Starting a blog doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.
If you’re interested in checking out a list of free blogging platforms, you have come to the right place. As of the time of writing the article, there are still a few great options!
Free blogging sties won’t suit everyone, but if you’re looking for a place to share your writing and don’t care about a lot of customization or extra features (or you have the skills to add those yourself) then one of these options may be a good fit.
List of Free Blogging Platforms
Let’s go over some of the options of the free blogging platforms out there so you can pick a good fit for what you need.
Keep in mind, unless you buy your own domain for your blog, you will often have a subdomain from the main website host you plan to put your free blog on.
Substack
Many writers have launched Substack newsletters, and it’s also a good free option for blogging. It’s free to get started, and there’s also a paid subscription option (which Substack will take a cut from for operating expenses).
If you already have a blog somewhere else, Substack allows you to import your posts and emails into their platform during setup.
Here’s an interesting use case where an author serialized her novel through Substack.
Medium
Over the years, Medium has become one of the more popular blogging options.
With Medium, you do not get your own website but you can start to write a blog on their platform in just a few minutes of registering with an account.
Medium also has their own internal search, so people can find your blog and posts to read and then choose to subscribe. There is also a payment method within Medium, if your blog is doing well and attracting enough readers.
Wix
Wix is a popular blogging option for people who want to use a free platform.
With Wix, if you do decide to grow your website and upgrade your hosting, domain, or website in general, there are options for you to easily pay and do so. Upgrading will also allow you to do things like take payments.
If you do not have any tech skills, Wix is easy to set up since you can use drag-and-drop options to design the overall look of your site.
WordPress
WordPress is a common blogging platform, both for free bloggers and for professional websites. It is one of the most powerful options when it comes to putting a website.
Keep in mind, there are two versions of WordPress, although they are both the same parent company: WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
The dot com website is the options that offers free websites. The dot org option is one you will need to install on a website you have purchased for hosting, the domain, and so on.
With WordPress.com, you have less ways to customize your website and overall design, but you do have templates to choose from that can work best with your free blog.
Drupal
Drupal might not be as well-known as some of the other blogging options on this list, but if you are up for a little bit of a tech learning curve, it might be a perfect fit for what you need.
It offers an open source content management system that you can fully customize with code and build to be exactly what you need.
If you do not know much about coding or anything in that world, you can skip this option, but for those that do, this might be exactly the type of thing you need.
Should You Use a Free or Paid Blogging Platform?
If you want to take blogging seriously, you will most likely decide to use a paid platform or build your own site (hosting, domain, template, etc.).
However, using a free blogging platform is a great way to test the waters before you choose to invest anything more than time.
Some from the list of free blogging platforms listed above come with a built-in design so you don’t have to do anything but write. That’s a huge help for people without the technical skills to build and maintain their own website.
Cons of Free Blogging Platforms
Here are a few reasons you might not want to use a free blogging platform.
Harder to monetize
Blogs that are free can be harder to monetize because you do not often have as many customization or monetization options as you will have with your own site.
May not be able to fully customize your site
If you have a free blogging platform, you do not always have the option of installing templates or website themes to fully customize your website look.
May not be able to take payments
Some free blogging platforms will not allow you to take payments, so be sure do double-check if ones do or not if that is something you need out of a platform.
You do not have a custom domain
The price of free means you use the platforms domain, not your own unique one. Some free options allow a custom domain upgrade, so if this is important to you then check that out before getting started.
Search engine issues
Sometimes search engines will prioritize websites that have their own domain versus sites that do not and only are using a free platform.
Is Blogging Still Worth It?
Even though social media channels like YouTube and TikTok are dominating the content creation market right now, there are still many benefits to starting and maintaining a blog.
One reasons is to create an additional revenue stream. Yes, there are blogs that earn money and provide a full-time income for writers.
However, blogs are also useful for creating a place to express your thoughts or practice writing. You can become a stronger writer by continually practicing in public.
Another reason to start a blog is to use it as a portfolio or a platform for attracting writing work. When you have something that is high-quality for clients and publications to see, it increases your chances of landing the job.
