5 Best Blogging Platforms in 2024 (Usability, Features and Server Speed Tested!)

The #1 blogging platform goes to Hostinger (with WordPress), thanks to its robust features, high flexibility, fast speed – all at low prices!

We purchased web hosting and website builder services, created more than 80 test sites, and painstakingly tested each of their performance, features and ease-of-use, just to see which would make the best blogging platform. Read on to find out what we discovered!

We feel that we should clarify what Hostinger actually is for the benefit of those not in the know – the company provides web hosting services, and for blogging purposes, we would recommend using WordPress with them.

When we first encountered Hostinger, we had our doubts about the company. After all, what sort of sub-par service can they provide at such low prices?

Turns out, they’re a straight up monster that slays the competition. We’ve never been so happy to be proven wrong before!

US Datacenter Average Speed: 136 ms – See full result

Hostinger’s server speed test results revealed that their US data center is extremely fast in the US (E), Canada, US (W) and London, with 21 ms, 37 ms, 75 ms and 92 ms respectively. They’re not too shabby in Germany, São Paulo and Japan with scores between 100 ms – 200 ms, while they dipped past the 200 ms mark in Bangalore, Singapore and Sydney.

With that, they’ve got a global average of 136 ms, way faster than your average web host and earning them the title of an A+ ranked provider!

However, speed isn’t the only thing that makes the provider a good platform for blogging. One also needs to look into flexibility, perks, and value too. Unsurprisingly, Hostinger excels in all 3 aspects! Read our detailed Hostinger review to find out more.

Benefits of blogging with Hostinger (with WordPress)

Right off the bat, Hostinger ensures your WordPress blog is always working at peak performance via technologies like LiteSpeed WebServer and LS Cache Plugin.

If you want big growth, a fast blog just isn’t enough. You also want it to be able to capture and convert big traffic. And for that, you need scalability – with the help of plugins and templates.

This is where WordPress truly shines. It lets you add plugins easily if more web features are needed.

You’re looking at really useful plugins, especially for blogging:

… and many more. The possibilities with plugins are quite literally endless!

WordPress offers a whole load of responsive themes to pick from too, which we really appreciate as we’re really picky about getting the right theme. As a matter of fact, it’s so customizable you’re even able to make your own theme that best suits your needs!

The cherry on top is that all these plugins and themes will allow you to optimize your blog’s money-making capacity! After all, nobody can survive on just words and fresh air, can they?

If you’re savvy with affiliate marketing, you can monetize your blog by peppering affiliate links in here and there. Google Adsense is also one of the biggest money makers for professional bloggers, and you can throw in as many ads in your blog as your dignity allows.

All in all, Hostinger offers the biggest profit potential out of all of the blogging platforms on this list, and as professional bloggers ourselves, we can’t deny that the additional revenue sure puts a smile on our faces.

A premium blogging experience at a price point that even the scroogiest of men can agree with (starting from just $1.99 a month on a 48-month contract), Hostinger is the one to pick for bloggers, especially if you’re serious about running your blog as a business.

What we didn’t like about Hostinger

While it’s not exactly difficult to set up and learn how to use WordPress, there’s a bit of a learning curve one needs to sit through to fully utilize everything about the platform.

However, Hostinger has a knowledge base that’s rich with all things WordPress, and they’ve got an excellent support team willing to help you.

Like Hostinger, DreamHost is technically a web host, but one that stands out because it’s also so fantastically optimized for WordPress. In fact – they’re officially endorsed by WordPress because they go together so dang well!

Back in the heyday of blogs, DreamHost was one of the most popular names with the big bloggers. But it still holds its ground today, and we’ve been happy to watch them continually invest into upgrading their server tech (e.g. using SSD over HDD drives). They offer some fantastic features that blend a web host with a website builder, so you can easily build the WordPress blog of your dreams and know it’ll perform fantastically.

Just look how fast they were in our speed tests! They do NOT mess around!

US Datacenter Average Speed: 118.4 ms – See full result

DreamHost scored a lightning quick global average of 118.4ms making them one of the fastest on this list and earning them that A+ Ranking! But speed isn’t the only thing that’ll blow you away if you decide to use DreamHost – they’re equipped with an arsenal of perks that’ll help you create a blog that’s uniquely yours. See our complete DreamHost review for more information.

Benefits of blogging with DreamHost (with WordPress)

DreamHost generously throws in an inbuilt drag-and-drop WordPress builder and over a whopping 200+ templates to help you easily create a blog that both reflects your aesthetic and impresses your readers.

You’ll also benefit from an impressive 100% uptime guarantee (most hosts only offer 99.9%!), and important security features such as daily backups of your blog’s website data, free SSL and Cloudflare, and WHOIS Privacy domain privacy protection, which means your personal data can be kept hidden from any creepers or marketing agents online. All this at very affordable plans that start from $2.95/mo!

What we didn’t like about DreamHost

We can’t help but wish that DreamHost had more data centers around the world. Right now, they’re all in the US. Our speed tests confirmed that – whilst the worldwide average response time was amazing – things slow down considerably as you get further away from the Americas.

Overall, we think DreamHost is fantastic for bloggers with audiences near the US/Canada, but less so for those with readers only in Asia/Australia.

Next in line is Zyro, an offshoot of Hostinger which works as a kick-ass blogging platform. The thing is, why would Hostinger create a product which would end up being a competitor to their main product?

Well, Zyro offers the customer a different set of benefits that might appeal to a market that’s not quite comfortable building websites from the ground up on their own just yet, a market that’s slightly more willing to fork out slightly more for big convenience.

US Datacenter Average Speed: 139.8 ms – See full result

Zyro proves that their data center is very fast in the US (E), London and Canada at 85 ms, 90 ms and 95 ms respectively.

They’re more than capable of handling audiences from Germany (108 ms), Bangalore (117 ms), US (W) 147 ms, Singapore (168 ms) and Japan (174 ms), with slowdowns only in São Paulo and Sydney.

They earned themselves an A+ rank with a global average of 139.8 ms! Find out more at our in-depth Zyro review.

Benefits of blogging with Zyro

Speed aside, Zyro spoils their customers with a site building experience that we find to be the one to beat. Everything is carefully thought out, designed to be so simple and straightforward that my poodle could easily learn how to use it.

They’ve also included the perks like the logo maker and slogan maker which would be highly beneficial for beginner bloggers. We can do away with the headache of looking for people to create logos and write slogans!

There’s also the AI writer, which works impressively well to generate content if you don’t have the time to sit down and actually write. It’s not perfect, but a few tweaks here and there to the AI generated content and you get an actual, solid piece of work. They even offer SEO tools!

Their services are also not very pricey, which certainly adds to the appeal.

Fast speeds, easy-to-use interface, beginner-friendly perks and affordable pricing makes Zyro our top pick as the best blogging platform for beginners!

What we didn’t like about Zyro

Advanced users might find their interface limited, which is understandable because in order to make their UI as straightforward as possible, Zyro had to sacrifice design flexibility.

Web functionality is also limited – with most plugins sacrificed save for a few preset tools developed by Zyro.

You don’t always have to pay to start blogging professionally. There are plenty of platforms out there which allow you to express your creativity through the power of the written word. One such platform is the very well established Medium.

Blogging on Medium allows you to reach an audience very quickly. After all, they’ve got close to a 100 million active users visiting their platform every month, all of them hungry for new content.

Getting your blog to the right set eyes should be relatively easy, as all you have to do is rely on Medium to push your piece to the right people.

Benefits of blogging with Medium

If you’re new to blogging, Medium offers a very easy, intimidation-free way to start. The onboarding process is super easy – all you have to do is literally set up your account and you can start blogging for free.

While Medium offers an easy way to just jump in and start blogging, they also offer a fuss-free way for you to monetize your articles with their Partner Program, without having to waste time setting up anything.

All you have to do is pen your thoughts on paper (in this case, it would be the editor), polish it so that it’s perfect, opt to “Meter My Story” and publish! With that, your work will be making you money every time someone reads it.

It literally doesn’t get any easier than this.

To wrap it up, Medium is a fantastic tool for beginners looking to blog for niche audiences!

What we didn’t like about Medium

The unfortunate thing about blogging on a platform like this is that the potential for profit is quite poor. Medium does let you monetize your blog, but they’ll take a cut from your profits, which is honestly quite painful.

They also have the right to kick you out of their Partner Program without any prior notice, so that’s a bit dangerous if you’re depending on them for an income.

Moreover, you’re not allowed to sell products, place ads, or insert affiliate links in your articles, so your only source of income would be from Medium itself.

As a platform that’s created only for blogging, you won’t have the ability to customize your blog. You’re given a preset look and all you’re able to do is write, which sucks but is fair, considering Medium has to stick to their brand guidelines.

Speaking of which, you won’t actually own your blog. You’ll have your own account and page with them but make no mistake – the platform is unmistakably Medium’s.

If you’ve ever had a career at all, you’ll most likely have come across LinkedIn ads and invites from friends and family to join the business-based social media platform.

What you might not know is that LinkedIn offers a convenient way for one to blog for free, and to cement oneself as an expert in their chosen industry.

Benefits of blogging with LinkedIn

As an established professional networking platform, LinkedIn has a huge amount of traffic with over 740 million members worldwide scrolling through it every day, hoping to read insights from industry leaders.

Since you know what the audience in LinkedIn are looking for, the platform is highly recommended for those looking to build:

Users will also find that their editor is very pleasing to use, with plenty of formatting options and the ability to create headings, bullet points and hyperlink text. Adding images, videos or slides to your piece is a piece of cake too, applicable at just a click of a button.

The simplicity of the editor is one of the main reasons why LinkedIn made it on to this list. If you ever just want to log in, click a button and start blogging with no hassle or headaches, then this is the way to go.

No other platform makes connecting to other businesses easier, and if that’s your goal then LinkedIn’s the way to go!

What we didn’t like about LinkedIn

LinkedIn operates on its own set of algorithms, and your content visibility will be subject to its mercy.

However, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If you’ve already built an established profile, all you have to do is write quality content, and it’s more than likely that LinkedIn will push your piece to the right set of eyes.

You’ll need to keep in mind that you can expect almost no profit from blogging with this platform. Ads aren’t allowed, and neither are affiliate links. Be wise about this and write to increase your profit potential from other sources.

Also, blogging on LinkedIn means you don’t own the platform. No site, no domain, nothing. While this won’t hurt your brand, it won’t increase its equity either.

What Is A Blogging Platform?

A blogging platform is a cloud-based software or service that allows users to create and manage an online blog. These platforms are used by hobbyists to publish and manage content across specific niches like travel, food, and fashion. Blogging platforms offer a user-friendly interface, essential design tools, and hosting services. They streamline all the technical aspects of blogging so that users focus on creating engaging written and visual content.

What Are The Different Types Of Blogging Platforms?

The different types of blogging platforms consist of blog sites, blog hosting services, and website builders. All 3 are explained below:

What Can I Do With A Blogging Platform?

You can do 2 main things with a blogging platform. Firstly, you can use a blogging platform to write and post things on the internet for others to read. This could be about your hobbies or interests, such as music, travel, or even school class projects. Secondly, using a blogging platform lets you turn your passion into a potential source of income. This is achieved using ads, partnerships, or by selling things online on your blog.

Can I promote my music using a blogging platform?

Yes, you can promote your music using a blogging platform. These platforms support music streaming through plugins and integrations. This allows you to share your tracks and albums directly on your blog. They often also have eCommerce functionality. This gives you the option to sell concert tickets, merchandise, and digital downloads. Whether you’re an independent artist or part of a band, the best blogging platforms for musicians and bands serve as a valuable tool for reaching and engaging with your audience.

What’s the best blogging platform for travel blogs?

The best blogging platform for travel blogs accommodate numerous high-resolution images and provide monetization opportunities through affiliate links. Your ideal platform has the necessary storage and bandwidth capabilities to host a high number of high-quality images that is essential for captivating travel storytelling. A great travel blogging platform also allows travel bloggers to easily integrate links to their recommended products, accommodations, and services.

Which blogging platform should I use for student blogs?

You should use blog hosting platforms for student blogs. These platforms are particularly suitable because they are very affordable and offer more customizability. They’re also more scalable than blog sites. This lets you easily upgrade your blog’s resources in the future as your traffic grows.

The best web hosting for students also provides essential plugins and features that help discussion and engagement, including forum, comments, and discussion tools. This ensures that students can easily interact with their peers and instructors. They’re ideal for building a collaborative environment for educational blogging.

How Do I Choose The Best Blogging Platforms?

To choose the best blogging platforms, look for these 5 criteria:

Which Is The Best Blogging Platform?

The best blogging platform is the one that satisfies your blog’s unique requirements, whether that’s customization, ease of use, or monetization options.

Let’s have a look at our top choices once again:

Our #1 recommendation would have to be Hostinger, as they offer an excellent balance of user-friendliness, robust features, and affordability that is perfect for aspiring bloggers. However, keep in mind that the best platform for you depends on your individual preferences and goals.