Ghost
Plenty for users Stage 1
Ghost is 100% open-source publishing software run by a nonprofit foundation. Anyone can self-host it for free; Ghost Pro is managed hosting that funds development without the foundation taking a percentage of newsletter revenue—unlike Substack’s 10% cut. The governance structure is a charitable trust, which means it cannot be sold or taken public. ActivityPub support pushes toward federation rather than lock-in. Ghost Pro price increases have occurred, but they affect hosting costs, not the cut of your reader revenue—a structural distinction that keeps this at stage 1.
- Since
- 2013
- Function
- Creator economy
- VC-backed
- No
- Public
- No
News signals
More in Creator economy
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Ko-fi
2 Hard to leaveTips and memberships with lighter branding than Patreon; Gold tier and shop features add platform dependency over time.
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OnlyFans
3 Cashing inCreator subscriptions with high take rate and policy whiplash; payment processors and brand risk shape who can stay on platform.
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Patreon
3 Cashing inMembership platform: take rates, discovery limits, and policy risk sit between creators and their audiences.
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Substack
2 Hard to leaveNewsletter + payments with clearer creator cut than ad platforms; network features and video push toward fuller stack lock-in.
