Project Broadsheet next to Ghost
Two different ways to run an independent publication — one hosted, one you run yourself. What each does well, and where they pull apart.
The short version
| Project Broadsheet | Ghost | |
|---|---|---|
| How it runs | Files you keep, hosted on a free service | A hosted account or server you manage |
| Starting cost | Nothing | $9 a month, or the cost of a server |
| Ongoing cost | Hosting only, usually free | $9–$199+ a month, grows with your audience |
| Where the writing lives | Plain text files on your computer | A database on Ghost's servers |
| Newsletter | Connected to a small email service | Built in |
| Reader features | Lots, on by default | Minimal |
| Licence | Open-source | Open-source |
What it costs over time
Ghost's hosted version charges more as your audience grows:
- 500 members: $9 a month
- 5,000 members: $31 a month
- 50,000 members: $199 a month
- 500,000 members: $6,900 a month
You can also run Ghost on your own server, which is free in software but costs something to host (usually $5–20 a month) — plus the time spent keeping it updated.
Project Broadsheet is free at every level. Hosting it is free for almost every independent publication on services like Cloudflare Pages or Netlify.
Newsletter
Ghost's newsletter is one of its real strengths. It sends from your own domain, handles paid subscriptions, has strong reporting on opens and clicks, and connects to Stripe for payments. If newsletters and subscriptions are the centre of your publication, that's all in the box.
Project Broadsheet uses a small independent email service called Buttondown as its default. Buttondown is also privacy-respecting and has its own flat pricing. It covers what most publications need — a sign-up form, sending the newsletter, and a subscriber list you own — but it's a separate service, not a built-in feature.
If paid subscriptions are the heart of what you do, Ghost is the simpler choice today. If your newsletter is a nice-to-have alongside the site itself, pairing Buttondown with Project Broadsheet works fine.
What you actually own
Ghost stores your writing in its own database. You can export everything, but the format is Ghost's. Moving to another platform means writing a script or paying someone to.
Project Broadsheet keeps each article as a plain text file in a folder on your computer. Moving to another setup is copying the folder somewhere else.
How the reading experience feels
Ghost's article pages are clean but minimal. There's no dark mode toggle, no save-for-later, and no highlights unless you add a plug-in.
Project Broadsheet has all of those on by default. Whether your readers will use them is a real question — some audiences do, some don't — but if they do, it's already there.
When Ghost is the better fit
- Paid subscriptions are central to your publication.
- You want someone else to handle hosting, billing, and upkeep.
- You prefer writing directly in a browser editor.
- You'd rather pay a subscription than spend time on setup.
When Project Broadsheet is the better fit
- You want your writing to live in plain files you control.
- Paid subscriptions aren't central, or you'll use a separate service for them.
- You don't want the bill to grow as your audience grows.
- You'd like the reader features to be there without adding plug-ins.
Where to next
- Getting started to try Project Broadsheet on your own computer.
- Moving an archive from Ghost if you're already there.
- All the comparisons for Substack, WordPress, and Superdesk.