7 best blog sites for writers, with real pricing
Bloggers comes in all shapes and sizes. This post is specifically for writers. It can be non fiction writers, fiction writers, poets, essayists, technical writers, academics, or journalists.
You are more than a blogger.
A writer.
Writers have very unique needs as compared to traditional blogging. Most blogging platforms are made for companies, marketeers, social media managers, magazines, publishing houses.
Let me list a few renowned blogging platforms for you that are considerably good options and in the end I will try to make a case for lykhari and why you should consider that too.
The ones to avoid
Wordpress, Webflow, and Squarespace are tailored towards building websites, landing pages, e-commerce and what not. They do enable blogging as well but it is not their primary focus. The immediate downside is the bloat, clutter, and distractions they have on the platform.
WordPress is the most popular platform on the entire internet. 43% of all websites on the internet are made in WordPress. It works but it doesn't just work. You have to work hard to make it work for you. It's bloated, clunky, and archaic. It's more of a website builder than a blogging platform. For many features and optimizations you have to pay and it gets really expensive really fast. It is not for writers in my opinion but I mentioned because it is very popular.
There are experts called Wordpress developers, Webflow developers who handle such websites. They are not good for individuals especially less technical people.
The ones built for writers
lykhari
I'll say upfront that this is the one I built, so weigh it accordingly. It is for writers and personal bloggers who want a free subdomain, a simple editor, and the option to add a custom domain, email newsletter, and comments later if you need them.
Free to get started, which gives you the editor, a free subdomain, built-in SEO, pages and category pages, image uploads, RSS, and scheduled posts. PRO is $5/month or $50/year and adds a custom domain, email newsletter, comments, api access, inspiration feed, and themes. The yearly plan is 17% cheaper than paying monthly.
Bear Blog
About as minimal as it gets. No JavaScript, no tracking, no clutter, just markdown in and a fast page out. It's free, and it stays free unless you want a custom domain.
Free on a bearblog.dev subdomain. The upgrade is $5/month, $49/year, or $189 once for life, which unlocks a custom domain, image uploads, analytics, and up to 10 sites.
Write.as
Built around one idea, you write, it publishes, nothing gets in the way. It's markdown-based, privacy-respecting by default, and if you ever want to leave, WriteFreely is the open source version you can run yourself.
Free for 1 blog with capped daily posts. Pro is $6/month billed yearly, or $9/month monthly, which adds a custom domain, newsletters, photo hosting, and up to 3 blogs.
micro.blog
Sits somewhere between a blog and a small, quieter version of a social feed. You can post short thoughts or full posts, and it plays well with the wider indie web through RSS and webmentions.
No free tier. Starts at $5/month for blog hosting on your own domain. Premium is $10/month for up to 5 blogs and newsletters.
Ghost
Ghost is a good platform. It has good SEO features and the writing experience is genuinely good. Its value lies in having multiple people working on the same blog, customizations, and third-party integrations.
But it is built for publication houses and media businesses, not for independent writers. Now they talk about media publications and magazines almost exclusively. Individuals can use it but they are not first-class citizens.
There is no free hosted tier. Ghost(Pro) starts at $18/month for Starter and $29/month for Publisher, billed annually. That is $216 a year before you have written a single post, and most of what you are paying for is staff accounts, memberships, and integrations that one person starting a blog will never touch. It is needlessly expensive for an individual. Self-hosting the open source software is free if you run your own server, which is its own kind of work.
Medium
Medium is a popular platform among writers. Unfortunately, it is a closed platform where you can't build your personal mailing list. You can't export your mailing list and you become locked in to the platform. Which is why I said it's a closed platform designed to keep you in the system. It's not a bad choice but the downside is after you choose Medium, you have no choice later down the road even if Medium doesn't remain a very viable platform. It did happen as Substack took over the concept of Medium with better features.
Free to write. A reading membership is $5/month or $50/year.
Substack
Substack is a popular platform among writers. It's the new medium for the new internet. Unfortunately, similar to Medium, it's a closed platform that is building an entire ecosystem of it's own. It has a very strong community and equally strong lock-in, which is why I stay away from it too. Just like Substack took over Medium, a new(fresh) platform will take over Substack and you will be locked in to Substack.
Free to write and publish. If you charge readers, Substack takes 10% of subscription revenue plus Stripe's processing fees.
If I have to pick one
Out of Substack, Medium, and Lykhari, if I have to pick one I suggest Lykhari. There are two reasons, one is that I made the platform, second is written in following blogs posts
Long story short, both of those platforms are made to please investors and shareholders not the customer. Medium was a hype when it came out now it's dying and Substack is flourishing.
I bet Substack will die and a new platform will emerge. The reason is both are closed platforms and built to grow fast to look good on paper. Whether the growth is customer-led, sustainable or not is not their focus.
A bit about me
I am Kashif. I have been writing on and off for more than a decade. I write essays, random stuff, do journalling, share fictional short stories, poetry, etc... I am a programmer too and have been at it for a decade.
I started writing with Blogger, then switched to WordPress and then to Ghost.
Blogger had a very limited, archaic set of features. the platform never evolved. WordPress is a bloated mess and you can't get many things right easily. I loved Ghost the most. It came with a $11/month price tag. Ghost started targeting media publications more than solo writers.
Given my 10 years of software development, I decided to build a platform for solo, independent writers. Casual and Pros. Something open. Something lean. Something well thought out. Especially to build a business, a platform that listens to customers and not investors.
About lykhari
I made https://lykhari.com/ all by myself. No investment was taken unlike Substack which works for hyper-growth and investors because they have raised more than 80 million from investors. I do not plan to have any stakeholders except customers and myself. My most important stake is that my own blog runs on this platform too.
Lykhari is built sustainably. The only share holders we have is customers. We have no investors to report or please. Lykhari is built to last. I have my own blog on lykhari and I am my own software's power user.
If you are casual and write sparingly you can start a free personal blog.
If you are a pro, you get to build an audience, send emails, AI-generated marketing feed, off-the-shelf SEO, and very soon an ability to monetize your audience.
If you do try lykhari, I can personally help you through onboarding if needed. I can listen to your feature requests. I can import your content from other forms. You can find me on Twitter (now X). Email me at kashif at lykhari [dot] com.
We can grow this thing together and I assure you it covers 95% of regular blogging needs for a price no other platform offers. Also free to get started.
If you are looking for a simple free blogging platform for writers where you can build a little space for yourself on the internet, build an audience in the form of a mailing list, reach your audience's email boxes, find inspiration, have a shot at ranking on search engines for your niche, try lykhari.