Unveiling the best blogging platforms 2024 (Free & Paid)
Blogging has become one of the easiest and most popular ways to make a lot of money. Some bloggers even make over $100,000 a year. That is absolutely possible for any serious blogger.
You have probably thought of starting a blog but was confused as to which blogging platform to use? Well, today, that comes to an end because after reading this blogpost, you will discover the best blogging platforms for you to use.
You’re probably wondering if you have to pay to use these platforms. I’ll tell you what, some of them are paid but some are free! Yeah, that’s right, absolutely FREE!
Which of these platforms will be best for you will depend on your specific needs. Here is a list of the blogging platforms that I have chosen only for you.
FREE | PAID |
Blogger | Blogstatic |
Medium | Wix |
WordPress.org | WordPress.com |
Substack | Weebly |
Tumblr | Squarespace |
Before we get to know about each platform, there bare factors you should consider before choosing a blogging site. So, what are these factors?
Factors to consider when choosing a blogging site
- Ease of use
It is of extreme importance to choose a blogging site that you can easily use without any difficulties. This means that the platform should have a user-friendly interface where different tools and features can be found easily. These features include the dashboard, control panel and editor among others. You don’t want You don’t want to spend hours figuring out how to navigate a platform, do you? Writing content already takes up a lot of time by itself.
- Cost of the platform
It is also important to consider the expenses that you will incur while running your blog. Always choose what is affordable to ensure that your blog is up and running all the time. It can be very annoying for you and your blog visitors when you blog is pulled down from the internet due to delayed payments. These payments include registration, hosting, domain registration and premium themes and plugins.
- Customer Support
A good blogging platform should have a reliable support team to help the users in case of any technicalities. Email, phone and live chat support should always be available to assist the bloggers. Can you imagine having a problem with your blog but there is no help you are receiving from the platform, all the frustration and disappointment? I’m sure you wouldn’t want that. Always check if a company has a good support team to avoid such problems.
- SEO Capabilities
A good blogging platform must be optimized for search engines to help increase the visibility of your blog and bring in more traffic. The SEO capabilities depend on the following features:
- Meta tags. These are HTML tags which give information about your posts to search engines making your blog easily discoverable.
- Customizable permalinks. URLs which are customizable are more user friendly and this increases your site traffic.
- Sitemap. This is a file that shows all your blog pages, and it enables search engines to crawl your blog more efficiently.
- Mobile Optimization. Your blog should be accessible to mobile device as more people rely on them to access the internet.
- Site Speed. A slow site can be very annoying, and this can harm your SEO. Ensure the platform is optimized for fast load times.
- Social media integration. Sharing your blogposts on social media can improve your ranking on search engines. Make sure you choose a site that allows you to share your posts on social media.
- Monetization
This is a very crucial factor to consider. You don’t want to blog for around a year and later realize that you cannot monetize your blog. Some platforms do not allow third party advertising and may even take ownership of your blog since you do not pay them. Make sure the platform you use allows you to make money off your hard work.
Without any delay, let’s jump right into the various platforms and we’ll start with the free ones.
Best free blogging platforms
#1. Blogger
Blogger is a free blogging platform that is owned by Google. It has an easy-to-use interface and is very good for beginners.
I have personally used Blogger and I can confess that it’s one of the best FREE blogging platforms out there. My experience was awesome, and it gave me an easy time when blogging.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Free
- Easy to monetize
- Unlimited storage and bandwidth
- In-built google analytics
Cons
- Limited customer support
- Limited customization
- Tough to make money
- It’s not e-commerce enabled
If you are just starting out and don’t know much about blogging, I would recommend that you choose Blogger and later you can move on to other platforms.
Heads Up: However, if you really want to make blogging your full-time job, then I recommend you try out other platforms. The thing with Blogger is that it’s owned by Google and Google can delete all your content anytime leaving you with nothing. If you choose Blogger, make sure you have nothing to lose.
START HERE: Blogger
#2. WordPress.org
WordPress.org is the best and most popular blogging platform in the world. Powering over 43% of all websites, WordPress is by no surprise the go to for almost every blogger.
It offers a wide range of themes and plugins that enable bloggers to design their blogs and give them a good visual appeal. You can customize everything exactly as you want.
And you know what? WordPress.org is actually FREE! However, you will need to get hosting and domain registration from a third party. You can get your domain from PorkBun and hosting from Orange Host. And if you can’t pay for that right now, you can get free hosting on sites like InfinityFree.
With WordPress.org, you can monetize your blog through ads, affiliate marketing and sponsored posts among other methods.
Pros
- Free to use
- Highly flexible and customizable
- Many themes and plugins to choose from (free and paid)
- Optimized for search engines
- Easy to monetize
Cons
- Steep learning curve
- High expenses (hosting, premium themes and plugins)
- Website vulnerability
- Slow page speed
WordPress.org requires time and patience for beginners to get comfortable with all of the features and customization options. All in all, WordPress is still the best blogging platform.
START HERE: WordPress.org
#3. Medium
Medium is one of the best free blogging platforms with a large built-in audience. Its user-friendly interface enables bloggers top focus on creating high quality content without distractions.
With its over 100 million audience, Medium is sure to give your blog the exposure you need and allow you toto interact easily with its members.
Are you wondering if you can monetize your medium blog? If so, then it’s a big yes! Medium allows bloggers to make money through paid memberships by joining their partner program. Additionally, you can make more money through affiliate marketing by placing affiliate links on your post.
Pros
- Large built-in audience
- Monetization through Medium Partner Program
- Easy to use
- Built-in analytics
Cons
- Bloggers do not own their content
- Not easy to rank
- Not easy to get noticed
You might not be able to make a fortune on Medium but it’s worth trying. Medium’s high domain authority enables stories to rank high on search engines.
START HERE: Medium
#4. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social networking platform as well as a good blogging platform. Its audience of over 250 million users with over 250 million of them active makes it a preferred blogging platform. It is also optimized for search engines giving its content faster visibility.
Pros
- Built-in audience
- Free to use
- SEO optimization
Cons
- Limited customization
- No lead generation
- You must publish regularly to reach more people
I would recommend LinkedIn to anyone who is aiming t write about B2B content or anything that is business related.
START HERE: LinkedIn
#5. Tumblr
If you are a blogger who enjoys creating images, infographics and GIFs to complement their content, then this is absolutely the platform for you.
This microblogging platform makes it very easy for you to create your site for free. It has over 496 million blog accounts making it a very popular platform.
Pros
- You can create a subdomain for free
- You can connect to your own custom domain name
Cons
- You don’t own the content you publish on their platform
- Text blogging is not given much attention
Its large community enables visual bloggers to capture an audience belonging to a particular demographic and later move on to platforms that allow you to create your own site with full control over the content you publish.
Heads Up: If you only want to pursue blogging through text or want complete control over your content, then I’m afraid Tumblr might not be for you.
START HERE: Tumblr
#6. Substack
Substack is among the highly preferred blogging platforms for bloggers just starting their blogs or newsletters and this is because it offers a subscription model enabling writers to monetize their content easily. Additionally, this model assists writers in building a loyal following from their audience.
Another interesting thing about Substack is that writers own the content they publish on the platform and have freedom and control over it. Isn’t that amazing considering that the platform is free to use?
Pros
- Free to use
- Built-in newsletter
- Monetization through paid subscriptions
- User-friendly platform
Cons
- Limited customization
- Revenue share (10%) between Substack and writers
- Third-party monetization is not allowed.
START HERE: Substack
Those will be the free blogging platforms for now. If you are just starting out and don’t have much capital, then I advise you to start with the free platforms I have given you. If you are interested in spending some money, then stay right here and check if the following paid platforms suit you.
Best paid blogging platforms
#1. Blogstatic.io
Blogstatic is one of the newest blogging platforms there is. It allows you to set up your blog in minutes.
Quite a number of bloggers who use this platform have already given positive reviews saying that it’s the best and easiest platform for blogging. I must say that if I didn’t use WordPress, Blog static would be my only alternative.
With this platform, you don’t need any coding knowledge and it offers almost every feature you may need as a blogger. It’s also optimized for SEO and fast loading speeds giving you and your visitors the best experience.
Pros
- It is affordable
- Extremely easy to use
- Built- in newspaper
- Monetization is easy
- Allows you to connect a custom domain
Cons
- It’s a very new platform
- Does not offer a free plan
Pricing:
Starter plan: $19 per year
Expert plan: $49 per year
Professional plan: $99 per year
Another amazing feature is that you can manage multiple blogs on the platform using a single plan. I’m sure most of the platforms don’t give you that, right?
And what’s more, you get a free SSL certificate within minutes upon registration ensuring that you and your visitors are protected from malicious attacks.
Moreover, the content you publish belongs to you only and you get full control over your blog. I wouldn’t say this for all platforms.
If you are a beginner and do not want to deal with all the trouble of creating your blog and dealing with the many problems that come with blogging, then check out this platform ASAP!!
START HERE: Blogstatic.io
#2. Wix
Wix is great for bloggers looking for an easy-to-use platform with drag and drop functionality. It has both a free plan and a paid one.
Their free plan, however, is very limited and I would advise everyone against it. One drawback of this plan is the annoying ads shown on your blogposts. This can make your site to be disliked by visitors. Moreover, your storage is reduced to 500 MB, and you can’t even connect your blog to a custom domain. How annoying, right? If you are serious about blogging, then go for the paid plan.
Their paid plan starts at $17 per month and you get a custom domain which is free for the first year. And that’s not all. You blog won’t have annoying ads and you get much more storage. What can stop you now? Start your blog immediately!
Pros
- Has a free plan
- Free domain name (1st year) with paid plans
- Free SSL certificate with paid plans
- Easy to use
Cons
- Free plan is very limited
- Limited customization
START HERE: Wix
#3. WordPress.com
Finally, right? I know y’all been waiting for this one. It’s not always my recommendation for new bloggers but it’s also a very good platform. This is because of how overwhelming it can be for beginners. You will need to give up some time to learn how to use this platform. However, the sacrifice is very rewarding.
WordPress.com allows users to fully customize their sites by themselves. It has all the features you will need as a blogger. And the best thing is that you can get it for free. You don’t believe me? Go check it out yourself.
Pros
- Has a free plan
- Fully customizable
- Many themes and plugins
- Mobile friendly themes
Cons
- Not suitable for complete beginners
- Site vulnerability
- Requires some technical knowledge to use
Pricing:
Free plan: $0
Paid plan: Starts at $4 per month
If don’t want to be restricted as a blogger, I would advise you to get WordPress rather than platforms like Wix or Squarespace which are quite limited in areas such as customization.
START HERE: WordPress.com
#4. Weebly
This one is made especially for beginners. Beginner bloggers, where are you? Hosting over 50 million websites, Weebly is no doubt a good blogging platform.
With its drag and drop editing, you can be sure that it’s a very simple platform to use. It offers access to dozens of themes, and you can change them anytime without losing your content. This is not the same with platforms like Wix where you can lose all your content by just changing your theme.
Pros
- Access to dozens of themes
- You can change themes without losing content
- Easy customization with the drag and drop editor
Cons
- Limited customization
Pricing:
Free plan: $0
Paid plan: Starts at $6 per month
START HERE: Weebly
#5. Squarespace
This is another very popular site for bloggers. It has a drag-and-drop system which enables you to customize your blog as you like.
Its many templates enable users to create a professional looking site in only a few clicks. Its higher plans offer a professional email address, sophisticated analytics and CSS and JavaScript customization.
However, this platform lacks a free plan. I know, that’s disappointing. But look at the features you get from it. It could be worth it if you are willing to invest some money.
Pros
- A vast range of professional templates
- Automatic updates
Cons
- It’s expensive
- The templates are restrictive
Pricing:
Basic plan: $16/month
Business plan: $23/month
Commerce (Basic) plan: $28/month
Commerce (Advanced)plan: $52/month
START HERE: Squarespace
My Recommendation
My recommendation for the free blogging platforms is WordPress.org and for those who prefer paid platforms, I recommend Blogstatic. Thank me later.
The Bottom Line
With all these platforms, you no longer have an excuse to start a blog. Starting a blog might seem easy but the real work lies in creating content for the blog.
For your blog to succeed, choosing the perfect platform is very critical in order to avoid future problems. This choice depends on your needs and specifications as a blogger.
All the best, fellow bloggers.