Open Source Publishing Platform

Publish on your terms.
Keep every dollar.

Meridian is a self-hosted blog engine with memberships and newsletters built in. Zero platform fees. No vendor lock-in. Just your words, your audience, your revenue.

Deploy Now Read the Docs
0% Platform Fee
AGPLv3 License
Deno 2 Runtime

Publishing

Write, publish, done

A block-based editor that stores content as structured JSON. Create posts and static pages, organize with tags, and publish instantly.

  • Block-based content (text, headings, quotes, code, dividers)
  • Posts and static pages
  • Tag organization with post counts
  • Full-text search across all content
  • RSS feed out of the box

Memberships

Subscriptions without the platform tax

Connect your own Stripe account. Free, premium, and custom tiers with dynamic visibility rules. Members pay you directly — Meridian takes nothing.

  • Stripe integration — connect your own account
  • Free, premium, and custom subscription tiers
  • Automatic Stripe Product/Price creation
  • Customer portal for self-service billing
  • Content visibility based on member tier

Newsletters

Send to your audience directly

Compose newsletters in the admin dashboard and send to your subscribers via Resend. Members can subscribe through a public signup form on your blog.

  • Compose and send newsletters from the dashboard
  • Public subscriber signup form
  • Send via Resend integration
  • Logs to console in development (no email config needed)

How we compare

Meridian vs. the alternatives

Feature Meridian Ghost Substack WordPress
Platform Fee 0% 0% 10% Varies by host
Self-Hosted Yes Yes No Yes
Native Newsletters Yes Yes Yes Plugin required
Payments Stripe (0% platform fee) Stripe only Stripe (10% fee) Plugin required
Open Source AGPLv3 MIT No GPL

Deploy

Up and running in minutes

One-click deploy to your preferred platform, or self-host with Docker. All you need is a PostgreSQL database.

Railway

One-click deploy with managed PostgreSQL and Redis. Automatic SSL and custom domains.

Deploy on Railway
Fly.io

Deploy globally on Fly Machines with automatic scaling and edge routing. Add Fly Postgres in one command.

Deploy on Fly.io
Render

Auto-deploy from GitHub with free managed PostgreSQL. Great for getting started at no cost.

Deploy on Render
Docker

Run anywhere with Docker Compose. PostgreSQL, Redis, and the app — all configured and ready.

View Docker Guide

Quick start with Docker

$ git clone https://github.com/meridian-blog/meridian.git $ cd meridian $ cp .env.example .env # Edit with your settings $ make dev # Starts PostgreSQL + Redis + App # Open http://localhost:8000 — that's it.

Pricing

Free forever. Seriously.

Meridian is open source under the AGPLv3 license. Self-host it for free. We'll offer managed hosting for those who prefer it.

Self-Hosted

$0 / forever

Full platform, no limits, no fees.

  • Unlimited posts and pages
  • Unlimited members
  • Newsletter sending via Resend
  • Stripe payments integration
  • REST API and GraphQL
  • Community support
Get Started

Managed Cloud

$9 / month

We handle hosting, backups, and updates.

  • Everything in Self-Hosted
  • Managed PostgreSQL and Redis
  • Automatic updates
  • Daily backups
  • Custom domain + SSL
  • Email sending included
  • Priority support
Coming Soon

Own your platform.
Own your revenue.

Start publishing with Meridian in under 15 minutes. No credit card, no platform fees, no strings attached.

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