Comparison

SponsoredBy vs Ghost

These solve different halves of the same problem. Ghost is where your writing lives; a wall is how that writing gets funded, in public. They sit together comfortably — run a Ghost site and put your wall link in the footer, and neither one is doing the other’s job.

Side by side
 SponsoredByGhost
What it’s for Public sponsorship. People fund work that stays free, and get credit for it. Running a publication or newsletter, with paid subscriptions built in.
Are supporters public? Yes. Every backer gets a plaque with their name, tier and how long they’ve backed you — or stays anonymous by choice. No. Members are private by design — content is public, preview-gated, or members-only, and there is no member directory or supporter list.
Who holds the money You do. Every backing is paid into your own Stripe account; we never hold it. Straight into your own Stripe account. Ghost adds no transaction fee of its own.
Cost Free plan takes 10%. Pro is $29/mo and takes 5%; Max is $49/mo and takes 3%. Stripe’s processing is separate. Ghost takes 0% of subscription revenue. You pay for hosting: Ghost(Pro) starts at $18/month and rises with your member count, or you can self-host the open-source software for free.

Ghost figures were read from their own pricing page in August 2026. Pricing changes — check theirs before deciding.

Their strengths

What Ghost is built for

  • 0% revenue share on subscriptions — you pay for hosting by member count instead.
  • It is the whole publishing stack — site, themes, SEO, newsletter and memberships in one.
  • Open source, and you can self-host, so you are never locked in.
  • Your subscriber list and billing live in your own Stripe and leave with you.
Our strengths

What a sponsorship wall does that Ghost doesn’t

  • Supporters are visible. Ghost keeps members private on purpose; making support public is the entire point here.
  • No paywall needed. You do not have to gate anything to earn.
  • No monthly cost to start — a free wall costs nothing however many backers you have.
  • Sponsorship tiers with perks, which a subscription plan is not designed to express.
Deciding
Ghost

Pick Ghost if…

You are publishing regularly and want a real home for the writing, with subscriptions attached.

SponsoredBy

Pick a wall if…

Your work already lives somewhere and you want a way to be funded for it, publicly.

Plenty of creators run both. A wall doesn’t ask you to move anything — it’s a link you add.

Free to try alongside whatever you use now.

A wall takes a few minutes to set up, costs nothing on the free plan, and doesn’t replace anything.

Other comparisons