An honest look at your options. No affiliate links, no sponsored picks — just what actually works for indie bloggers.
The blogging landscape has never been better. Whether you're a developer who wants to build everything from scratch or someone who just wants to open a page and start typing, there's a tool that fits.
Broadly, your options fall into four categories: managed CMS platforms like Ghost, self-hosted CMS like WordPress.org, static site generators like Hugo, Astro, and 11ty, and minimalist platforms like Bear Blog, Mataroa, and Micro.blog.
A common question: should I start a newsletter instead? If you're choosing between Substack and a blog, consider what you want. A blog with RSS reaches readers on their terms — they choose when to read. A newsletter arrives in inboxes. Ghost does both beautifully. But this guide focuses on blogs — places with URLs, archives, and RSS feeds.
There's no wrong answer. The best platform is the one you'll actually use.
| Platform | Cost | Difficulty | Ownership | Customization | RSS | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress.org | $5-30/mo | Medium | Full | Unlimited | Built-in | Full control and a massive plugin ecosystem |
| Ghost | $9-25/mo managed, ~$5/mo self-hosted | Easy | Full | High | Built-in | Writers who want a modern, clean experience |
| Hugo | Free hosting | Advanced | Full | Unlimited | Built-in | Developers who want maximum speed |
| Astro | Free hosting | Advanced | Full | Unlimited | Via plugin | Developers building content-heavy sites |
| 11ty | Free hosting | Advanced | Full | Unlimited | Via plugin | Developers who prefer minimal tooling |
| Bear Blog | Free (Pro: $5/mo) | Easy | Portable | Minimal | Built-in | Zero-complexity writing |
| Mataroa | Free (Pro: $9/yr) | Easy | Portable | Minimal | Built-in | Extreme simplicity and clean aesthetics |
| Micro.blog | $5/mo | Easy | Full | Moderate | Built-in | A blog connected to a social community |
Cost: $5-30/mo
Ownership: Full
Customization: Unlimited
RSS: Built-in
Best for: Full control and a massive plugin ecosystem
Cost: $9-25/mo managed, ~$5/mo self-hosted
Ownership: Full
Customization: High
RSS: Built-in
Best for: Writers who want a modern, clean experience
Cost: Free hosting
Ownership: Full
Customization: Unlimited
RSS: Built-in
Best for: Developers who want maximum speed
Cost: Free hosting
Ownership: Full
Customization: Unlimited
RSS: Via plugin
Best for: Developers building content-heavy sites
Cost: Free hosting
Ownership: Full
Customization: Unlimited
RSS: Via plugin
Best for: Developers who prefer minimal tooling
Cost: Free (Pro: $5/mo)
Ownership: Portable
Customization: Minimal
RSS: Built-in
Best for: Zero-complexity writing
Cost: Free (Pro: $9/yr)
Ownership: Portable
Customization: Minimal
RSS: Built-in
Best for: Extreme simplicity and clean aesthetics
Cost: $5/mo
Ownership: Full
Customization: Moderate
RSS: Built-in
Best for: A blog connected to a social community
The 800-pound gorilla. Over 40% of the web runs WordPress — that's both its strength and its weakness. The ecosystem is unmatched: thousands of themes, plugins for virtually anything, and a community that's been building for two decades.
WordPress.org (self-hosted) gives you full control. WordPress.com (managed) is simpler but more limited. This guide focuses on .org.
Pros
Cons
What WordPress would be if it were rebuilt today with writers in mind. Ghost has a beautiful editor, blazing-fast performance, built-in newsletters, and native RSS — all without plugins.
Ghost(Pro) is managed hosting ($9/mo+). Self-hosting on a $5/mo VPS is also straightforward if you're comfortable with a terminal.
Pros
Cons
Hugo, Astro, and 11ty generate plain HTML files — no databases, no server-side code, no security patches. Your site loads instantly and hosting is free on Vercel, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages.
The trade-off: you need to be comfortable with code and command-line tools. For developers, this is a feature, not a bug.
Pros
Cons
Bear Blog, Mataroa, and Micro.blog strip blogging down to its essence. No themes to choose, no plugins to install. Write in markdown, hit publish.
If you've been putting off starting a blog because it seems like too much work, start here.
Pros
Cons
Choose WordPress if... you want maximum flexibility, plan to grow your blog significantly, or need specific functionality that only plugins can provide. You're comfortable managing updates and hosting.
Choose Ghost if... you want a modern, clean writing experience without much setup. You might also want to send newsletters. You're willing to pay for quality.
Choose a static site generator if... you're a developer, you want your blog to load instantly, and you enjoy the workflow of writing in markdown and deploying via git.
Choose a simple platform if... you just want to start writing today. You don't care about themes or customization. You want the blog equivalent of opening a notebook and picking up a pen.