Configure Paid Membership Subscriptions in Ghost (v4.x) with Stripe

Desired outcome

Enable readers to subscribe to free or paid tiers, unlock gated content, and receive recurring revenue through a Stripe integration.

Prerequisites

• A self-hosted Ghost (v4.0+) or Ghost(Pro) site with admin access.
• A Stripe account; you will need the publishable key and secret key (test or live).
• A custom domain configured with HTTPS (required for Stripe and member login).
• Basic familiarity with the Ghost admin interface.

Procedure

1. Open Members settings: In Ghost admin, click the gear icon → Members → Settings.
2. Connect Stripe:
   • Under Stripe connection, paste your Stripe Publishable key and Secret key.
   • If using test mode, ensure the keys begin with pk_test_ and sk_test_; for live mode use pk_live_ and sk_live_.
   • Click Save connection. Ghost will validate the keys and display a success banner.
3. Define membership tiers:
   • Navigate to Members → Tiers.
   • Click Create a tier.
   • Example configuration:
     • Name: Supporter
     • Description: Access to all posts and a monthly newsletter.
     • Price: 5.00
     • Interval: Monthly
     • Access: All posts (toggle All posts on).
   • Repeat for a free tier (price 0) if desired, setting access to No posts or a subset.
   • Save each tier.
4. Apply tier visibility to content:
   • Edit a post or page.
   • In the post settings sidebar, under Visibility, choose Members only or select a specific tier (e.g., Supporter).
   • Save the post.
5. Optional: Test the flow:
   • Visit your site front‑end; the subscription form should appear at the bottom of posts or via the /members/account page.
   • Click Subscribe, choose the Supporter tier, and complete the checkout using Stripe test card 4242 4242 4242 4242 with any future date and CVC.
   • After payment, you should be redirected back to the site and see the member portal.

Expected checks

• Confirm the membership portal loads at https://your-domain.com/members/account and shows the Supporter tier option.
• Verify that a test subscription creates a member record labeled “Supporter” in Members → All members.
• Check that a post set to Members only returns a 403 or redirects to the login page for unauthenticated visitors, and displays full content for logged‑in members with the Supporter tier.
• Inspect Ghost logs (ghost log) for any Stripe webhook errors after a test payment.

Recovery options

• If the Stripe connection fails, re‑enter the API keys, ensure the webhook endpoint URL matches the one shown in Ghost (https://your-domain.com/webhooks/stripe), and consult the Ghost logs for error details.
• If changing tier access rules locks existing members out, revert to the previous rule set via Members → Tiers and consider communicating the change to affected subscribers before saving.
• To disable paid subscriptions temporarily, toggle the Stripe connection off in Members → Settings; existing members retain access until their subscription period ends.