11 of the Best Blogging Platforms for 2022 (Free & Paid)

Do you want to start a blog but aren’t sure which blogging platform to use? With so many free and paid platforms available today, which one would work best for what you want to accomplish?

If you are new to blogging, you’ll need to find the best blogging platform that makes it simple to set up your new blog without having to learn any code.

It should also be SEO-friendly, have plenty of customization options, and be adaptable enough to accommodate future development.

In this blog post, you’ll learn how to choose the best blogging platform for your specific needs; we’ll cover a quick review and give the pro and cons of each platform along with the costs, if any.

Let’s get started:

Choosing a blogging platform is one of the most important decisions to make when starting a new blog. Finding the best option can be a difficult decision, especially with all of the blogging platforms available today.

To assist you, we have worked to unfold the key features and essential aspects of the top blogging platforms.

So, without any further ado, let’s dive in!

What is a Blogging Platform?

To put it simply, a blogging platform allows you to create and publish blog posts in an easy and effective way. Platforms like these have pre-coded templates, allowing you to create a blog without messing around with codes.

Simply put, it means you don’t have to learn to code for creating or designing your blog. We’ve created a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to start a blog, ← ← ← right there.

Most of the blogging platforms contain customizable themes. With a few clicks, you can tailor these themes to meet your specific needs.

Besides, these platforms have evolved quite a bit since its inception. Blogging platforms have become much more than their intended purpose. For instance, you can create a complete business website or an eCommerce store through most blogging platforms.

When it comes to blogging platforms, you only have 2 choices, the paid version or the free blogging version.

How to Choose the Right Blogging Platform for Your Needs

To choose the ideal blogging platform for your specific needs, you must first assess how well its features match your objectives and requirements.

If you are looking to build a business site for making money, then choosing the best blogging platform that will offer the tools needs, to include built-in SEO tools which will help you gain traffic back to your site, is the right choice.

Since johneengle’s ultimate goal is to help you “find freedom through blogging – to start, grow & build a sustainable, money-making blogging business,” that’s the direction this post is going to take you.

Let’s have a look at one of the most important characteristics you’ll need for your blog. This list will give you some ideas for what to look for in the different blogging platforms.

Blogging Platform Themes

A blogging platform theme is a pre-designed template that changes the look of your blog. Some platforms, such as WordPress, have 1000’s of free and paid themes to choose from. Others, like Blogger, have a more limited selection.

The important thing is to make sure the platform you choose offers a variety of themes that you’ll be able to find one that suits your style and needs.

A word of advice – if you’re wanting to make money from your blog, investing in the proper blogging platform is the only way.

Below, you will find 11 totally different blogging platforms, each with a different purpose.

Let’s take a look at our #1 pick for the best blogging platform to start a money-making business.

#1 – OUR TOP PICK – WordPress.org combined with SiteGround

WordPress.org is one of the most popular blogging platforms for both beginner, and expert bloggers. WordPress is used by nearly 43% of all the websites on the Internet.

As of 2021, there are about 1.3 billion total websites on the web. More than 455 million of those sites use WordPress.

The versatility and scalability of WordPress are the reasons it’s so popular. It’s an open-source, content management system (CMS) with complete authority over literally, every aspect of your WordPress blog.

Because it’s a free and open-source, anyone with access to the internet can add their own WordPress themes or plugins (customize and extend functionality) to their blog. At the time of this writing there are nearly 60,000 free WordPress plugins, with 1000’s of premium ones to choose from.

Another reason to choose WordPress for your blogging platform, besides its flexibility is, it’s the best choice when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO).

WordPress creators know that SEO is an important factor if you want your blog posts to be found by Google and other search engines.

There are plugins like RankMath for WordPress that make optimizing your written content for maximum, organic reach, which will help your blog posts reach the search engine results pages (SERPS), which is important for any business.

The WordPress, content management system has been poked and prodded to be one of the most user-friendly blogging platforms. You can easily add, images, videos, downloadable PDF’s, and pretty much anything else you can think of, without having to touch a line of code.

But, like with anything else, there is always a learning curve. But, you’re in luck because, you can do a Google search for anything along the line of WordPress, and you will find a walk-through tutorial.

Hosting your WordPress blog

WordPress.org isn’t a blogging platform on its own, it’s a self-hosted solution that only offers you with the software you’ll need to create your blog. This is where the investing in your business part comes in.

You’ll need to invest in web hosting in order to make the WordPress, blogging platform work. Lucky for you, SiteGround is the Most Cost-Effective – Officially Recommended by WordPress.org – WordPress Blog Hosting for the money?

SiteGround is one of the best blogging platforms that’s engineered for speed, built for security and optimized for WordPress. And, it’s also second to none, with a customer satisfaction rating of 98%.

Once you sign up, it’s super easy to install WordPress, just click a button and it’s done in about 10 seconds. What can be easier than that?

The Pros of WordPress.org are:

• You can find a WordPress theme for just about anything
• The platform is user-friendly
• It’s easy to add plugins to increase functionality
• You’re in full control of your blog
• It’s one of the best blogging platforms for Search Engine Optimization
• Affordable (WordPress is free and hosting for WordPress is cheap)

The cons of WordPress are:

• You’re responsible for keeping your WordPress blog up to date (w/SiteGround you can set up automatic updates if you choose)
• You need to find web hosting and pay for it (I recommend SiteGround)
• There are other blogging platforms easier to use

Pricing

WordPress combined with SiteGround starts at $3.99 a month for shared hosting. SiteGround also offers a 30 Money-Back Guarantee.

SiteGround comes with:

• Free eMail
• SSL (HTTPS) to encrypt your blog, so Google knows it can be trusted
• Content Delivery Network (CDN), so your site loads fast from anywhere in the world
• Backups of your site, so you’ll never lose any of your data. I’ve used this feature on more than one occasion, which has save my site from disaster

Get Started w/WordPress (hosted by SiteGround)

Now that we’ve looked at our top pick for the best blogging platform, hands down, let’s take a look at some others.

Paid Blogging Platforms

2. Squarespace

It’s an all-in-one website blogging platform, making it possible to create amazing websites and blogs. The most impressive feature of Squarespace is its drag-and-drop editor. This makes it an ideal option for small businesses and new bloggers.

Learning this platform is super easy. The setup wizard guides you through every single step. Meaning, it won’t require any type of coding and design skills.

To start with, you’ll just need to select a design template from this platform’s extensive library. Next, add a blog page, perform some design customization and start blogging.

When considering the personalization and branding of your blog or website, there is a wide range of options to choose from. For example, there are tons of color patterns, layouts, fonts, and designs. Squarespace allows you to access free and high-quality images on Unsplash. In addition, you can make necessary changes to the images with Squarespace’s photo-editing tool.

Not only this, but Squarespace also comes with powerful marketing tools. So, you can promote your blogs to enhance traffic without paying for additional marketing software. The paid plan offers a variety of features including, SSL Security, and a custom domain name.

And if you’re stuck while choosing the best blog name, we’ve already published a detailed guide on how to choose a blog name.

Pros

• Easy to handle interface
• Customizable
• Suitable for beginners
• Access to stunning and professionally designed templates
• Impressive analytics and marketing features

Cons

• Minimum integration options
• Not as flexible as WordPress

Pricing

SquareSpace is available at a price starting from $14 per month (Annual Subscription) $19 Monthly.

Get Started w/SquareSpace

3. Weebly

Weebly is another powerful blogging platform. The package includes a website builder with professionally-designed and fully customizable themes. It is a great option even if you don’t have any idea about coding or web designing.

Creating and hosting your blog with Weebly is a breeze. With a few clicks, you can add impressive design features to your blog. There is a huge range of blog templates available here to offer unique design elements. Not only this, but implementing amazing effects like Parallax scrolling is also easy with Weebly.

Above all, Weebly also assists you with the marketing aspect of your blog with its intuitive and effective tools. This particular feature helps you while promoting your posts/blogs via social media. In addition, you can also optimize your site with the available tools.

Pros

• Highly customizable
• Completely hosted platform
• Integrates well with the Square payment platform
• Highly recommended for beginners
• Simple setup procedure

Cons

• Can’t offer sufficient bandwidth

Pricing

Apart from the free basic version, there are paid plans too. One of these plans with a custom domain costs $6/month (billed annually) to $26 a month (billed annually).

Get Started w/Weebly

4. BigCommerce Essentials

This is one of the best blogging platforms for an eCommerce site and comes with high-end blogging features.

It is a viable choice if you want to sell your products online. With BigCommerce, you can easily create an online store. You can monetize your blog or in simple words you can make some money blogging, drive traffic, and start selling your products.

First, you have to design a storefront with a built-in and user-friendly ‘Page Builder tool’. While doing so, you can customize the design depending on your branding needs. Next, you need to create a checkout page and integrate it with a preferred POS provider.

BigCommerce offers built-in inventory management and shipping tools. This feature allows you to manage day-to-day orders in a streamlined way. This platform provides a basic yet highly customizable blog. You can change the way it looks and feels by introducing your preferred design features.

In order to boost the visibility of your eCommerce store, BigCommerce will integrate with some big eCommerce stores like Amazon, Google Shopping, eBay, and Facebook.

Pros

• Highly recommended for eCommerce businesses
• Capable of integrating with popular POS providers and marketplaces
• Built-in SEO, shipping, and inventory management tools
• Simple and effective page builder

Cons

• Slightly Expensive

Pricing

This best blogging platform for business costs $29.95 per month (Standard Plan) to $79.95 for more marketing tools to increase conversions. A free trial is available, but for no more than 15 days.

Try BigCommerce for Free

5. Drupal

Drupal is a flexible and advanced platform for bloggers. It’s a great option for users with advanced blogging needs. Especially, Drupal is another choice when you’re looking for a self-hosted option.

Being a top blogging platform, Drupal offers a variety of unique and out-of-the-box features. By investing some time in learning this platform, Drupal can serve as a powerful solution. It’s really capable of meeting all your blogging needs.

Best of all, Drupal shows compatibility with numerous content types, taxonomies, blocks, views, and page templates. With its highly advanced and secured user permissions, other stakeholders (site admins, content creators, etc.) can access only the permitted content.

Pros

• Ideal for meeting most of your blogging needs
• Extended features for content management system
• Advanced user permissions
• Helps to create a professional-looking blog

Cons

• Difficult to learn for beginners

Price

The Personal Membership plan starts from $17.5/month. Whereas, Organization Membership is available for $42/month.

Get Started w/Drupal

6. Wix

Talking about the best platform for blogging, Wix manages to secure a place on our list. It’s so convenient to use when compared with other blogging platforms. Wix is quite popular for its drag-and-drop interface. The smaller learning curve makes it an easy-to-use blogging platform for beginners.

Although the paid version is a bit expensive, it serves as an ideal choice if you’re looking for ways to make money from blogging. Wix ensures the best value for money, as it offers tons of impressive features. The best thing, it also has a free plan that you can use without any limitations.

With over 800 templates, Wix makes it possible for you to create a professionally-looking blog. Besides, there are industry-specific templates. This means you can create a customized blog that meets your business needs.

Pros

• Drag-and-drop software
• User-friendly drag-and-drop UI
• Great selection of eCommerce tools
• Easily to learn
• Creating your website is a breeze

Cons

• Limited themes and plugins

Pricing

The basic plan starts from $16/month (for personal use). However, the Business VIP plan costs $59/month.

Get Started w/Wix

7. Ghost

Ghost is a specifically designed blogging platform for writers and bloggers. The best feature of this platform is its minimalist approach. It requires a minimum effort to create and publish a blog. We can say Ghost is a somewhat smaller version of WordPress. This platform tends to be a simple yet effective open-source platform.

Ghost is less flexible as compared to other available options. However, it focuses on providing the possible experience while creating and publishing a blog. This is possible with the Ghost’s rich content editor. Formatting posts are easy with Ghost. Hence, you can create the best piece of content to attract and engage your audience.

Furthermore, this blogging platform offers a wide selection of tools. Writers can take advantage of these tools to develop catchy content. You can also use built-in registration forms, native SEO features, subscription support, membership management tools, and much more.

Pros

• Created specifically for writers and bloggers
• Simple and easy to learn interface
• Impressive layouts and themes
• Doesn’t require much of a setup procedure
• Comes with a wide range of tools and features

Cons

• Fewer themes available

Pricing

Ghost’s paid plans start from $9/month. Apart from this, a 14-day free trial is also available.

* * * I’m not going to tell you how much the Business Version costs (billed annually), because most likely you’ll pass out and not finish this article. If you truly wanna shock yourself, follow the link, then click on Pricing, but prepare yourself!

Try Ghost for Free

Best – Free Blogging Platforms

After exploring paid versions of the best blogging platforms, it’s time to discuss some free blogging platforms. Although the free versions aren’t that flexible or functional, they still provide a nice foundation for blogging. Besides, the site-building tools and customization options are also limited.

However, these blogging platforms still give you an opportunity to create a nice blog and run it properly. If you are interested in using a free blogging platform, take a look at the following options.

8. WordPress.com

WordPress.com is the sister of WordPress.org, which you saw as our #1 pick above.

There are 2 versions of WordPress, one that requires self-hosting (WordPress.org) and is for the money-making, business side of things, the other is the free platform option more along the lines for hobbyists and personal blogs, which is the one we are talking about here.

WordPress.com is free, as long as you’re ok with ads on your site, limited customization options and enjoy a long domain name. Example: “https://yourblogsname.wordpress.com”. If you are wanting to create a blog to make money, this is NOT the blogging platform for you.

If you’re willing to pay the fees to unlock customization options, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

Being an open-source blogging platform and website builder, WordPress.com allows you to modify your blog or website to meet the required needs. By installing plugins and themes, it even provides extra convenience to the users.

Since this particular, free blogging platform, WordPress.com is flexible and permits some minor customization, it will allow you to create the best possible blog/website.

Pros

• Ideal for hobbyists
• A decent range of customization options
• Nice customer support (Paid Pro Version)
• Shows compatibility with various software
• User friendly interface
• Free version available

Cons

• The free version has a single WordPress subdomain restriction.
• You don’t own your site, whether Paid or Free
• It’s very limited for customization

Pricing

Hobbyists and Personal Use bloggers can take advantage of a free version of WordPress.com. However, the paid version starts at $5 per month (billed annually) to $15 for the Pro Version, which is still limited on functionality.

Get Started w/WordPress.com

9. Blogger

Blogger is a popular blogging platform when it comes to freebie platforms. This website is specifically designed for beginners. Although most of the content management tools are missing, Blogger still offers the key features required for blogging. In fact, it turns out to be a feature-rich option when compared to other free platforms.

The biggest advantage of blogger is that you can easily build and customize a basic blog. Apart from this, it proves to be an ideal blogging platform for creating a lifestyle blog.

To start with, you just need to create a Google account and go to the blogging section. Now choose the desired template and start publishing your blogs. The other best thing Blogger offers is that you can also buy a custom domain for optimizing your SEO settings.

Pros

• Ideal for lifestyle blogging
• Feature-rich free blogging platform
• Simple interface
• Suitable for the newbies
• Free to use

Cons

• Not possible to change display settings
• Limited design options
• You don’t own the blog

Get Started w/Blogger

10. Tumblr

Tumblr is the best blogging platform for business, as it comes with impressive social networking and marketing features. Being a free and easy-to-use blog platform, Tumblr proves to be a viable option for hobbyists. In fact, it offers both the features of a social network and a standard, blogger platform.

Tumblr offers almost everything that you might need while establishing your blog. By choosing among the premium quality themes, you can create a professional-looking blog. Besides, you can also add social sharing buttons, sidebars, comment sections, and much more.

If you aren’t happy with the free subdomain, Tumblr allows you to purchase a custom domain. With some HTML coding skills, it’s also possible to create a nicely customized blog. By adding multimedia files, you can make your blog more engaging and shareable.

Signing up to this publishing platform is easy and free. This allows you to publish killer content and grab the attention of Tumblr’s potential readers. In addition, the social network features give you the freedom to promote your blog on any social media platform.

Tumblr tends to appeal to both bloggers and businesses. Individual bloggers can easily promote their content while businesses can showcase their brand’s personality. So, if you want to engage a good number of followers, Tumblr is a viable option to consider.

Pros

• Suitable for both the individuals and brands
• Loaded with blogging and social multimedia features
• Helps to attract and engage the online community
• Easy to use
• Free

Cons

• Restrictions on publishing posts
• You don’t own your site
• Limited features

Get Started w/Tumblr

11. HubPages

HubPages is an intuitive and free blogging platform. It’s a great option for those who are looking for ways to create and publish simple blog posts. HubPages gives you the experience of writing content for a virtual journal. If you prefer a platform with a minimalist interface, HubPages is a viable option.

Being free and one of the best, free blogging platforms, HubPages allows you to write down your thoughts in a blog post and publish it. You can start immediately without having a target audience in mind. Although it isn’t a viable choice for complex and advanced blogging, it serves as a great tool to share your thoughts with the world.

There is a wide range of sections to choose from, so that you can easily find your niche. This particular platform offers you an opportunity to showcase your blog to a wide audience.

However, there are downsides too. You can’t exercise much control over the appearance or looks of your blog posts. In fact, you are tied to the pre-defined setup of the blogging platform.

Pros

• Free to join
• Easy to use
• Ideal option for amateurs and beginners
• Ranking a blog on HubPages is easier
• Can serve as a source of passive income
• Vigilant customer support

Cons

• Not suitable for professional bloggers
• Limited flexibility
• You don’t own your site

Get Started w/HubPages

Final Thoughts

Once you have gone through our list of the 11 best blogging platforms, choosing a perfect blogging platform shouldn’t be that difficult.

While making a selection, pay attention to the functionality and flexibility of the blogging platforms that you are considering. This will help you meet your blogging needs and achieve your goals.

If you are truly wanting to start a blog for the purpose of making money, then our #1 pick is the best choice, and one you won’t regret. It’s truly the only blogging platform that you OWN and can take it with you if you decide to make a change, for any reason.