Compare
How it compares
Project Broadsheet next to the other options people usually weigh up — Ghost, Substack, WordPress, and Superdesk. What's different, and what trade-offs come with each.
Every way of putting a publication online involves a trade-off. The table below lays out the ones that usually matter: what you actually own, what it costs over time, how much looking-after it needs, and how easy it is to move somewhere else if you change your mind.
| What to consider | Project BroadsheetFree, runs on your own computer | GhostHosted account, or you run it | SubstackHosted only | WordPressHosted account, or you run it | SuperdeskFor large newsrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting cost | Nothing | $9 a month | Free to start | Free to $25+ a month | Just the infrastructure |
| Ongoing fees | None | $9–$199+ a month | 10% of paid subscriptions | Hosting, plus plug-ins and themes | None (but the setup has costs) |
| Your writing stays yours | Yes — it's just plain files | Yes, after an export | Only via a spreadsheet export | Yes, after a database export | Yes, via their news format |
| Your reader list stays yours | Yes | Yes | Yes, with some caveats | Yes | Not a newsletter tool |
| Needs a database | No | Yes | Yes (managed for you) | Yes | Yes, several |
| What it needs to run | Any free static host | A Node server or Ghost's hosted plan | Substack only | A PHP host | A multi-service setup |
| Newsletter built in | Yes (via Buttondown) | Yes | Yes | Through a plug-in | No — handled separately |
| Search on the site | Yes | Paid add-on | Limited | Through a plug-in | Yes |
| Reader-side features (dark mode, save-for-later, highlights, notes) | Built in | None | None | Through plug-ins | None |
| Editorial process (reviews, approvals) | Simple | Simple | None | Through a plug-in | Full newsroom workflow |
| Look and layout | Full source, change anything | Themes you can write | Not customisable | A marketplace of themes | Custom layouts |
| Moving away | Copy the folder | A file export | A spreadsheet export | Plug-in-assisted export | News-format export |
| How easy it is to leave | Very easy | Easy | Hard | Medium | Easy |
| Reader privacy by default | No tracking, no cookies | Depends on add-ons | Tracked by Substack | Depends on plug-ins | Depends on setup |
| Who it's built for | Independent writers and small teams | Newsletter writers and small outlets | Solo writers with a mailing list | All kinds of sites | Large newsrooms and wire services |
| Licence | Open-source (MIT) | Open-source (MIT) | Substack's own | Open-source (GPLv2+) | Open-source (AGPLv3) |
Getting out. Project Broadsheet keeps your writing as plain text files in a folder — moving away is copying the folder. Ghost gives you a file with everything in it. Substack hands you a spreadsheet of posts. WordPress exports a database dump. Superdesk exports in a standard news format. All possible, but most take some work to turn into something usable elsewhere.
The ongoing bill. Ghost's hosted version starts at $9 a month and climbs as the audience grows. Substack is free but takes 10% of any paid subscriptions. WordPress adds hosting, plug-ins, and themes. Superdesk needs a sizeable setup to run. Project Broadsheet runs on free hosting with no per-reader costs.
Who they're built for. Substack suits a solo writer with a mailing list. Ghost sits somewhere between a writer and a small team. WordPress tries to be everything to everyone. Superdesk is for large newsrooms with formal workflows. Project Broadsheet is aimed at independent writers and small teams who want a proper publication without the ongoing overhead.
Longer write-ups
A closer look at each option, one at a time.
Compare
Project Broadsheet vs. Ghost
The hosted option most independent writers look at first. Where the two sit on cost, ownership, newsletter tools, and how the site reads.
Compare
Project Broadsheet vs. Substack
Substack runs on subscriptions and built-in discovery. How the numbers change when you run your own thing instead.
Compare
Project Broadsheet vs. WordPress
The old standby, still everywhere. Plug-ins, hosting, security upkeep, and what "low maintenance" actually means.
Compare
Project Broadsheet vs. Superdesk
Superdesk is for large newsrooms. How a single-writer setup differs — and when each one is the right choice.
See it for yourself
The live example has everything turned on. Click around as a reader.