Looking for the best free blog sites to start a blog? If so, you’ve reached the right place.
Starting a blog doesn’t require any investment. Many platforms let you create and publish posts without paying for a domain or hosting. This is an excellent way for beginners to test ideas, share stories, or build an online presence. The challenge is choosing the right platform, since each has different features and limits.
Today, we pick the best free blog sites and list them along with their key features. You’ll see which platforms are easy to use, offer better customization, and provide fast support. Whether you want to write casually or begin your blogging journey to make money, this guide’s for you.
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What to Look for in a Free Blog Site?
Before choosing a blog site, there are a few important things to consider, depending on your experience and blogging goals:
- Ease of use – A beginner-friendly setup with simple tools for writing and publishing.
- Customization options – Themes, layouts, and design choices to give your blog a unique style.
- Storage and bandwidth – Limits on how much content, images, or traffic your free plan can handle.
- Monetization – Some free platforms allow ads or affiliate links, while others don’t.
- Community and Support – Access to readers, built-in networks, or help resources when you need guidance.
These factors will guide you toward the best free blogging platform for your needs.
Comparison Table: Best Free Blog Sites
| Platform | Customization | Monetization | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress.com | Limited on free plan; upgrades unlock more | Limited ads; upgrades needed for full control | Hobby bloggers Beginners |
| WordPress.org | Full control with themes and plugins | Ads, affiliate links, e-commerce | Serious bloggers Business blogs |
| Blogger | Basic themes; limited options | Google AdSense integration | Beginners Personal blogs |
| Weebly | Decent customization; drag-and-drop | Limited on free plan | Personal blogs Small businesses |
| Tumblr | Highly customizable themes; great for media | Limited ads; affiliate links possible | Short-form Visual/creative |
| Medium | No design freedom; standard layout | Medium Partner Program | Writers Thought leaders |
| Wix | Strong design flexibility; many templates | Limited on free plan | Visual blogs Small businesses |
| Strikingly | Limited templates; clean designs | Paid plans for monetization | Minimalist blogs Landing pages |
| Ghost (Free Version) | Clean design; Markdown editor | Memberships and paid subscriptions | Writers Newsletter blogs |
| Substack | Minimal design options | Paid subscriptions (revenue share) | Writers Journalists |
| Squarespace (Free Trial) | High-quality, stylish templates | Requires paid plan | Small businesses Portfolio blogs |
| Bravenet | Very limited customization | Minimal monetization | Hobby blogging Personal journals |
| LinkedIn Articles | No design control | No direct monetization | Professional blogging Thought leadership |
Best Free Blog Sites for 2025
These are the best blog sites to start a free blog with free hosting, themes, and others,
1. WordPress.com
WordPress is one of the most popular free blogging sites and has been around for years. It’s built for people who want to start a blog quickly without dealing with hosting setup or technical details.
You can create an account, choose a theme, and publish your first post within minutes. Developed by Automattic Inc., the name behind WooCommerce and Jetpack, it helps you to establish your online presence with free SSL, beautiful themes, and other features.
Your website will appear with a WordPress.com subdomain (for instance, www.yourwebsite.wordpress.com) and 3 GB of free storage. This storage limit is enough to run a typical website smoothly.
However, free users can’t use custom plugins; design options are more restricted compared to the paid plans. Your blog will also display WordPress ads.
If you want to remove restrictions and unlock more features, you should go for premium plans, which start at $4 per month. It comes with a free domain, premium themes, expert support, and the ability to install plugins.
Pros and Cons of WordPress.com
Pros
Cons
WordPress.com is a good place to start blogging. It fits any budget and website type.
Premium users can add a custom domain (www.example.com), beautify sites with stunning premium themes, install plugins, and even run an eCommerce portal on the platform. So, if you have a bduget to invest, WordPress.com is a good choice.
WordPress.com Pricing
WordPress.com has different subscription plans, including free, personal, premium, business, and eCommerce.
Free: Free SSL + Free themes + 1 GB storage + Free CDN + Unlimited users + Basic stats + AI assistant + Automated WordPress updates + Hacking protection + Malware scanning & removal + Firewall + Newsletters + Unlimited automated social media shares + Payment buttons
Personal: (All features in the Free plan, plus) Free domain + custom domain address + no ads + Dozens of premium themes + + Traffic stats + email & live chat support + 6 GB storage = $4/mo
Premium: (All features in the Personal plan, plus) Unlimited premium themes + advanced customization + Google Analytics + Premium stats + Monetization + Fast support + 13 GB storage = $8/mo
Business: (All features in the Premium plan, plus) SEO & Developer tools + Premium stats + Real-time backups + 1-click restore + Uptime monitor + Staging + Priority customer support + Up to 250 GB storage = $25/mo
Commerce: (All features in the Business plan, plus) eCommerce tools & integrations + Premium store themes + 0% transaction fee + Priority support + Up to 250 GB storage =$45/mo
2. WordPress.org
WordPress.org is known as the self-hosted version of WordPress. Unlike WordPress.com, it doesn’t provide hosting.
You can download the free WordPress software and install it on your hosting account. This setup gives you complete control over your blog and makes it one of the most flexible platforms available.
Thousands of free and paid themes are available for WordPress.org sites. They fit all website types, such as businesses, portfolios, blogs, and e-commerce.
You can also add plugins that bring extra features, such as content optimization, contact forms, email subscriptions, or social sharing. These tools help you build a professional-quality website easily.
Another significant advantage is monetization. Since you control your hosting, you can run ads, add affiliate links, or sell products directly from your blog.
The only cost involved is paying for hosting and a domain name. This might seem like an extra step for beginners, but the flexibility you gain is worth it.
DreamHost is a popular web host that has been officially recommended by WordPress. Starting at just $2.59/mo, you can start a blog with DreamHost with a free domain, free SSL, unlimited storage, and many other features. They also provide a 30-day money-back guarantee to all customers.
HostArmada is another cheap web hosting provider for WordPress. Their plans start at $2.49/mo with a free domain, free SSL, and 15 GB SSD storage. They also offer 24/7 customer support to address your queries and complaints quickly.
Pros and Cons of WordPress.org
Pros
Cons
WordPress.org is ideal for anyone serious about blogging, building an audience, or turning a blog into a business. It powers more than 30 per cent of total websites at this time.
You can find out WordPress-optimised plans with all hosting providers to manage and run your WordPress site smoothly.
3. Blogger
Blogger is one of the best free blog sites for beginners. It is owned by Google and allows you to create up to 100 blogs per Google account.
Ease of use, free themes, and Google AdSense integration make Blogger a favorite spot for many to start a career in blogging. Built-in visitor analytics is another advantage to track your audience effectively and get an idea about what kind of posts they like.
Unfortunately, Blogger lacks plugin functionalities. So, you should edit theme files to add social sharing icons and other widgets to the site. If you have no coding knowledge, it may be difficult for you to find relevant tools, as Blogger resources or tutorials are very limited on the web.
One advantage of Blogger is its integration with Google services. You can connect your blog to Google Analytics for tracking and AdSense for monetization. This makes it easier for new bloggers to learn how ads work.
All websites will have a .blogspot.com extension. But you can override it and apply a custom domain address without additional cost.
Open your blog’s settings and choose the ‘Custom domain’ (under Publishing) option, enter the domain name you want to use, and save. Then, you will see Blogger’s CNAMES in a pop-up box.
Copy and paste them into your domain records to connect. It may take up to 48 hours to verify your domain ownership. Once it is verified, your blog will serve from the new address.
Pros and Cons of Blogger
Pros
Cons
Creating a blog on Blogger is simple. You only need a Google account, and within minutes, your blog can be live with a free Blogspot subdomain. It lets you create as many blogs as you want and activate custom domain addresses on them.
Google Blogger is a good option if you are working on a tight budget. Once your site grows, you can consider shifting to any other platform like WordPress.org.
4. Weebly
Weebly is another free blog site with a drag-and-drop builder. It mainly focuses on business websites and e-commerce portals. However, you can create any type of website through the visual builder and customize it with professionally designed themes and powerful controls.
Several responsive themes are available in different categories like online store, business, blog, personal, portfolio, and events. Choose and install a theme in one click. Create clean pages, add products, and integrate with third-party tools to boost your traffic and sales.
Weebly is a perfect place to start a home-based business or extend your small-scale business operations and physical store online. You can also attach a blog to your business to attract more customers.
Free Weebly blogs will appear with a Weebly.com subdomain. If you want to apply a custom domain, you should go for a premium plan, which starts at $10/mo.
Pros and Cons of Weebly
Pros
Cons
Weebly is a free blog site with e-commerce tools. It offers support through chat, email, and community forums. This Weebly review will show users how easy it is to use the interface.
Weebly Pricing
Weebly has 4 subscription plans: free, Connect, Pro, and Business.
Free: Free SSL + customer support + 500 MB storage
Personal: (All features in the Free plan, plus) Connect a custom domain = $10/mo
Professional: (All features in the Personal plan, plus) Free domain + no ads + Unlimited products + shopping cart + Coupons + analytics + Gift cards + phone support + unlimited storage = $12/mo
Performance: (All features in the Professional plan, plus) Item reviews + PayPal integration + advanced eCommerce statistics + Priority support = $26/mo
5. Tumblr
Tumblr is one of the best free blog sites and is famous for reblogging content. It is free and lets you create blogs in multiple categories to get many followers.
People can follow each other and reblog posts published by others, just like Twitter retweets. You can also insert photos, videos, GIFs, and links to them if needed.
Tumblr is best for posting photos, videos, articles, audio, quotes, and links. It also enables you to automatically schedule posts regularly to maintain steady traffic to your pages.
Tumblr blogs will have a tumblr.com extension like other free blog sites. But it is possible to replace this long URL (www.yourwebsite.tumblr.com) with a custom domain address you have.
Open your Tumblr blog settings and choose the ‘use a custom domain’ option to set a unique URL for your blog.
Pros and Cons of Tumblr
Pros
Cons
Tumblr is a clean and simple platform to create free blogs. It lets you post anything as a blog post, like photos, videos, audio, chats, and others on the site.
6. Medium
Medium is one of the best free blogging sites for businesses and bloggers. Create a user profile and add multiple publications to schedule and publish posts. It is free and helps bring more page visits using tags and social media cards.
Like Tumblr, people can follow each other on Medium and re-share content on profiles to build strong relationships with others.
Medium blogs will have sub-domains. But unfortunately, you can’t replace it either. Because Medium doesn’t support custom domain addresses as of now.
Pros and Cons of Medium
Pros
Cons
Medium is one of my favorite sites for creating free blogs. It has an intuitive dashboard where you can create a user profile, add publications, and post articles even with multiple authors.
This is a great place to share your thoughts, monetize your content, and get followers from the same niche.
7. Wix
Wix is another free blog hosting site. It has an intuitive website builder to design and customize pages as you like. It is possible to change backgrounds, customize various parts, add plugins, and marketing tools on Wix to power up the functionalities of your website.
This platform is best for creating business websites. Wix comes with 100s of beautiful templates with mobile-friendly layouts and advanced features. Promote products through built-in social media and email marketing tools, collect orders, and process payments to create a converting eCommerce portal.
Add a blog to boost traffic and track your visitors via Google Analytics to update your marketing strategies and grow your business.
Free Wix websites will have long URLs. You should go for a premium plan to replace it with a custom web address.
Pros and Cons of Wix
Pros
Cons
Wix is a free website builder that allows you to create websites with drag-and-drop functionalities. It is easy to use and best for online businesses as well as digital stores.
Wix Pricing
Let us check the various types of pricing plans on Wix.
Free: Basic features
Light: (All features in the basic plan, plus) 2 GB storage + free domain + remove branding + 2 users = $17/mo
Core: (All features in the Light plan, plus) 50 GB storage + Basic analytics + Payments + Customer accounts + Discounts + Product reviews + Basic eCommerce + eGift cards + 5 users = $29/mo
Business: (All features in the Core plan, plus) 100 GB storage + Standard analytics + Standard eCommerce + Automated sales tax + Referral program + 10 users = $39/mo
Business Elite: (All features in the Business plan) Unlimited storage + Customized reporting + Unlimited back in stock notifications + Unlimited storage + Advanced analytics + 100 users + Priority support = $159/mo
8. Strikingly
Strikingly is a free blog site with a live website editor and built-in eCommerce features. It has many incredible tools like signup forms, newsletters, live chat, social media feed, etc.
Pick a template and edit it using the live editor. Add eCommerce functionalities to sell products, offer discount coupons, and get paid via PayPal or Stripe. Strikingly is perfectly optimized to boost conversions and increase your revenue.
There is a built-in analytics feed to monitor user activities. Find who’s visiting your site, where they are coming from, and create targeted marketing plans to attract more customers.
By default, all websites come with a Mystrikingly subdomain extension. But you can replace it with a custom domain name. Their premium plans start at $16 per month.
Pros and Cons of Strikingly
Pros
Cons
Strikingly is good option for bloggers and online merchants. It provides all money making tools (eCommerce & membership) under one roof.
Create blogs, set up your own digital store, and collect payments directly—no intermediaries. Get full control over your online business and money.
Strikingly Pricing
Strikingly has three subscription plans.
Free: Basic features + unlimited free blog sites + 500 MB storage per site + 5 GB monthly bandwidth
Pro: (All features in the Limited plan, plus) 3 pro sites + 20 GB storage per site + Unlimited bandwidth + Sell 300 products + Remove branding + Membership + Customization + 2% transaction fees = $16/mo
VIP: (All features in the Pro plan, plus) 5 VIP sites + 100 GB storage per site + Unlimited products + 2000 active contacts + 0% transaction fee + Advanced features & customization + Priority support = $49/mo
9. Ghost
Ghost is a modern publishing platform that focuses on writing and clean design. The free version is available if you install it on your own server, but many users start with the open-source software before moving to paid hosting.
It is known for being lightweight and distraction-free, which makes it a great choice for bloggers who want to focus on writing rather than endless settings.
The post editor is simple yet powerful. It supports Markdown, allowing you to format posts with text-based commands quickly. This feels refreshing for writers who prefer a clutter-free environment compared to platforms filled with widgets and menus.
Ghost also has built-in features for newsletters and subscriptions. You can publish posts to your blog and send them directly to your readers’ inboxes. This helps create a stronger connection with your audience without relying on third-party tools.
The main challenge with Ghost is hosting. Setting it up on your own server requires some technical skills. But if you’re comfortable exploring that side, Ghost offers speed, flexibility, and a focus on content. It’s perfect for writers who want to mix blogging with email newsletters.
Pros and Cons of Ghost
Pros
Cons
Ghost Pricing
Ghost.org offers three subscription plans.
Starter: 5 mb file uploads + 1 user + Automated backups + Free CDN + Free SSL + 1 Email newsletter + SEO tools + White label + Email support = $15/mo
Publisher: 100 mb file uploads + 3 users + Themes + 3 Email newsletters + Advanced analytics + More integrations = $29/mo
Business: 250 mb file uploads + 15 users + 10 Email newsletters + Priority support = $199/mo
10. Substack
Substack is another best of free blog sites in 2025. It has grown quickly as a platform for writers, journalists, and independent creators.
As it combines blogging with email newsletters, you can publish posts on the web and deliver them directly to subscribers. For beginners, this removes the need to manage separate tools for blogging and email.
Getting started is simple. You can sign up, choose a title for your publication, and start writing. Substack provides a clean editor that feels like writing in a document, so there’s no learning difficulties. Every post you publish appears on your Substack site and can automatically be emailed to your readers.
A big reason many writers use Substack is monetization. The platform makes it easy to charge for subscriptions. You can offer free content to attract readers and premium posts for paying subscribers. Substack handles payments, so you don’t have to manage billing yourself.
On the downside, customization is limited. You can’t design your site as freely as you can with WordPress or Wix. But if your main goal is to write, share ideas, and build a community of readers, Substack is an excellent free blogging option.
Pros and Cons of Substack
Pros
Cons
11. Squarespace
Squarespace is a popular website builder for creating SEO-friendly online shopping sites. It is fast and secure.
If you are going to start a blog or a business site, they have unique templates to fit your needs. Select a template and customize it as you like. Set up an online store to sell products, accept bookings to schedule appointments, or build a stylish portfolio site.
Squarespace is the right place for beginners as well as established brands who want to extend their market with advanced eCommerce tools. It also allows you to build money-making membership websites and update members with email newsletters.
Their pricing starts at $16 per month. It lets you connect to a free custom domain with SSL, and mobile optimized environments.
Pros and Cons of Squarespace
Pros
Cons
Squarespace Pricing
Squarespace has four pricing plans: Personal, Business, Personal Commerce, and Advanced Business.
Personal: Free custom domain + SSL + Unlimited bandwidth Video storage (30 minutes) + Contributors + Extensions + Basic analytics = $16/mo
Business: (All features in the Personal plan, plus) Premium integrations & blocks + Professional email from Google + Customization + Advanced analytics + eCommerce + Unlimited products + 3% transaction fees = $23/mo
Basic Commerce: (All features in the Business plan, plus) No transaction fees + Gift cards + product reviews + Customer accounts + ecommerce analytics + Limited availability labels = $28/mo
Advanced Commerce: (All features in the Basic Commerce plan, plus) Subscriptions + Advanced shipping + Advanced discounts + APIs = $52/mo
12. Bravenet
Bravenet is another place to build responsive blog sites and host them for free. It is best for bloggers, businesses, and online merchants to create money making websites.
Start your dream site with a free domain and design it using an easy-to-use website builder and pre-made templates. No coding is required to customize any part of the blog. Automated backups, free SSL, and web hosting packages make Bravenet a unique blogging platform for beginners.
Their hosting plans start at $3.59 monthly with free emails, 25 GB bandwidth, and 500 MB storage. They have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pros and Cons of Bravenet
Pros
Cons
Bravenet Pricing
Bravenet has three subscription plans: Basic, Advanced, and Corporate.
Basic: 1 website + 500 MB storage + 25 GB bandwidth + 3 email accounts = $3.59/mo
Advanced: 10 websites + 10 GB storage + 200 GB bandwidth + 10 email accounts = $5.39/mo
Corporate: 20 websites + 20 GB storage + 600 GB bandwidth + 20 email accounts = $7.19/mo
13. LinkedIn Articles
LinkedIn is another free blog site for beginners and professionals. They allow you to publish long-form content directly to your professional network. This is one of the fastest ways to start blogging without setting up a separate site.
The editor is simple, with options for formatting, images, and links. Articles appear on your LinkedIn profile and can be shared across the platform. This gives you access to a built-in audience of professionals, colleagues, and industry leaders.
LinkedIn Articles are a strong choice if your blogging goal is to share knowledge, showcase expertise, or grow a professional brand.
Another benefit is visibility. LinkedIn promotes articles in feeds, notifications, and search, which can help you reach new readers. You can also interact with readers directly through comments, making it easier to build connections.
There are limits, though. LinkedIn Articles work best for professional or career-related topics. You should go with any other blogging platform if you want a personal blog or creative project. However, LinkedIn’s free article feature is hard to beat for thought leadership, networking, and building authority.
Pros and Cons of LinkedIn Articles
Pros
Cons
Key Takeaways
- Best for Beginners: WordPress.com, Blogger, Wix, Weebly – easy setup and simple tools.
- Best for Professional Growth: WordPress.org, LinkedIn Articles, Squarespace – strong branding and career focus.
- Best for Writers and Journalists: Medium, Substack, Ghost – focus on content and reader connections.
- Best for Creative Bloggers: Tumblr, Strikingly – visual posts, short updates, and unique styles.
- Best for Hobby Blogging: Bravenet – old-school platform for personal use.
Each free blog site has its own strengths. Your choice depends on whether you want a quick personal blog, a professional platform, or a space to build an audience for your writing.
Which is your choice to create a free blog in 2025? Feel free to share your thoughts through the comment form below.
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Thanks for telling me about the best free blog sites. No.1 is my favorite. I started with Blogger and still continuing with it. This is not only the best from SEO point of view, but also USEFUL if you want to use custom domain but can not afford costly hosting.
Hi Aktar,
Most of us started with Blogger. It’s really a great option for the bloggers and helps us avoid hosting charges. But it has limited customization options. Google could have made it far better than the present form.
Nice one… I started my blog on blogger already but I wish to move to WordPress sooner.
Thanks
Just Awesome, Thank You So Much
Very helpful info for the beginners.