Managed Ghost vs Substack: which is right for you?
If you want to keep 100% of your revenue, own your audience, and run a real publication, managed Ghost wins. If you want zero setup and do not mind giving up 10% of your paid subscribers forever, Substack works.
- ✓ You want to keep 100% of your paid subscriber revenue
- ✓ You have an existing brand and want a custom domain
- ✓ You want full control over email design, SEO, and customization
- ✓ You want a long-term home that you own
- ○ You want zero setup, zero decisions, zero ops
- ○ You are just starting and do not want to think about hosting
- ○ You are happy paying 10% for the discovery (Substack network effect)
- ○ You publish infrequently and do not need advanced features
Migrating from Substack?
We provide a free Substack-to-Ghost migration tool. Import your posts, members, and email list in a few clicks. Most migrations complete in under an hour. We handle the technical parts if you get stuck.
Questions, answered.
Can I import my Substack subscribers?
Yes. Substack lets you export your email list as CSV. We import that into Ghost. The migration tool handles the mapping.
Will my SEO rankings survive the move?
Yes, with proper 301 redirects. We set up domain redirects from your old Substack URL to your new Ghost site. Most publishers see a brief dip and recovery within 2-4 weeks.
What about the Substack social network?
You lose access to Substack built-in discovery and the social feed. In return, you get full ownership of your audience. Most publishers find that owning the audience matters more than Substack network effect.
How long does the migration take?
The technical migration (posts, members, email history) takes 30-60 minutes. We do it for you. Plan for a couple hours of buffer for DNS switchover and email forwarding.
I just want to run one of these apps. Is this going to be complicated?
No. Pick the app, click deploy, and you’re live in under 10 minutes. We handle everything else. You don’t need to know what “the metal” is, or what a reverse proxy does — that’s our job.
Make the switch.
Free migration help. From $29/mo. 7-day refund. 0% sales tax.