Today there are 97 different open source blogging platforms. We spent 78 hours comparing the top 50 to find the seven best you can use to successfully build and grow an online blog.
What is the Best Open Source Blogging?
1. Ghost
Our Verdict — Best Of The Best
Price: Starts at $18/month
Ghost is the go-to open source blogging platform for beginners looking to create a professional-looking site swiftly. We think it’s the best because of its beginner-friendly interface, built-in email and membership management tools, and reasonable hosting options.
The Best Part:
It’s beginner-friendly. Ghost's user interface is incredibly simple and intuitive, making it perfect for beginners with zero technical background.
The Worst Part:
Not so customizable. Ghost doesn’t come with lots of personalization and complex modification options — unless you're well-versed in coding.
Get it if you want an easy-to-use open source blogging platform that takes care of the technical stuff so you can effortlessly get your blog going.
I recommend you get started with a 14-day free trial, then get Ghost’s Starter plan ($18/month).
(14-day free trial)
Best For
Ghost is best for anyone who wants to get started with blogging without getting tangled in technicalities.
Top Features
Go free or pay up. Ghost, being open-source, lets you self-host at no cost. But if you'd rather not worry about hosting, hire one of their paid plans and they’ll have you covered.
Teamwork made easy. Ghost lets you invite your team or buddies to join in the blogging adventure — co-writing posts, managing your blog, and even managing your email list.
Conversion focused. Thanks to Ghost’s conversion-optimized themes, turning visitors into subscribers is made a lot easier for you — just drive the traffic and watch the magic happen.
Keep it clean and classy. Ghost's minimalist design ensures that your readers' eyes stay glued to your content.
Scale-friendly. Ghost integrates with tools such as Zapier, ConvertKit, Stripe, and Google Analytics, so you can grow your blog’s ecosystem.
Pricing
Ghost offers five pricing plans:
- Free: Free forever, for tech-savvy bloggers who prefer self-hosting.
- Starter: $18/month for solo bloggers who want their own website, a free custom domain, an email newsletter, and up to 1,000 members.
- Publisher: $35/month for custom publications that want 3 staff users, custom themes, paid subscriptions, 8,000+ integrations, and advanced analytics.
- Business: $239/month for teams scaling up that want 15 staff users, priority support, higher usage limits, and up to 10,000 members.
- Custom: Custom pricing, for complex publications that need unlimited staff users, a dedicated IP address, and a 99.9% uptime SLA.
Annual subscriptions provide a 17% discount.
Try Ghost today with a free 14-day trial.
2. WordPress (1-Click Install on Bluehost)
Our Verdict — Best For Businesses
Price: Starts at $15.99/month
WordPress is the world’s most popular open source blogging platform and the best for growing a business blog. We think it’s the best for businesses because of its advanced SEO plugins, extensive array of customization options, and professional-looking website themes.
The Best Part:
Rank easily on Google. With WordPress’s advanced SEO settings and third-party plugins like Yoast, your content has a better shot at reaching the top of Google rankings.
The Worst Part:
Lengthy setup time. WordPress can take a bit of time to set up, especially when it comes to navigating through parameters, setting up a theme, and designing website pages.
Get it if you want an open source blogging platform that helps you rank and market your business.
I recommend you host WordPress on Bluehost with the Starter plan ($3.99/month on a 36-month term).
(30-day money-back guarantee)
Best For
WordPress is best for businesses that want an open-source blogging platform that can help them grow and attract more visitors.
Top Features
Make it yours. WordPress lets you tweak every little detail of your blog — color schemes, fonts, branding assets… So much more.
Trusted by everyone. Four out of every 10 websites on the internet are running on WordPress. It’s the most trusted solution out there.
Ironclad site security. WordPress equips you with robust security measures that keep spam and hackers at bay.
Supercharge your blog. WordPress's plugin library is packed to the brim, allowing you to do everything — advanced SEO tools, email marketing, ecommerce solutions… There’s nothing you can’t do with your blog.
Keep your readers engaged. WordPress lets you stir up conversations in the comments, share posts through newsletters, and even send browser notifications for new content.
Pricing
Bluehost offers three self-serve pricing plans for WordPress:
- Starter: $15.99/month, or $3.99/month on a 36-month term (renews at $9.99/month), for new bloggers who need up to 10 websites and 10GB of NVMe storage.
- Business: $20.99/month, or $6.99/month on a 36-month term (renews at $13.99/month), for businesses running up to 50 websites that want phone support and malware removal.
- eCommerce Essentials: $32.99/month, or $14.99/month on a 36-month term (renews at $21.99/month), for blogs that sell online, with up to 100 websites and built-in commerce tools.
Try WordPress today.
3. Joomla (1-Click Install on ScalaHosting)
Our Verdict — Best For High-Traffic Blogs
Price: Starts at $11.95/month
Joomla is an open source CMS and blogging platform that’s equipped to handle high-traffic blogs with complex settings. We think it’s the best for high-traffic blogs because of its advanced user management options, user-friendly dashboard, and wide range of extensions.
The Best Part:
User-friendly interface. Joomla doesn't make you feel like you're trying to herd cats. Its intuitive interface and user-friendly design make it easy for anyone to get it going.
The Worst Part:
Needs constant updates. Joomla is constantly requiring you to schedule routine website backups and to update to the latest version, in order for you to dodge potential security problems with your blog.
Get it if you want comprehensive control over your high-traffic blog and aren't afraid to tackle complex CMS features head-on.
I recommend you host Joomla on ScalaHosting with the Entry Cloud plan ($14.95/month on a 12-month intro term).
(money-back guarantee)
Best For
Joomla is best for successful bloggers and businesses that expect high traffic and want a powerful open source blogging platform with advanced settings.
Top Features
Advanced user management. Joomla lets you call the shots when it comes to who does what on your blog. It’s easy to assign specific roles, setting varied access levels for different team members.
Turn it up a notch. Joomla offers tons of extensions that can add all sorts of features to your site. Whether you need SEO tools, extra security features, or fancy design elements, there's an extension for just about everything.
Menus are a breeze. Setting up and organizing menus and categories on a Joomla website feels as easy as arranging apps on your phone: just drag and drop.
Keeps content well-organized. Joomla features for categorizing posts, smart search functionality, and version control make managing your blog as easy as 1-2-3!
Expand your site. Joomla allows you to run an e-commerce store, a news portal, and a blog all on the same site.
Pricing
ScalaHosting offers four pricing plans for Joomla:
- Mini: $11.95/month, or $2.95/month on a 36-month intro term, for new bloggers who manage one Joomla website with 10GB of NVMe storage.
- Start: $5.95/month on a 36-month intro term (renews at $14.95/month), for bloggers running unlimited Joomla websites with 50GB of NVMe storage.
- Advanced: $9.95/month on a 36-month intro term (renews at $19.95/month), for bloggers and businesses that want 100GB of NVMe storage.
- Entry Cloud: $14.95/month on a 12-month intro term (renews at $39.95/month), for high-traffic blogs that need 2 dedicated cores, 2GB of RAM, high security, and scalable storage.
Try Joomla today.
Our Top Three Picks
Here’s a quick summary of our top three picks:
Here’s a quick comparison of our top seven picks:
Tool | Entry Offer | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
Ghost | 14-day free trial | Starts at $18/mo |
WordPress | 30-day money-back guarantee | Starts at $15.99/mo |
Joomla | Money-back guarantee | Starts at $11.95/mo |
Drupal | None | Starts at $0.50/mo |
Substack | None | Free forever |
Medium | None | Free forever |
Jekyll | None | Free forever |
Here are the top 50 open source blogging platforms we considered in this review:
- Ghost
- WordPress
- Joomla
- Drupal
- Substack
- Medium
- Jekyll
- Hexo
- Blogger
- Wix
- Squarespace
- Weebly
- Tumblr
- LiveJournal
- Hugo
- Gatsby
- Pelican
- Postach.io
- Grav
- WriteFreely
- Eleventy
- ExpressionEngine
- Craft CMS
- b2evolution
- Serendipity
- Dotclear
- Impression
- Bolt
- Anchor CMS
- Movable Type
- FlatPress
- Textpattern
- Zola
- SilverStripe
- Concrete CMS
- Contao
- Orchard CMS
- ProcessWire
- Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware
- Octopress
- Publii
- Bludit
- Yclas
- CMS Made Simple
- Umbraco
- ModX
- Plone
- Typo3
- Magnolia CMS
- Astro
Frequently Asked Questions About Open Source Blogging Platforms
What is the best open source blogging platform?
Ghost is our top pick. Reach for it if you want to start blogging without getting tangled in technicalities, thanks to a beginner-friendly interface and minimalist design.
Are open source blogging platforms free?
Some are, some charge for hosting. Substack, Medium, and Jekyll are free forever, while Ghost, Drupal, Joomla, and WordPress have paid hosting tiers.
What is Ghost best suited for?
Ghost is our overall pick, best for anyone who wants to blog without wrestling technicalities. You get a beginner-friendly interface, a self-hosted free option, and paid hosting tiers that scale up to business use.
Which blogging platform is best for SEO?
WordPress is our pick for businesses and SEO. It supports advanced SEO plugins like Yoast that help your pages rank on Google, and it powers a large share of the web.
Is Ghost or WordPress better for beginners?
Ghost is the easier, more beginner-friendly option, while WordPress leans toward businesses. Ghost is simple and intuitive; WordPress takes longer to set up but gives you extensive customization.
Which platform is best for a high-traffic blog?
Joomla is our pick for high-traffic blogs. You get advanced user management and it handles complex settings, though you will need routine backups and updates.
What is the best platform for newsletters or making money blogging?
Substack is our pick for personal newsletters and Medium is our pick for making money blogging. Both are free forever, so you can start earning without hosting costs.
Which open source blogging platforms are worth trying first?
Start with Ghost for all-around blogging, WordPress for SEO and business, and Substack or Medium if newsletters and income are the goal. Match the platform to what you want the blog to do.
The Bottom Line
To recap, here are the best open source blogging software to try this year: