The best free blogging sites in 2024 (2024)

Free blogging sites provide an easy and affordable way for anyone to share their thoughts and ideas online. To determine the top free blogging sites, we carefully evaluated the available options based on factors like ease of use, customization, features, and support. Our team has the knowledge to identify which ones truly stand out for their functionality, design flexibility, and overall value.

Our top pick for the best free blogging site is Wix. Wix's powerful drag-and-drop editor, huge selection of professional templates, and robust feature set make it incredibly easy to create a stunning blog, even with no technical experience.

Read on to discover the best free blogging platform for your needs.

The quick list

Searching for the top free blogging platform? Here’s a brief overview of the best blogging sites, emphasizing their unique features. For detailed insights, check out the full review.

The top 3 free blogging sites right now

The best free blogging sites of 2024 in full

Best overall

While you’ve probably heard Wix referred to as one of the best website builders, the platform's free blogging element also has a great deal to offer wannabe bloggers of all experience levels.

For those who are uncertain about how to get started with a blog, a generator tool can give you a selection of potential blog names, while the platform also offers an impressive range of ready-made design templates that are ideal for beginners.

Once you’ve got to grips with the platform, you can unlock a range of more advanced features for adding videos, images, and photo galleries to your posts. Ambitious bloggers may also be impressed by the unlimited page count.

Wix has expanded its app market with more blogging-related apps and services in the past year. These include social plugins that allow for more seamless sharing of your content across different platforms, comment management tools to engage with your readers more effectively, and analytics tools to track your blog's performance and audience demographics.

On the social media integration front, Wix now offers more than just the ability to push posts to Facebook. You can connect multiple social media accounts, including Twitter, Instagram, and even LinkedIn, enabling you to share your content across a broader network with just a few clicks.

One big downside of the free plan is that your blog will automatically display Wix branding. If you’d like to remove these adverts, you’ll need to upgrade to one of the paid plans. You should also note that you’ll be limited to 500MB of data transfer a month with the free version.

Read our full Wix review.

Best for personalization

Even if you’ve barely researched the best free blogging sites, chances are you’ve come across WordPress.com. And for many bloggers, it’s the go-to platform for launching a new site.

It’s easy to see why. As you come to publish your first post, WordPress’s set-up wizard will walk you through the process step-by-step and will help you with decisions such as selecting your design theme. However, for those new to blogging, one point to note is that WordPress doesn’t operate on a drag-and-drop interface.

As a result, you’ll need to invest a little time and effort in understanding how to use WordPress’s various menus and interfaces if you’d like to make the most of the platform’s vast array of customization options and plugins.

This isn’t necessarily a black mark against WordPress as, once you’ve got to grips with its menu system, you can personalize almost every aspect of your blog to create an online presence that can truly set your blog apart from the crowd.

One potential downside of the free plan is that it doesn’t include email or live chat support. That said, a big bonus of WordPress is that privacy protection is included for free with domains registered via the platform.

WordPress.com has made strides in improving the user experience with a more intuitive block editor, which simplifies the content creation process. This editor allows you to insert a variety of content types into your posts and pages with ease, from images and videos to buttons and galleries.

WordPress.com has also expanded its selection of themes and customization options, even for free users. While the customization on the free plan might not be as extensive as on paid plans, there's still a considerable range to help your blog stand out.

Note: If you’re setting up your blog via WordPress.com, you should ensure you avoid the common error of confusing the platform with WordPress.org: a free open publishing platform that requires users to host their own blogs through a third party.

Read our WordPress review.

Best for ease of use

Weebly is exceptionally easy, making it an ideal choice for beginners or those who prioritize simplicity in their blogging journey. The platform's intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows you to create and customize your blog without any coding knowledge, making the process of setting up a blog quick and straightforward.

One of Weebly's key strengths is its selection of free, mobile-responsive themes. The themes available are modern and professionally designed, giving blogs a polished look right from the start. The free plan allows users to choose from these themes and make basic customizations to align with their brand.

Weebly even offers basic e-commerce features on its free plan. This allows you to dip your toes into selling products or services alongside their content without any upfront investment.

Weebly's free plan includes essential blogging features such as a blog manager, the ability to categorize and tag posts, and a comments section for reader engagement. The platform also provides basic analytics tools to help bloggers understand their audience and track their blog's performance.

However, advanced users may find the customization options somewhat restrictive compared to more complex platforms. The free plan also displays Weebly branding on your blog, which may not be ideal for those seeking a fully professional appearance.

Despite these limitations, Weebly's combination of a user-friendly interface, solid selection of free themes, and basic e-commerce capabilities make it well-suited for bloggers looking to establish an online presence quickly and easily.

Best for analytics

Launched on the eve of the millennium, Google’s own Blogger is one of the grandparents of online publishing and holds a certain nostalgia for anyone who began their blogging career in the noughties. But despite its advanced years, it continues to be a strong proposition. And should you encounter difficulties, the platform has an active online community

One of the most attractive features is its built-in analytics function and, if you’re seeking a more in-depth view of your readers, you can connect your blog directly to Google Analytics. Compatible with Google AdSense, Blogger could also be valuable for those looking to monetize with categorized help topics.

Google has made strides in giving Blogger a more contemporary feel, with updates to its template designs and customization tools. However, compared to other platforms, Blogger's design options still might feel somewhat limiting.

On the technical side, Blogger remains a very reliable platform, benefiting from Google's robust infrastructure. Downtime is rare, which means your blog is likely always available to your readers.

However, for those looking to expand beyond blogging into more complex website territory, Blogger's capabilities can be restrictive. There's no direct way to add custom functionalities like forums or online stores as you might with platforms designed for broader website creation. This limitation is something to consider if you anticipate needing more than just a blog.

Blogger also doesn’t offer tailored customer support and, although being limited to a Blogspot.com domain name may not be an issue for individuals, it could lack the level of professionalism desired by some business owners.

Best for audience

Should you wish to avoid some of the stress involved in launching and hosting your own personal blog, Medium could be the right online publishing platform for your needs.

While the other solutions discussed here enable you to create your own site from scratch, Medium is a blog-sharing space that gives you the opportunity to add your voice to an already thriving online community. In simple terms, you own your content on Medium, but not the platform on which you’re posting.

Launched by the co-creator of Twitter and attracting more than 170 million readers worldwide, many thought leaders and prestigious publications such as The Economist regularly post content on the platform. So you’ll definitely be in good company if you post your blog on Medium.

Under the Medium model, you won’t be burdened with any of the operational difficulties involved in running your own website and can avoid headaches such as optimizing SEO yourself—which is a definite bonus for technophobes.

However, you also surrender a certain degree of autonomy. In a worst-case scenario, Medium’s moderators could suddenly remove your content if they deem it unsuitable or offensive. Under the platform’s terms and conditions, all content needs to take into account factors such as newsworthiness. But, crucially, your posts should adhere to all relevant laws and not pose any potential harm. Should your blog be taken down, there is little you could do about it.

Deciding if Medium is the best choice for you ultimately comes down to whether or not you’d prefer to operate your own site, or be happy to relinquish some control over the platform if it meant promoting your brand to Medium’s enormous readership. If it’s the latter, Medium could prove an attractive choice.

Best for newsletters

Substack seamlessly blends traditional blogging with email newsletters, making it an excellent choice for writers focused on building a direct relationship with their audience. The platform's straightforward, minimalist interface allows you to concentrate on writing without the distractions of complex design tools.

Writers can easily offer paid subscriptions, with Substack handling all payment processing. This makes it simple for bloggers to turn their passion into a potential income stream. However, Substack takes a 10% cut of subscription revenue, which can become substantial as your audience grows.

The platform's email newsletter integration is a significant advantage. Each post can be automatically sent to subscribers' inboxes, ensuring your content reaches your audience directly. This feature helps maintain consistent engagement with readers, which is crucial for building a loyal following.

Substack's community-building tools are impressive. With over 20 million monthly active subscribers on the platform, bloggers have access to a vast, engaged audience. Features like recommendations, promotions between creators, and the "Substack Reads" curated round-up provide opportunities for exposure and growth.

While Substack excels in simplicity and ease of use, it does have limitations in terms of design customization. The platform offers fewer options for personalizing the look and feel of your blog compared to more traditional blogging platforms.

The best free blogging sites, compared

Free blogging sites FAQs

What are free blogging sites?

Free blogging sites can be described as online platforms that allow you to create and publish content without any cost. They are designed to make it easy for you to set up a blog, create and publish posts, and interact with readers.

With free blogging sites, you don't need any technical skills or knowledge to get started. They provide you with templates and tools that make it easy to create a professional-looking blog.

You can use free blogging sites to share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences with the world. Whether you want to write about your hobbies, share your expertise, or promote your business, free blogging sites can help you do it without breaking the bank.

How to choose the best free blogging site for you

The popularity of blogging, both for businesses and individuals, means that there is now an abundance of online resources that could help you find the best free blogging site for your niche. As well as reading online reviews of the platforms you’re interested in, you could visit their online communities and social media pages to get a sense of user satisfaction.

But the most effective way to find the right solution for you could simply be trial and error. By testing the different options, you’ll quickly get a sense of whether or not they’re right for you. Finding the right blogging platform for you will ultimately depend on what you most value in an online platform.

Whether this is design customization or robust customer service, you should be able to find a free blogging site to suit your needs.

How we review the best free blogging sites

How we review the best free blogging sites

When searching for the best blogging sites, we test and evaluate website builders and blogging platforms on a variety of criteria, including price, number of features, functionality, interface, ease of use, user support, and security. However, there is no substitute for doing your own customized research.

Read more about our testing methodology.

Next steps with website builders and web hosting

If you want to find out more about WordPress, make sure to read our range of content looking at the CMS, including our pick of the best website builders for WordPress, how to build a website with WordPress, and the biggest WordPress mistakes to avoid making.