Notifuse vs Ghost vs Mailcheap

Side by side, as alternatives to beehiiv. Rows that differ are highlighted; the strongest value in a row is marked. Unknown means no source yet.

NotifuseNotifuse/notifuse

GhostTryGhost/Ghost

Mailcheapmarclou/mailcheap

beehiivpaid product

Cost and coverage

Price

$0 software; you run it

See pricing page source ↗

Subscriber lists and segments

Partly

Yes

Campaign editor and templates

Partly

Yes

Automations and drip sequences

Partly

Yes

Signup forms and landing pages

Partly

Yes

Open and click analytics

Partly

Yes

Paid subscriptions and newsletter website

Partly

Yes

Jobs covered

4 of 6 jobs

5 of 6 jobs

1 of 6 jobs

All 6

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

2,254

55,578Top

1,275

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

934Top

—

Latest release

v41.0 · 2026-09-17

v6.72.0 · 2026-10-20Top

Unknown

—

Commits / 12 wk

2,115

—

People committing / 12 mo

92+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

20 / 8

14 / 17

0 / 0

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Self-hosted with Docker or Docker Compose, or Notifuse Cloud

Self-hosted with Ghost-CLI (local dev or Ubuntu production), or hosted Ghost(Pro)

Self-hosted on Vercel or any Node.js 22+ host

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

Business Source License 1.1 from v40 (converts to AGPL-3.0-or-later after four years); v39 and earlier AGPL-3.0

MIT

AGPL-3.0

—

Model weights licenceDiffers

No separate model weights

No bundled weights; AI agents connect through its MCP server

—

Commercial useDiffers

Production use and hosting for others allowed; six licensed features need a paid key

Yes, MIT

Yes, AGPL-3.0; you must share your source if you offer a modified version over a network

—

Paid services needed?Differs

Needs an email provider or SMTP server; licence key only for >3 workspaces, granular permissions, SES tenants, SSO, multilingual templates and audit log

Newsletter delivery requires Mailgun (SMTP not supported for bulk mail); Stripe needed for paid memberships

Needs Amazon SES or PostShiba for sending, both paid; MongoDB, QStash and hosting have free tiers

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

No hardware figures; needs PostgreSQL 17 or newer

Server with at least 1 GB memory for production

Not checked yet

—

Operating systemsDiffers

Docker host with PostgreSQL; host OS not listed

Production on Ubuntu 22.04/24.04/26.04; local development install on macOS, Windows or Linux

Deployment requires Node.js 22+ hosting. No explicit Windows/macOS/Linux server support matrix was verified.

—

Setup effortDiffers

Medium; Docker Compose or standalone Docker, then a setup wizard for admin, API endpoint and SMTP

Medium; npm install ghost-cli then ghost install, with NGINX, MySQL 8 and a domain for production

Medium; deploy to Vercel or a Node.js host, then set up MongoDB, SES or PostShiba, QStash and DNS

—

Stars over time

Switch to Growth % to compare projects of different sizes fairly.

Notifuse
Ghost
Mailcheap

Focus a point, use arrow keys, or tap for its value.

Tracked daily since 16 Oct 2026. Dashed history: estimated from public records of when people starred the repo. Lines connect observations only; gaps contain no measured points.

Growth % starts at each project's first observed point in the shown range. Zero-star starts are unavailable.

Notes for a video or post

A plain summary with today's date and a link to the sources. Check each project page before you publish.

Notifuse vs Ghost vs Mailcheap (as alternatives to beehiiv)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 21 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=notifuse,ghost,mailcheap&product=beehiiv

beehiiv: See pricing page
Notifuse: free software; does 4 of 6 beehiiv jobs
Ghost: free software; does 5 of 6 beehiiv jobs
Mailcheap: free software; does 1 of 6 beehiiv jobs

- Notifuse: 2,254 GitHub stars, 59 commits in 12 weeks, licence Business Source License 1.1 from v40 (converts to AGPL-3.0-or-later after four years); v39 and earlier AGPL-3.0
- Ghost: 55,578 GitHub stars, 2,115 commits in 12 weeks, licence MIT
- Mailcheap: 1,275 GitHub stars, 75 commits in 12 weeks, licence AGPL-3.0

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: Notifuse Self-hosted with Docker or Docker Compose, or Notifuse Cloud; Ghost Self-hosted with Ghost-CLI (local dev or Ubuntu production), or hosted Ghost(Pro); Mailcheap Self-hosted on Vercel or any Node.js 22+ host
- Code licence: Notifuse Business Source License 1.1 from v40 (converts to AGPL-3.0-or-later after four years); v39 and earlier AGPL-3.0; Ghost MIT; Mailcheap AGPL-3.0
- Model weights licence: Notifuse No separate model weights; Ghost No separate model weights; Mailcheap No bundled weights; AI agents connect through its MCP server
- Commercial use: Notifuse Production use and hosting for others allowed; six licensed features need a paid key; Ghost Yes, MIT; Mailcheap Yes, AGPL-3.0; you must share your source if you offer a modified version over a network
- Paid services needed?: Notifuse Needs an email provider or SMTP server; licence key only for >3 workspaces, granular permissions, SES tenants, SSO, multilingual templates and audit log; Ghost Newsletter delivery requires Mailgun (SMTP not supported for bulk mail); Stripe needed for paid memberships; Mailcheap Needs Amazon SES or PostShiba for sending, both paid; MongoDB, QStash and hosting have free tiers
- Hardware: Notifuse No hardware figures; needs PostgreSQL 17 or newer; Ghost Server with at least 1 GB memory for production; Mailcheap Not checked yet
- Operating systems: Notifuse Docker host with PostgreSQL; host OS not listed; Ghost Production on Ubuntu 22.04/24.04/26.04; local development install on macOS, Windows or Linux; Mailcheap Deployment requires Node.js 22+ hosting. No explicit Windows/macOS/Linux server support matrix was verified.
- Setup effort: Notifuse Medium; Docker Compose or standalone Docker, then a setup wizard for admin, API endpoint and SMTP; Ghost Medium; npm install ghost-cli then ghost install, with NGINX, MySQL 8 and a domain for production; Mailcheap Medium; deploy to Vercel or a Node.js host, then set up MongoDB, SES or PostShiba, QStash and DNS

Stars show popularity, not quality. Check each project page before publishing.

Want share images and a ready video description? Open a project's creator kit.

Numbers: GitHub, fetched nightly. Facts: read from each project's own documentation, with the source on its page. How we check. Notifuse/notifuse ↗TryGhost/Ghost ↗marclou/mailcheap ↗

Notifuse vs Ghost vs Mailcheap

Stars over time

Notes for a video or post

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