Ghost charges $9/month — and climbing — to host what amounts to markdown files with a theme. Inkpress is a complete self-hosted blog: write in a split-pane markdown editor, publish to blazing-fast server-rendered pages that ship zero JavaScript, and keep every post in one SQLite file you own. $79 once.
This is the full pricing breakdown: what Ghost actually costs over one, two and three years, what Inkpress gives you for $79 paid once, and the honest cases where the subscription is still the right call.
What Ghost actually costs you
At $9/mo, one Ghost subscription adds up to $108 every year — $324 over a three-year window, for software you stop owning the day you cancel. Inkpress is $79 the day you buy it, and the meter never runs again.
| Inkpress | Ghost | |
|---|---|---|
| Sticker price | $79 once | $9/mo |
| Cost after 1 year | $79 | $108 |
| Cost after 2 years | $79 | $216 |
| Cost after 3 years | $79 | $324 |
Three years in, the gap is $245 — and every year after that adds another $108 to the subscription side of the ledger.
Inkpress vs Ghost, feature by feature
Price is only half the story — here's how the two line up on the things that decide day-to-day use:
| Inkpress | Ghost | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $79 once | $9/mo ($108/yr), forever |
| Cost after 3 years | Still $79 | $324+ |
| Your data | Your server, one SQLite file | Their cloud |
| Zero-JS public pages | Yes | No |
| Themes | 3 built in — or edit the code | Paid/limited |
| Remove "Powered by" badge | Yes — it's your code | Paid tier |
| Works offline / air-gapped | Yes (desktop mode) | No |
| Source code | MIT, on GitHub | Open core, hosted tiers |
What you get for $79, once
Split-pane markdown editor, 3 themes, server-side highlighting, RSS & SEO — one SQLite file. The highlights:
- ⚡ Zero-JS public pages — Pure HTML/CSS, no client framework, no hydration, no bundle — instant load and perfect Lighthouse scores by default.
- 🎨 3 built-in themes — Paper (light serif classic), Carbon (dark dev-blog mono) and Editorial (magazine, large covers) — switch site-wide instantly in Settings.
- 🖍️ Server-side syntax highlighting — Code blocks highlighted with Shiki at save time and cached — beautiful dev-blog code with no client-side library.
- ✍️ Split-pane live preview — The preview uses the exact same rendering pipeline as the public site, so what you see is literally what ships.
Pays for itself in about 8.8 months against Ghost Starter — then it's strictly cheaper for the life of the blog, $324+ saved over 3 years.
Switching is 3 steps
- Buy once on Whop. One-time $79 for the packaged Windows installer plus lifetime updates.
- Run it your way. Desktop app with no server at all, or ADMIN_PASSWORD=... BASE_URL=... docker compose up -d on a $5 VPS.
- Write and publish. Markdown in the split-pane editor, drag in images (auto-resized), hit publish — or schedule it and walk away.
When paying Ghost is still the right call
Being straight about it: the subscription earns its keep in three situations. If your team is large enough that Ghost's collaboration features, permissions and admin controls are genuinely load-bearing; if your workflow is built on its integrations and leaving means rebuilding that plumbing; or if you have enterprise requirements — SSO, audit logs, SLAs, a vendor to call — that a pay-once app doesn't come with. Everyone else is paying $9/mo for a job that runs fine on hardware they already own.
If that's you, Inkpress is $79, once. For the deeper dive, read the Inkpress vs Ghost head-to-head or the full Ghost comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — MIT source at github.com/bensblueprints/inkpress-mvp, always. $79 buys the packaged Windows installer, 1-click setup and lifetime updates.
Why zero JavaScript on the public site?
Because a blog is documents, not an app. No client framework means instant loads, perfect crawlability and nothing to break. The test suite literally asserts there's no script tag on public pages.
Can it do paid newsletters like Ghost or Substack?
No — and Ghost is genuinely strong there. Inkpress is a publishing engine: posts, tags, themes, RSS, SEO. If memberships and paid email subscriptions are the core of your business, Ghost's built-in monetization is worth its fee.
What happens to old links if I rename a post?
The slug-rename 301 redirect table catches them automatically — old URLs redirect to the new slug instead of 404ing your inbound links.
Do scheduled posts need a cron job?
No. A scheduled post simply stays hidden until its publish time passes — the server flips it live on the next read. Set it and forget it, even on a bare $5 VPS.
More on Ghost pricing
Inkpress — product page, demo & full feature list · All OneTimeSuite pricing breakdowns
Try Inkpress — $79, once
Split-pane markdown editor, 3 themes, server-side highlighting, RSS & SEO — one SQLite file.