Best Blogging Platforms in 2026: My Experience After Testing Them All

Intro

When it comes to writing online blogs, there are a few things that should be considered before you find your perfect match, and those are: price, reach, visitors, popularity, how easy they are to use, and privacy (e.g. What happens with your data and posts after you delete your account). I used quite a few, tested them, and found out what I like and what I don't like.

List of all blogging platforms i tried

Ordered from the best platform to the worst one, in my own opinion.

1. Journal Website

Of course, I'll start with my own website/platform. It's very easy to use, from a user point of view and all the way to my admin panel, where I can create posts, edit posts, publish or unpublish my posts, and input and follow my mood throughout days and months. It's very easy to use on all devices, and trust me, I tried it on a PC, laptop, phone, and tablet. It's clean, easy to read, and easy to find what interests you, which is mostly the point of writing blogs/journals. I definitely like the unpublish option, as I might want to keep something only for myself. There is no waiting for approvals, there are no million lines of terms and conditions or privacy policies and such. I decide what I want to have and what I don't want to have. On the home page, you can see posts of only one person, and that gives me more chances to be seen and understood.

Another reason why I prefer my own website over platforms like Medium, WordPress, or Substack is that it helps me build my own identity instead of being just another user on a large platform. My content is not mixed with thousands of others, and people who visit my website come there specifically for me. Also, there are no distractions like ads, suggested posts, or random comments, so the focus stays entirely on my content. This creates a cleaner and more personal experience for anyone reading it.

So if you prefer at least one of the following:

* Full ownership
* No platform rules changing
* Personal branding
* No distractions
* Privacy control
* Customization
* Long-term stability

You should consider having your own blogging website, and i can recommend you my friend Nikola Filipovski from NFW Design to create one personal website for you.

Or you can find out more about my website here

2. Medium

Medium is probably one of the most popular blogging platforms out there, and definitely I can see why. It’s extremely easy to use, requires no setup, and you can start writing immediately without worrying about design, hosting, or anything technical. It also has a built-in audience, which means your posts can reach people much faster compared to starting your own website. In fact, Medium has tens of millions of readers, so visibility can be a big advantage (or not ?!).

However, from a real user perspective, it’s not as simple as it sounds. Many people say that growing on Medium is actually quite hard because the platform is very saturated and I certainly agree with this.

“The audience growth was super slow… I barely got any engagement.”

Even if you post regularly, there’s no guarantee your content will be seen unless the algorithm picks it up (I hate algorithms). A lot of users also mention that it feels like you’re writing for Medium, not building something of your own, and that's also how I felt and it is true, Medium is getting nice cash from your work.

Another downside is limited control. You can’t really customize your blog, your design looks almost the same as everyone else's, and you depend on Medium’s rules and decisions.

Some users also complain about missing features that you would normally expect:

“There’s no plugin system, no bulk editing, and stats are really limited.”

Plugin system and bulk editing is not my thing, so I didn't miss them, but stats are limited, and you really need them on platforms like Medium.

So while Medium is great if you just want to write and maybe reach a wider audience quickly (maybe quickly, maybe not), it can feel limiting if you want full control, branding, or long-term growth. And for the end, please note that Medium is closed platform, which means if you wanna share your post with your friends, they'll have to register an account in order to be able to read it.

Check out Medium

3. Substack

Substack is a bit different because it’s more focused on newsletters than traditional blogging, but I still tried it as a writing platform.

At first, I liked the idea because it’s extremely easy to start. You can literally write and publish immediately, and it even helps you build an email audience. It also gives a sense that you are building something more personal and direct with readers.

But over time, I felt like it’s more about email distribution than actual blogging freedom. The design is very limited, and you don’t really have control over how your page looks.

Many users say the same:

“Substack is amazing for newsletters, but very limited if you want customization.” (user feedback from writing communities)

Also, it pushes monetization quite early, which can feel unnecessary if you just want to write for yourself.

In the end, I see Substack more as a newsletter tool than a real blogging platform.

Check out Substack

4. WordPress

WordPress is probably the most popular blogging platform out there, but honestly, it wasn’t for me.

At first, it sounds great because you have full control and endless customization. But in reality, I felt like I had to build everything from scratch. It’s not just writing but you have to think about hosting, themes, plugins, security, updates… and it quickly becomes overwhelming, especially if you just want to write I quit everything after i lost 3 days trying out things, hell, I even forgot what I needed WordPress for 😂. Maybe it was because I am not technically prepared for that work but as I wasn't the only one, I think it's WordPress.

I found out that a lot of users feel the same. Many complain that WordPress is simply too complicated and not beginner-friendly. Some even say the dashboard and editor feel confusing and overloaded with options and if you didn't play around with it yet, trust me, it really is overloaded.

“Dashboard feels complicated, with too many menus and options.”

Another big issue for me was plugins. You basically need plugins for everything, and that can get messy really fast.

“Just install more plugins… ended up slowing my site down like crazy!”

From what I’ve seen, this is a common problem and too many plugins can cause bugs, slow performance, and even security risks, I really don't wanna play with this settings and updates every so often.

Security is another thing that made me uncomfortable. Since WordPress is so popular, it’s a big target for attacks, especially if you don’t constantly update everything and you're not developer yourself, and I'm definitely not.

“Many websites get compromised because of outdated plugins.”

Also, “free” is not really free. Many features are locked behind paid themes, plugins, or hosting, so costs can add up over time.

In the end, I felt like I was spending more time maintaining the website than actually doing what I wanted to do and that was writing. WordPress is powerful, but for me, it’s just too much work if your main goal is blogging.

Check out WordPress.com
"Free" version

Check out WordPress.org
Paid version

5. Ghost

Ghost felt like a much cleaner and more focused version of blogging compared to other platforms. It’s fast, minimal, and really centered around writing, which I liked a lot. It doesn’t overwhelm you with too many options, and the editor feels simple and smooth.

However, I quickly realized that Ghost is not exactly beginner-friendly. Even though it looks simple, setting it up properly usually requires hosting and some technical knowledge. It’s not something you just start using in five minutes like Medium. Unless you're ready to spend 600$ for a year + other expenses, then it might be a bit simpler.

A lot of users mention the same thing:

“Ghost is great, but definitely not beginner-friendly if you self-host.” (community feedback, Reddit discussions)

For me, it felt like a mix between simplicity and complexity as in simple to write in, but not simple to manage.

Check out Ghost

Micro blogs

There are options as Reddit or Tumblr besides Facebook and Instagram where you can also build audience by writing micro blogs and then share link to your full blog post to any platform you use.

Conclusion

As everything in our lives has good and bad sides, the same rules apply here. Some websites/platforms are good, some are bad, some have much more than you need some too less. Options are available, and after trying out quite a few options and after I lost a nice amount of time on nothing I got lucky with my own website and I would definitely recommend it to everyone. It's way cheaper on longer run and it's totally up to you how it's going to look like.

Keep an eye to this post, I'll keep updating it as I'm still trying out blogging platforms

Written in Germany