Mailchimp vs Ghost pricing: which is cheaper for your team?
Mailchimp's cheapest paid tier (Essentials) lists at $13/month, which beats the other on entry pricing. Mid-tier and enterprise math can flip the answer — use the per-tier table below to see the real cost for your team size at each tier.
Calculate the cost for your team
Mailchimp pricing tiers
| Tier | Monthly | Annual (eq) | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | month | Limited contacts and sends. |
| Essentials | $13 | $13 | month | Starting price; increases by contact count. |
| Standard | $20 | $20 | month | Automation and optimization features. |
| Premium | $350 | $350 | month | Advanced segmentation and larger-team features. |
Ghost pricing tiers
| Tier | Monthly | Annual (eq) | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $18 | $18 | month | 1,000 members, 1 staff user, 5mb file uploads, billed yearly only. |
| Publisher | $29 | $29 | month | 1,000 members, 3 staff users, 100mb file uploads, paid subscriptions enabled. |
| Business | $199 | $199 | month | 10,000 members, 15 staff users, 250mb file uploads, 10 newsletters and tiers. |
Feature by feature
The non-pricing differences that drive the real decision.
| Capability | Mailchimp | Ghost |
|---|---|---|
| Billing model | month | month |
| Pricing model | Contact-tier marketing plan pricing | Member-tiered hosted publishing |
| Cheapest paid tier | Essentials at $13/month | Starter at $18/month |
| Mid-tier benchmark | Standard at $20/month | Publisher at $29/month |
| Total paid tiers published | 3 | 3 |
| Last verified | 2026-05-16 | 2026-05-17 |
Best for…
Hand-picked use cases mapped to the winner.
| Use case | Winner |
|---|---|
| Lowest entry price (10-person team) | Mailchimp Essentials |
| Most pricing tiers (room to grow) | Mailchimp (3 tiers) |
| Predictable per-seat billing | Neither (both flat/usage) |
| Most recently verified pricing | Ghost |
Choose Mailchimp when
- Mailchimp prices by plan and contact count, so teams should compare against their actual audience size rather than the lowest advertised starting price.
- Entry tier (Essentials) at $13/month is your budget ceiling.
- Build comparisons at 5k, 25k, and 100k contacts before choosing Mailchimp vs Klaviyo.
Choose Ghost when
- Ghost(Pro) offers hosted publishing starting at $18 per month billed yearly for 1,000 members, scaling to Business at $199 per month for 10,000 members.
- Entry tier (Starter) at $18/month is your budget ceiling.
- Custom plan unlocks unlimited members, staff users, newsletters, and 1gb file uploads under a sales-quoted rate.
Switching considerations
Watch the hidden fees on both sides. Mailchimp: Contact count, SMS, transactional email, and overages can change the bill. Ghost: Custom SSL certificate add-on costs $50 per month on Business and up Always confirm with the vendor before purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper for a 10-person team, Mailchimp or Ghost?
At entry tier and 10 seats on annual billing: Mailchimp Essentials comes to $13/mo; Ghost Starter comes to $18/mo. Mailchimp is the cheaper entry-tier choice at this team size.
Does Mailchimp have more pricing tiers than Ghost?
Both publish 3 paid tiers. The mid-tier benchmark is Standard for Mailchimp and Publisher for Ghost.
Which pricing was verified more recently?
Mailchimp's pricing was last verified 2026-05-16; Ghost's on 2026-05-17. Both pages link to the vendor's official pricing source so you can re-check before committing.