − Annual commitment required for higher tiers
- − Complex pricing structure
- − Steep learning curve
- − Email features alone don't justify the cost
The Verdict
HubSpot Email Marketing edges ahead with a 4.4/5 rating compared to Ghost's 4.1/5. The gap comes mainly from support (4.6 vs 3.9) and feature depth (4.6 vs 4.2). On deliverability, HubSpot Email Marketing reports 97% compared to 95% for Ghost — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Ghost | HubSpot Email Marketing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $18/mo | $20/seat/mo |
| Deliverability | 25% | 95% | 97% Winner |
| Rating | 25% | 4.1/5 | 4.4/5 Winner |
| Integrations | 10% | 1000 | 1500 Winner |
| Free Tier | 10% | Yes | Yes |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Ghost if…
- + You're a independent publishers and bloggers
- + You're a newsletter creators who want zero platform fees
- + Completely open-source with self-hosting option at zero cost
Choose HubSpot Email Marketing if…
- + You need SMS marketing
- + You need marketing automation
- + You need built-in landing pages
- + You need A/B testing