10 Best Free Blogging Platforms & Websites to Start a Blog for Free
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Are you looking for the best blog websites to make money and help you establish a captivating blog filled with content? Or maybe you want your readers to not just enjoy your publications, but also allow them to interact with you and each other freely? If so, then keep reading to learn more about the top 10 platforms that will help you establish a blog for free.
Before we start, let’s take a look at the 5 best blogging platforms from our overview:
| Name | Developer | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | Free | Customizable blogs with powerful content management |
| Medium | Free or from $5/mo | Community-oriented publications |
| Wix | Free or from $4.50/mo | Personalized blogs |
| Tumblr | Free | Short blogs featuring visual media |
| Substack | Free | Newsletter-based blogs |
Top 10 Best Free Blog Websites
Regardless of your blog’s topics, having an accessible and free-to-use platform for interaction with your readers & subscribers is vital for any blogger. Due to this, many blog creator websites are experiencing increased popularity. While not all modern sites for bloggers may be completely free, they still provide an incredible range of benefits. Here are some of them:
- Free publishing: One of the main reasons for bloggers to choose free blog sites to make money is connected with free publishing. While being accessible to everyone, such solutions provide a diverse range of publishing tools, making the use of various paid apps or services unnecessary.
- Quick & easy setup: Most of the best blog websites allow easy setup and don’t require any expert knowledge from users. This is also one of the reasons to choose modern free blogging sites.
- Detailed analytics: Built-in analytical tools help writers track the success of their posts and learn more about what interests readers without having to pay for any third-party software.
- Zero maintenance cost: The developers of blog creator websites usually handle the maintenance of their site and all blogs located on it. That’s why many blog authors tend to choose such services when looking for a sustainable website providing trouble-free publishing tools.
No wonder that with such a wide selection of features and functional advantages, new & experienced blog authors wonder how to make a blog for free. Now, let’s find out more about the top 10 blogger sites to help you get started with your creative publications.
1. WordPress
For the start of our overview, we chose arguably the best free blogging platform. We are talking about WordPress, which is also known to many as the world’s leading CMS. Designed as an open-source & user-friendly platform for blogging, it is one of the main choices when it comes to creating a free, responsive, and content-rich blog.
One of the main benefits that WordPress provides is full control over every aspect of your blog. From content to performance and design, you can easily modify anything you want to make the best blog websites meet your readers’ expectations. Besides, with a diverse choice of page builders, such as Elementor and Gutenberg, creating new posts and pages will be a simple task that doesn’t require any coding.
Key features:
- Constant free updates;
- Lots of free & premium plugins to enhance your blog’s functionality, including for extra actions, such as appointment scheduling plugins, forums, website performance, etc.
- SEO-friendly and ready for mobile devices;
- Perfect for all types of blogging, from a travel blog to culinary;
- Strong & supportive user community.
Free WordPress Themes and Plugins to Kickstart Your Blog
Talking about the benefits of this best free blogging platform, we need to mention the variety of themes and plugins available for WordPress. They not only enhance your blog but can also completely transform when you apply the right tools. For example, if you aim for deep customization that doesn’t require advanced coding, we recommend using Stratum (works for Elementor sites) and Getwid (works for the default WordPress block editor). These are free plugins that improve the functionality of the abovementioned Elementor and Gutenberg builders by providing widgets and blocks that feature professionally designed elements for your blog.
When it comes to the design of an online blog, we recommend using block-based themes for WordPress since they can be easily customized. Such solutions as Prime FSE can be used as a canvas for your blog. This theme has a variety of design elements to help you get started with online publishing. Another suitable solution is Getwid Base. Optimized for Gutenberg page builder, it comes with a range of pre-designed blocks to not only improve your blogging but also to make the result more attractive.
| Name | Developer | Price | Launched in |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | WordPress Foundation | Free | 2003 |
2. Medium
Medium is one of the highly popular platforms when it comes to free blogger sites. In case you have an idea or a story to share, this platform is one of the best places since it doesn’t require any paid registrations to get started. While you can support the platform and authors by purchasing a membership starting from $5/month, most of the posts on Medium are available to read and publish for free.
As the second-best free blog platform on our list, this solution provides tools for basic text formatting available before you publish the post. Similar to WordPress, the platform allows you to share your publications as well as add links and featured images to them. This will help to attract readers’ attention. Moreover, Medium supports the customization of SEO data, such as title and description to properly display your post in search results when using the best free blogging sites.
Key features:
- Highlights & embeddable elements;
- Social cards for more interactive sharing;
- Tags & in-line notes;
- Different topics for each publication;
- Built-in SEO tools.
| Name | Developer | Price | Launched in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | A Medium Corporation | Free or from $5/mo | 2012 |
3. Wix
One of the popular website builders and the best blog websites, Wix, also provides considerable tools for publishing and sharing your ideas and posts. For example, you can easily create personal blog websites with this platform using a varied range of pre-made designs. Besides, feel free to add blogging functionality and enjoy the experience, while providing quality content the way you want.
Wix provides easy & free access to its blogging & customization tools. However, to unlock all the features and get a full understanding of what this solution provides, you may need to purchase a premium plan that starts from $4.50/month.
Key features:
- Easy-to-use blog builder;
- Multiple designs with customizable content elements;
- Free & secure website hosting;
- Advanced tools for SEO & content marketing.
| Name | Developer | Price | Launched in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | Wix.com Ltd. | Free or from $4.50/mo | 2006 |
4. Weebly
Weebly is a website builder similar to Wix that provides an extensive choice of themes and tools for blogging. It is a perfect starting point if you don’t want to pay for your site’s hosting and domain and just want to start publishing using one of the several provided designs.
As one of the best personal blog websites currently offering 8 ready-made themes for blogs, Weebly delivers basic customization features with full access to text formatting and publishing tools. As a result, you get everything necessary to create any kind of blog in a few clicks, be it about lifestyle, food, or fitness. Additionally, you can get access to extra features, such as connecting a custom domain for a small monthly payment.
Key features:
- User-friendly visual editor with SEO tools;
- Optimized for mobile platforms;
- Fully customizable site templates;
- A variety of blocks for your content.
| Name | Developer | Price | Launched in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weebly | Block, Inc. | Free or from $6/mo | 2007 |
5. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the next online solution on our list and also one of the best blog websites for beginners. Used primarily for establishing professional connections, this social network provides free-to-use publishing tools. If you don’t plan to establish a separate website with a unique web design for your blog, this way of creating written content is worth checking out.
While being completely free to all registered users, the included tools are somewhat limited. For example, you can only choose out of 2 heading styles. Additionally, the display of the final result will be defined by LinkedIn’s layout. However, you can schedule your posts for later and even provide an SEO title and description to appear higher on Google search results.
Key features:
- Simple text editor for your blog posts;
- Built-in Microsoft Designer for AI content generation;
- Post scheduling;
- Customizable data for search engine optimization.
| Name | Developer | Price | Launched in |
|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn Corporation | Free | 2003 |
6. Tumblr
Tumblr is one of the few best blog websites oriented towards visual content more than just text. This solution provides a perfect place to publish your thoughts and ideas. Combining the best from the worlds of blogging and social networking, Tumblr allows you to express yourself in various ways. If you find traditional blogging too dull and lacking in media that is usually seen on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, or Facebook, we recommend giving Tumblr a try.
Unlike some social networks, Tumblr doesn’t offer a strict word limit. This makes the platform a perfect choice for personal blog websites. Moreover, you can connect a custom domain without any additional payments or buy a domain from the platform starting from $5. As for the content, Tumblr supports various types of posts, ranging from traditional text to images, video, audio, and even chat. Getting started with publishing is free and it may even help you build a greater community than on any other blogger sites.
Key features:
- 7 available blog post types;
- Integrated advertising tools (Tumblr Blaze);
- Custom domain support;
- Well-developed post tagging system;
- Limited blog customization features.
| Name | Developer | Price | Launched in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tumblr | Automattic | Free | 2007 |
7. Substack
Substack is a newsletter-based blogging solution that allows you to deliver written content regularly to your subscribers. Regardless of the content you want to publish, this is the best free blog platform to get started for free if you aim to earn from your blog in the future. With the support of audio, video, and text-based publications, Substack is one of the best blog websites when it comes to publishing your ideas, tips, or just anything on your blog, especially if you already have fans or followers on other resources and social media.
While creating and publishing with this platform is free, once you decide to provide members-only content and monetize it, Substack will charge 10% off each subscription, while the remaining 90% goes to you (minus credit card fees). This makes the mentioned solution a great one for new bloggers who want to grow their audience. Luckily, you can export all your subscriber data to CSV at any time and move to any other blogging platform with similar features (such as Ghost or Medium).
Key features:
- Powerful post editor;
- No publication limit;
- A variety of topics and tags;
- Easy export of subscriber data.
| Name | Developer | Price | Launched in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Substack | Substack Inc. | Free (10% fee from monetized content) | 2017 |
8. Joomla!
If you’d like to publish using a CMS rather than any other best free blog platform on our list, we recommend trying out Joomla! Being less popular than WordPress but still rather feature-rich, this solution is a great package for a new blog. Additionally, it can be of great use if you’re looking for something more flexible than Medium or Substack.
However, Joomla! has certain downsides, too. For example, the visual design of the built-in content editor is somewhat outdated. Additionally, just like WordPress, this tool requires hosting and a domain to work. But if you are looking for one of the simplest and best blog websites that works out of the box and is fully customizable, Joomla! has got you covered. With diverse extensions and templates, it can surely be a great choice for any blog.
Key features:
- Simple yet effective blog editing tools;
- Wide choice of themes and extensions;
- Open-source and fully customizable;
- Optimized for search engines.
| Name | Developer | Price | Launched in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joomla! | Open Source Matters | Free | 2005 |
9. Hashnode
Many web developers may need a blog to share their knowledge and build a community of supportive readers. However, regardless of your experience as a developer, it is sometimes easier to create content having a blogging CMS pre-configured by your needs. Hashnode is the best free blogging platform for modern developers who not only like publishing but also need certain features, such as webhooks & analytics.
Being a free solution built just for developer bloggers, this one of the best blog websites provides an extensive set of advantages even on its free plan. Their variety is what makes Hashnode a CMS rather than just a simple blogging solution. For example, you can not only control your content but also customize the blog’s design, use the powerful blog dashboard, apply APIs to enhance your blog, and more.
Key features:
- Best choice for developer bloggers;
- WYSIWYG post editor with support for highlighting and embeds.
- Built for performance and user-friendly blogging;
- Automated GitHub backup of your articles.
| Name | Developer | Price | Launched in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hashnode | LinearBytes Inc. | Free | 2020 |
10. Blogger
Lastly, we’ll take a look at Blogger, one of the best blog websites originally launched in 1999 and owned by Google. If you don’t want to develop a blog from scratch and need to start your blog quickly and trouble-free, Blogger may be a suitable choice, especially for personal blogs. From analytics to design customization, the platform provides the essentials without overwhelming you with dozens of settings and interface elements.
As a modern solution and the best website to create a blog, Blogger delivers everything you’d expect from the best free blogging platform. For example, you get to choose from 12 themes and multiple color variations for your blog’s design. Additionally, as a blog owner, you can freely modify the layout and add widgets to the sidebar or other areas. When it comes to creating new posts, Blogger provides a workspace similar to Google Docs with varied formatting tools and extensive text customization. While not an innovative platform for bloggers in its functionality, it certainly delivers everything necessary for beginner bloggers for free.
Key features:
- Multiple themes with customizable color schemes;
- Blog monetization with Google AdSense;
- Detailed analytical tools;
- Support of custom domains.
| Name | Developer | Price | Launched in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blogger | Free | 1999 |
Conclusion
If you look forward to sharing your knowledge & ideas with the world, then starting a blog is an excellent choice. Moreover, it will help you build an audience interested in your publications and the creative style of your blog. Getting started with any of the best blog websites we mentioned above will simplify the first steps for you as a blogger. Furthermore, there are multiple benefits to using these solutions rather than developing a blog from scratch:
- Focus on content: Using any of the mentioned blogger sites allows you to focus on writing and publishing new articles right away, without having to think of your blog design and features first.
- Rich functionality: The feature range is often one of the main decision-making factors when it comes to choosing a platform for personal blogging sites. Whether it’s an easy-to-use text editing toolkit or a secure space for your readers, certain functionality matters more than the design-oriented features of the best free blog platform.
- Customization: Improving the appearance of a blog was a tool available only to web developers until now. Luckily, some of the blog creator websites allow you to change your blog’s design without having to develop or code anything at all.
- Pricing: While all of the solutions we covered in this article offer free blogging options, some of them also allow you to improve the blogging experience without costing you a fortune. If you’re ready to enhance your publishing process or want to reach more potential readers, this may be a great decision.
