The Best Blogging Platforms of 2025
Free and paid
Oh look, another “blogging is dead” article just popped up in my feed…
In reality, blogs are multiplying like crazy nowadays. But what we call blogs, how we treat them, and what platforms we use to blog have radically changed in a number of ways over the past decade.
Despite AI churning out robot prose by the terabyte and TikTok’s never-ending assault on our attention spans, authentic human writing is surprisingly thriving like never before.
And here’s what you should use to blog.
What makes a blogging platform not suck
Good question.
With approximately 47,000 options out there, how do you separate the wheat from the digital chaff? What makes a blogging platform worth your time and possibly your even more precious money?
First up: the wallet factor.
Most newcomers are hunting for that magical word “free”. And that’s already a huge factor in determining a good solution. I like free. Or pay and get great stuff.
Then comes the next dilemma: simplicity vs. features.
What do you need? A simple, no-distraction editor to simply write. Or a plethora of functions and features? That is another huge factor.
With those in mind, let's go over our top 10.
#10 Beehiiv
(and other “newsletter” platforms like ConvertKit/Kit, MailerLite, etc.)
Free and paid (but mostly paid, let’s be real)
Newsletter platforms have evolved drastically in the past few years. They are a far cry from the clunky old tools I know from a decade ago.
Now, you can do a lot with them.
Beehiiv, Kit, or MailerLite have a strong stance in the newsletter space, but in 2025, they are good options to host your newsletter and blog.
Substack had something to do with this.
You can easily host your entire blog on Beehiv with a custom domain, newsletter, analytics, and much more. The same is true for many competitors.
But you will eventually pay for them. And not too little.
#9 Blot
Free trial, then paid
You’ve never heard of this, I bet.
Blot is a minimalist blogger’s dream. You create a blog from a folder. No obscure CMS system. No hassle. This platform just… gets out of your way.
Pretty cool.
Quick how-to: Connect Blot to a folder on your computer, write in literally any text editor you want, save, and boom — published. No dashboards, no distractions, no “5 ways to optimize your headline” pop-ups.
At $6/month flat, it’s pretty reasonable too.
Features:
Custom domains? Check.
Markdown support? Check.
The ability to blog without opening a browser? Priceless.
Blot is perfect for writers who think the best interface is no interface at all and believe dashboards are for cars, not creativity.
#8 Hashnode
Free and paid
If developers decided to create a blogging platform, Hashnode would be the result. It actually is.
It’s for tech writing, and it’s “actually free” (no, seriously, even with custom domains) and a built-in community that reads stuff.
You can opt for a paid version, but you don’t need that unless you run a team.
Hashnode is perfect for developers who want to write about coding while also coding their writing platform while also being part of a community of people doing exactly the same thing.
#7 The Website Builders (Squarespace, Wix, Webflow)
Free-ish and paid (mostly paid)
You know the ones. They advertise everywhere. And you can do basically anything with them.
These platforms started as ways to build pretty websites, then someone remembered blogs exist and said, “We can do that too!”
In the 2020s, Webflow and Framer became a part of the group. They’re a bit more refined and definitely more complex and capable than the oldies, Squarespace and Wix.
The issue: They all cost more than they should (unless you truly utilize the wealth of features of Webflow and Framer in particular.
In the Squarespace vs. Wix vs. Webflow vs. Framer battle, I’d pick Squarespace for the aesthetically obsessed templates, Webflow for control freaks, and Wix for people who enjoy clicking random buttons and seeing what happens.
These platforms are perfect for writers who spend more time choosing font pairings than actually writing, and who need their blog to double as an online store for that pottery business they started during lockdown and never quite abandoned.
No, in all seriousness, they’re solid platforms for creating visually appealing and unique blogs with (relative) ease.
#6 Shopping Platforms (Gumroad, Payhip, etc.)
Free and paid
Some of you may be surprised that you can use tools like Gumroad or Payhip as blogging platforms, not just to sell digital products.
While not full-fledged blogging tools, for people who sell a lot and just want to publish a few blogs on the side, there might be no need to pick a new platform.
Just use what Gumroad and Payhip offer. They’re simple, easy-to-use, and practical.
#5 WordPress.com
Free and paid
WordPress.com is the old dog.
They’ve finally simplified their pricing to just three plans, which is down from the previous seventeen thousand options. It’s a great platform.
WordPress will probably forever be popular. But it’s not the easiest option. That’s an understatement.
Want to spend hours deciding between slightly different shades of blue for your header? WordPress.com has you covered.
WordPress.com is perfect for people who like the idea of infinite customization options, plugins, themes, guides, tutorials, and everything else you can imagine.
#4 Ghost
Paid (and proud of it)
Ghost is newer than WordPress. And it does a lot of things way better. Design, backend, complexity, usability, ease of use, and much more.
If you’re not afraid of paying and want a great blogging platform with many features and options, Ghost is the way to go!
#3 Medium
Free and paid (but you want paid)
Medium is my platform. I found my first big success there. I love it. And the idea behind Medium is awesome.
Medium has a Partner Program. You get paid for reads without ads.
Medium’s real superpower remains its massive built-in audience, though. There are millions of readers.
Medium is perfect for writers who want no technical hassle. Just write, publish, and see what happens.
#2 Substack
Free (until you make money, then they take it)
You know, I could easily put Substack 1 here. It’s a no-brainer platform for writers in 2025. And it keeps growing like crazy.
But this has little to do with the feature set and functionality and more with the ease of use, Substack Notes, and community around it.
On Substack, you will find people who pay for what you write. And that is NOT easy.
No matter the blogging platform you choose, you should definitely sign up for Substack to engage on Notes.
#1 WordPress.org
Free (but you might pay with your sanity, time, and possibly your soul)
WordPress.org is the true king. 70% of all websites run on WordPress. At this point, it’s less a blogging platform and more a digital parasite that’s successfully infected most of the internet.
What separates WordPress.org from WordPress.com is the fact that you can install it on your server and run it for free. You need some tech knowledge and patience, but it’s one of the few tools out there that remain free and open source with the capability of scaling your blog or website massively.
Therefore, WordPress.org is still my number 1. Substack is very close, though.
The bottom line
There you have it — my thoroughly biased rundown of the blogging platforms that matter in 2025.
My actual advice? Pick a platform that makes you want to write. The fanciest features in the world won’t help if you dread logging in.
For maximum results: build your home base on something you control (WordPress.org if you’re brave, Ghost if you’re fancy, Blot if you’re a minimalist), then cross-post to the audience platforms (Medium, Substack) where the readers already hang out.
Win-win.