Ghost is a publication that sends email. Beehiiv is a newsletter business with a website attached. That framing decides it for most people.

If you want owned infrastructure, a real CMS, themes you control, and no revenue share, Ghost is the more honest long-term home — especially self-hosted. If growth is the job, beehiiv has the better toolkit: recommendations, boosts, an ad network that pays small lists real money, and segmentation that does not require a manual. We would pick beehiiv today and not feel trapped.