The best blogging platform to make money is WordPress.org (self-hosted) because it offers complete ownership, unlimited monetization options, professional customization, and scalability. Unlike free platforms, WordPress gives you full control over ads, affiliate links, digital products, and memberships without restrictions. It costs $3-10 monthly for hosting but provides the foundation serious bloggers need to build six-figure income streams.
Introduction: Choosing the Wrong Platform Could Cost You Thousands
You’re ready to start a blog and make money online. You’ve got ideas, motivation, and a plan. But there’s one crucial decision that will determine whether you build a profitable business or waste months on a platform that limits your earning potential.
Choosing the wrong blogging platform is the #1 mistake new bloggers make.
Here’s the harsh truth: Not all blogging platforms are created equal when it comes to making money. Some platforms restrict ads, prohibit affiliate links, or own your content entirely. Others charge high fees that eat into your profits or limit the growth potential of your site.
The platform you choose today will either enable or restrict every monetization strategy you attempt in the future.
In this comprehensive guide, you’ll discover exactly which blogging platform gives you the best chance to make real money online. I’ll break down the top platforms, compare their features, reveal their hidden limitations, and show you which one professional bloggers use to generate full-time incomes.
Whether you want to earn a few hundred dollars monthly or build a six-figure blogging business, this guide will help you make the right platform choice from day one.
What Makes a Blogging Platform Good for Making Money?
Before diving into specific platforms, let’s establish what actually matters when your goal is monetization.
The best platform for bloggers who want to make money must have these essential features:
Full Monetization Freedom: You need complete control over how you monetize. This means placing ads wherever you want, using any affiliate programs, selling products directly, and keeping 100% of your revenue (minus payment processing fees).
Ownership and Control: You must own your content, domain name, and email list. Platforms that can delete your blog at any time or claim ownership of your content are non-starters for serious income.
Professional Appearance: Your blog must look credible and professional. Amateur-looking templates with platform branding hurt conversions and trust, which directly impacts how much money you make.
SEO Capabilities: Without traffic, you can’t make money. Your platform needs solid SEO features like customizable URLs, meta descriptions, fast loading speeds, and mobile responsiveness.
Scalability: As your blog grows from 1,000 to 100,000 monthly visitors, your platform must handle the traffic without crashing or forcing expensive upgrades.
E-commerce Integration: If you plan to sell digital products, courses, or physical goods, your platform needs seamless integration with payment processors and shopping cart functionality.
Email Marketing Integration: Building an email list is crucial for long-term income. Your platform should easily connect with email marketing tools like ConvertKit, Mailchimp, or ActiveCampaign.
Plugin/App Ecosystem: Access to thousands of plugins or apps lets you add any functionality you need without custom coding—contact forms, pop-ups, course platforms, membership areas, and more.
Keep these criteria in mind as we examine each platform. Any platform missing several of these features will significantly limit your income potential.
The Top 5 Blogging Platforms Compared for Making Money
Let’s examine the most popular blogging platforms and how they stack up for monetization.
1. WordPress.org (Self-Hosted) – The Professional’s Choice
Overall Rating: 10/10 for Making Money
WordPress.org powers over 43% of all websites on the internet, including many of the highest-earning blogs. This is the self-hosted version where you install WordPress on your own hosting account.
Monetization Features:
- Unlimited ads placement (Google AdSense, Mediavine, AdThrive)
- No restrictions on affiliate marketing
- Sell digital products, courses, memberships
- Full e-commerce capabilities with WooCommerce
- Keep 100% of your revenue
Pros:
- Complete ownership of your content and site
- 60,000+ free plugins for any functionality
- Thousands of professional themes
- Excellent SEO capabilities
- Scales to millions of visitors
- Full customization control
Cons:
- Requires purchasing hosting ($3-10/month)
- Slight learning curve initially
- You handle technical maintenance (or hire help)
Best For: Serious bloggers who want to build a real business and maximize income potential.
Cost: Hosting starts at $2.95-10/month (Bluehost, SiteGround), domain $10-15/year. Total: $50-150/year to start.
2. WordPress.com – The Limited Free Version
Overall Rating: 5/10 for Making Money
WordPress.com is the hosted version of WordPress. It’s confusing because it shares the WordPress name but has significant limitations.
Monetization Features:
- Free plan: NO monetization allowed
- Personal plan ($4/month): Still no monetization
- Premium plan ($8/month): Limited ads through WordAds only
- Business plan ($25/month): Full monetization allowed
- Commerce plan ($45/month): Full e-commerce features
Pros:
- Free option to start
- Easier than self-hosted (no technical management)
- Automatic updates and security
Cons:
- Expensive to unlock full monetization ($25-45/month)
- Limited customization on cheaper plans
- Platform adds their own ads on free/cheap plans
- Can’t use most WordPress plugins on lower plans
Best For: Hobby bloggers not focused on income, or those willing to pay premium prices for managed hosting.
Cost: Free to $45/month depending on features needed.
3. Blogger – Google’s Free Platform
Overall Rating: 4/10 for Making Money
Blogger is Google’s free blogging platform. It’s simple and requires no hosting purchases.
Monetization Features:
- Google AdSense allowed (but placement is limited)
- Affiliate marketing allowed (with restrictions)
- No direct product sales capability
- Limited e-commerce options
Pros:
- Completely free
- Owned by Google (reliable uptime)
- Easy AdSense integration
- No hosting or domain required
Cons:
- Google can delete your blog anytime
- Very limited design customization
- Looks unprofessional to visitors
- Poor SEO compared to WordPress
- Can’t scale effectively
- Limited monetization options
- Outdated interface and features
Best For: Absolute beginners testing blogging, or personal blogs not focused on income.
Cost: Free (can add custom domain for $12/year).
4. Wix – The Drag-and-Drop Builder
Overall Rating: 6/10 for Making Money
Wix is a website builder with blogging capabilities. It’s known for easy drag-and-drop design.
Monetization Features:
- Free plan: No monetization, Wix ads on your site
- Combo plan ($16/month): Can add ads and affiliates
- E-commerce plans ($27-159/month): Full monetization
- Built-in payment processing for products
Pros:
- Very user-friendly interface
- Beautiful modern templates
- All-in-one solution (hosting included)
- Good e-commerce features on higher plans
Cons:
- Expensive for full features
- SEO capabilities weaker than WordPress
- Limited blogging-specific features
- Can’t export your site if you want to leave
- Templates aren’t interchangeable (stuck once chosen)
Best For: Bloggers who prioritize design ease over monetization flexibility and don’t mind higher costs.
Cost: $16-159/month depending on features needed.
5. Squarespace – The Designer’s Platform
Overall Rating: 6/10 for Making Money
Squarespace is known for stunning design templates and is popular with creative professionals.
Monetization Features:
- Personal plan ($16/month): Basic monetization
- Business plan ($23/month): Full ads and affiliates
- Commerce plans ($27-49/month): Full e-commerce
- Integrated payment processing
Pros:
- Gorgeous professional templates
- Excellent for visual portfolios
- All-in-one hosting and design
- Good e-commerce features
- 24/7 customer support
Cons:
- Expensive compared to WordPress
- Limited blogging-specific features
- Fewer integrations than WordPress
- Can’t easily move site elsewhere
- Less flexible for complex monetization
Best For: Creative professionals who need a beautiful portfolio-blog hybrid and don’t mind paying premium prices.
Cost: $16-49/month depending on features.
Blogging Platforms Comparison: Side-by-Side
Here’s how the major platforms stack up across key criteria:
| Feature | WordPress.org | WordPress.com | Blogger | Wix | Squarespace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | $3-10 | $0-45 | Free | $16-159 | $16-49 |
| Full Monetization | ✓ Yes | Only $25+ plans | Limited | Only $16+ plans | Only $16+ plans |
| Content Ownership | ✓ You own | Limited | Google owns | Wix owns | Squarespace owns |
| Custom Domain | ✓ Yes | $4+ plans | Optional | $16+ plans | ✓ Yes |
| SEO Quality | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ |
| Design Flexibility | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| E-commerce | ✓ Excellent | $45 plan only | Poor | ✓ Good | ✓ Good |
| Learning Curve | Moderate | Easy | Very Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Scalability | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ |
| Professional Look | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
Winner for Making Money: WordPress.org offers the best combination of affordability, complete monetization freedom, and scalability.
WordPress vs Blogger: Which is Better for Making Money?
This is one of the most common blogging platforms comparison questions beginners ask. Let’s break down the definitive answer.
WordPress.org Advantages Over Blogger:
WordPress gives you complete ownership. With Blogger, Google owns your content and can delete your blog without warning if they believe you violated their terms. This has happened to thousands of bloggers who suddenly lost years of work and income.
WordPress offers unlimited monetization. You can use any ad network, affiliate program, or sales method. Blogger restricts you primarily to Google AdSense with limited placement options. Many premium ad networks won’t accept Blogger sites.
WordPress looks professional. Blogger templates look outdated and scream “amateur blog.” Professional appearance directly impacts trust, which impacts sales. WordPress offers thousands of modern, professional themes.
WordPress has superior SEO. WordPress sites consistently rank higher in Google search results due to better technical SEO, faster loading speeds, and more optimization options. Better rankings mean more traffic and more money.
WordPress scales infinitely. As your blog grows, WordPress handles increased traffic seamlessly. Blogger struggles with high traffic and offers no real growth path.
Blogger Advantages Over WordPress:
Blogger is completely free. You don’t pay for hosting or a domain (though you should still buy a custom domain for credibility). WordPress requires hosting at $3-10 monthly.
Blogger is simpler initially. There’s no hosting setup, no WordPress installation, no learning curve. You can start blogging in 5 minutes. WordPress takes 20-30 minutes to set up initially.
The Verdict:
For hobby bloggers who want to write for fun and maybe make $50-100 monthly from AdSense, Blogger works fine. But if you’re serious about making real money—$500, $2,000, or $10,000+ monthly—WordPress.org is the only sensible choice.
The small monthly hosting cost ($3-10) is a tiny investment compared to the massive income potential WordPress unlocks. Starting on Blogger and switching later means rebuilding everything from scratch and losing your SEO progress.
Start with the platform that will serve you at $10,000/month in revenue, not just your first $100.
Step-by-Step: Setting Up Your Money-Making Blog
Since WordPress.org is the best blogging platform to make money, here’s exactly how to set it up correctly from day one.
Step 1: Choose Your Hosting Provider
Select a reliable hosting company. Top recommendations for beginners:
Bluehost ($2.95/month): Official WordPress recommendation, includes free domain, one-click WordPress install, 24/7 support. Best for absolute beginners.
SiteGround ($3.99/month): Excellent speed and customer service, great WordPress optimization, free SSL and CDN. Best for slightly more tech-savvy users.
HostGator ($2.75/month): Budget-friendly, easy interface, good uptime. Solid budget option.
Sign up for hosting and select your domain name (yoursite.com). Most hosting companies include a free domain for the first year.
Step 2: Install WordPress
All major hosts offer one-click WordPress installation. In your hosting control panel (cPanel), find the WordPress installer and click install. The process takes 5 minutes.
Enter your site name, admin username, and password. Your WordPress site is now live.
Step 3: Choose and Install a Theme
Log into your WordPress dashboard (yoursite.com/wp-admin). Go to Appearance → Themes → Add New.
For bloggers, great free themes include:
- Astra
- GeneratePress
- Kadence
These themes are fast, SEO-optimized, and look professional. Install your chosen theme and activate it.
Step 4: Install Essential Plugins
Plugins add functionality to your blog. Essential plugins for making money:
Yoast SEO or Rank Math: Optimize your posts for search engines WPForms: Create contact forms and lead capture forms MonsterInsights: Track your traffic and user behavior WP Rocket (paid): Speed up your site for better rankings Pretty Links: Manage and cloak affiliate links MailPoet or Newsletter: Build your email list
Install these by going to Plugins → Add New, searching by name, then clicking Install and Activate.
Step 5: Create Essential Pages
Every professional blog needs certain pages:
- About page: Tell your story and build trust
- Contact page: Let readers and brands reach you
- Privacy Policy: Required for ads and email collection
- Disclosure page: Required by FTC for affiliate marketing
Create these under Pages → Add New.
Step 6: Set Up Your Monetization Tools
For Display Ads: Apply to Google AdSense initially (requires 10-20 posts). Once you reach 50,000 monthly sessions, apply to Mediavine. At 100,000 sessions, apply to AdThrive for highest earnings.
For Affiliate Marketing: Join affiliate programs related to your niche:
- Amazon Associates (physical products)
- ShareASale (diverse merchants)
- CJ Affiliate (major brands)
- ClickBank (digital products)
For Email Marketing: Choose an email provider and install their WordPress plugin:
- ConvertKit (best for bloggers)
- Mailchimp (free up to 500 subscribers)
- MailerLite (generous free plan)
For Products/Courses: Install WooCommerce (free) for digital product sales, or integrate with Teachable/Gumroad for courses.
Step 7: Write Your First 10 Posts
Before heavy promotion, create 10 high-quality blog posts (1,500+ words each) targeting keywords in your niche. This shows visitors and brands you’re serious and gives search engines content to rank.
Step 8: Start Promoting
Share your content on Pinterest, Facebook groups, and relevant online communities. Focus on building traffic through SEO by targeting low-competition keywords initially.
Step 9: Build Your Email List
Add opt-in forms to your blog offering a valuable freebie (checklist, guide, template) in exchange for email addresses. Your email list becomes your most valuable asset for long-term income.
Step 10: Track and Optimize
Use Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track which posts perform best. Double down on successful topics and optimize underperforming content.
Common Mistakes When Choosing a Blogging Platform
Avoid these platform selection errors that cost bloggers thousands in lost income:
Mistake #1: Choosing Based on “Free” Instead of “Profit Potential”
Free platforms like Blogger or WordPress.com’s free plan seem appealing, but they severely limit your monetization. Spending $5-10 monthly on WordPress.org hosting unlocks exponentially more income potential. Never let a tiny monthly cost prevent you from building a real business.
Mistake #2: Confusing WordPress.com with WordPress.org
These are completely different platforms. WordPress.com is a restrictive hosted service. WordPress.org is the self-hosted version with unlimited potential. Always choose WordPress.org (the one that requires hosting) for maximum earning potential.
Mistake #3: Picking a Platform You Can’t Grow Out Of
Blogger, Wix, and Squarespace work fine for small blogs. But when you want to add a membership area, create a course platform, or implement advanced monetization, you’ll hit walls. Starting on WordPress means never needing to migrate later.
Mistake #4: Prioritizing Ease Over Income Potential
Yes, drag-and-drop builders are easier initially. But the slightly steeper learning curve of WordPress pays massive dividends. WordPress isn’t difficult—millions of non-technical people use it successfully. Don’t sacrifice future income for 2 hours of saved setup time.
Mistake #5: Not Buying a Custom Domain Immediately
Using a free subdomain (yoursite.blogger.com or yoursite.wordpress.com) looks unprofessional and hurts your credibility. This directly impacts how much money you can make. Always invest $10-15 yearly in a custom domain (yoursite.com).
Mistake #6: Choosing Based on Design Alone
Beautiful templates matter, but monetization flexibility matters more. Squarespace has gorgeous designs but costs $23-49 monthly and limits customization. WordPress with a premium theme ($30-60 one-time) looks equally professional at a fraction of the ongoing cost.
Mistake #7: Not Considering Your Niche’s Needs
If you’re blogging about recipes, you need specific schema markup for recipe cards. If you’re in tech, you need excellent code snippet formatting. Research whether your niche has specific requirements and choose a platform that handles them well. WordPress has specialized plugins for every niche.
Mistake #8: Underestimating the Importance of SEO
80% of your traffic will eventually come from search engines. Platforms with weak SEO (like Blogger) make it exponentially harder to rank and get traffic. No traffic means no income, regardless of how easy the platform is to use.
Mistake #9: Forgetting About Site Speed
Site speed directly affects your search rankings and user experience. Slow sites rank lower and convert worse. WordPress with good hosting and optimization can be extremely fast. Some drag-and-drop builders create bloated, slow sites that hurt your income potential.
Mistake #10: Not Reading Platform Terms of Service
Some platforms restrict certain types of monetization, prohibit specific affiliate programs, or claim rights to your content. Always read the terms before committing. WordPress.org has no such restrictions—you own everything completely.
How Much Money Can You Actually Make on Each Platform?
Let’s get realistic about earning potential across different platforms.
WordPress.org Income Potential: $0 to $100,000+/month
The ceiling is virtually unlimited. Successful WordPress bloggers earn anywhere from a few hundred to multiple six figures monthly. Examples:
- AdThrive creators earning $10,000-50,000/month from display ads alone
- Affiliate bloggers making $5,000-20,000/month from commissions
- Course creators generating $10,000-100,000/month from digital products
- Membership site owners earning $5,000-50,000/month from recurring revenue
WordPress’s complete flexibility means you can combine multiple income streams and scale indefinitely.
WordPress.com Income Potential: $0 to $5,000/month
Limited by platform restrictions. To earn significant income, you need the $25/month Business plan minimum, which cuts into profits. Most WordPress.com bloggers who get serious eventually migrate to WordPress.org.
Blogger Income Potential: $0 to $2,000/month
Realistically capped at low levels due to AdSense-only monetization and poor SEO. Most Blogger users make $50-500/month. The handful earning over $1,000 monthly typically have massive traffic (100,000+ monthly visitors) which is hard to achieve on Blogger.
Wix Income Potential: $0 to $5,000/month
Capable of decent income but expensive monthly costs eat into profits. A blogger making $3,000/month on Wix might pay $27-49/month in platform fees. That same blogger on WordPress would pay $5-10/month and keep the difference.
Squarespace Income Potential: $0 to $8,000/month
Similar to Wix. Capable of moderate income but high monthly costs reduce net profit. Works better for service-based businesses (photographers, designers) than pure bloggers.
Important Reality Check:
These numbers represent what’s possible on each platform, not what’s typical. The average blogger on any platform makes less than $100/month because:
- They don’t publish consistently
- They create low-quality content
- They give up before seeing results
- They don’t focus on traffic generation
Your platform choice matters, but your effort, consistency, and strategy matter more. That said, choosing WordPress.org removes platform limitations, so your income is only limited by your work ethic and marketing skills, not arbitrary platform restrictions.
Alternative Platforms Worth Considering
Beyond the major platforms, these alternatives have specific use cases:
Medium – Good for building authority and getting immediate readers, but poor for monetization. You can’t place ads, run most affiliates, or build an email list effectively. Best used as a secondary platform for republishing content to build backlinks.
Substack – Excellent for paid newsletter subscriptions, but limited for traditional blogging. If your entire business model is paid newsletters ($5-10/month subscriptions), Substack works well. However, it takes a 10% cut of your earnings and you don’t own the platform.
Ghost – A modern alternative to WordPress focused on memberships and subscriptions. Great for paid newsletters and membership content. More expensive than WordPress ($9-199/month) but sleeker interface. Best for writers focused purely on subscription revenue.
Webflow – Powerful design tool with blogging capabilities. Excellent if you’re a designer who wants pixel-perfect control. Expensive ($14-39/month) and overkill for most bloggers. Better suited to agencies and design professionals.
Shopify with Blog – If you’re primarily an e-commerce business that also blogs, Shopify ($29-299/month) makes sense. But if you’re primarily a blogger who occasionally sells products, WordPress with WooCommerce is more cost-effective.
None of these alternatives beat WordPress.org for most bloggers focused on making money through diverse income streams.
The Technical Skills You Actually Need
Many beginners worry they’re not “technical enough” for WordPress. Here’s the honest truth about required skills:
Skills You Need:
- Basic computer literacy (if you can use Facebook, you can use WordPress)
- Ability to follow step-by-step tutorials
- Willingness to Google problems and find solutions
- Patience to learn as you go
Skills You DON’T Need:
- Coding knowledge (HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript)
- Web design experience
- Server management expertise
- Database administration knowledge
WordPress is designed for non-technical users. The interface is intuitive, similar to using Microsoft Word. When you need advanced functionality, plugins handle it without requiring code.
Yes, having technical knowledge helps. But it’s absolutely not required. Millions of successful bloggers have zero technical background. They learned WordPress by watching free YouTube tutorials and following written guides.
The learning curve exists, but it’s gentle. Expect to spend 2-3 hours getting comfortable with the basics. Within a week of regular use, you’ll feel confident. Within a month, you’ll wonder why you were ever worried.
If you can learn Instagram or TikTok (which constantly change their interfaces), you can definitely learn WordPress (which remains relatively consistent).
Pros and Cons: Complete Honest Assessment
Let’s examine the overall pros and cons of using the best blogging platform for making money—WordPress.org:
Pros:
✓ Complete Monetization Freedom: Use any ad network, affiliate program, or sales method without restrictions. Keep 100% of revenue minus payment processing.
✓ Full Ownership: You own your content, domain, and all assets. No platform can delete your blog or change rules that kill your income.
✓ Unlimited Scalability: Handle 10 visitors or 10 million visitors with appropriate hosting. No arbitrary traffic limits or forced expensive upgrades.
✓ 60,000+ Plugins: Add any functionality imaginable—course platforms, memberships, forums, quizzes, appointment booking, anything.
✓ Professional Appearance: Thousands of themes create any look you want. Premium themes cost $30-60 one-time and look stunning.
✓ Superior SEO: Best-in-class SEO capabilities help you rank higher in Google, driving more organic traffic and income.
✓ E-commerce Ready: Sell physical products, digital downloads, courses, subscriptions, or memberships seamlessly with WooCommerce.
✓ Massive Community: Millions of users mean abundant tutorials, forums, and support resources for any problem you encounter.
✓ Affordable: Hosting costs $3-10/month—far cheaper than most managed platforms once you need full features.
✓ Export Freedom: If you ever want to move to different hosting, you can easily export everything. You’re never locked in.
Cons:
✗ Requires Hosting Purchase: Not free like Blogger. You’ll pay $50-150/year for hosting and domain, though this is minimal compared to income potential.
✗ Initial Learning Curve: Takes a few hours to learn the basics. Not as immediately simple as drag-and-drop builders.
✗ Maintenance Responsibility: You handle updates, backups, and security (or pay someone to). Takes 10-20 minutes monthly or use managed hosting.
✗ Technical Issues Possible: Plugins can conflict, themes can break, issues can arise. Usually solvable via Google or support forums, but can be frustrating.
✗ Overwhelming Choices: With 60,000 plugins and 10,000+ themes, analysis paralysis is real. Too many options can feel paralyzing initially.
✗ Quality Varies: Not all themes and plugins are well-coded. You need to research before installing to avoid bloated, buggy options.
Bottom Line:
The pros massively outweigh the cons for anyone serious about making money blogging. The cons are minor inconveniences; the pros are business-enabling advantages that directly impact your income potential.
Frequently Asked Questions About Blogging Platforms
What is the easiest blogging platform for beginners?
Blogger and WordPress.com (free version) are the easiest to start with—no hosting, no setup, just create an account and begin writing. However, “easiest” doesn’t mean “best for making money.” WordPress.org has a gentle learning curve and is still beginner-friendly while offering unlimited monetization potential. The extra 30 minutes of setup time is worth the long-term income benefits.
Can you make money on a free blogging platform?
Yes, but you’ll be severely limited. Blogger allows basic AdSense monetization, but income potential is low due to platform restrictions and poor SEO. WordPress.com’s free plan prohibits all monetization. Most free platforms place their own ads on your site while preventing you from earning. If you’re serious about income, investing $5-10/month in proper hosting pays for itself quickly.
How much does it cost to start a money-making blog?
Using WordPress.org: $50-150 for the first year (hosting $36-120 + domain $10-15 + premium theme $0-60). Subsequent years: $50-130 annually. Using WordPress.com Business plan: $300/year. Using Wix or Squarespace: $192-588/year. WordPress.org offers the best value for money-making potential.
Is WordPress really better than Wix for blogging?
For making money, yes. WordPress offers superior SEO capabilities, unlimited monetization freedom, lower long-term costs, and better scalability. Wix is easier initially and has beautiful designs, but you’ll pay $192-1,908 yearly for full features while WordPress costs $50-150. WordPress also ranks better in search engines, driving more organic traffic. Wix works fine for small business websites, but WordPress dominates for serious blogging.
Should I start with a free platform and upgrade later?
No. Switching platforms later means losing your SEO rankings, redirecting all your URLs, potentially losing traffic, and rebuilding everything from scratch. It’s like building a house on rented land, then having to move the house. Start with WordPress.org from day one, even if you’re testing the waters. The small investment protects your future income potential.
What’s the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
WordPress.org is self-hosted software you install on your own hosting account. It’s free, and you have complete control and unlimited monetization. WordPress.com is a hosted service (like Blogger) that severely restricts free accounts. Full monetization requires their $25-45/month plans. Despite similar names, they’re completely different services. Always choose WordPress.org for making money.
Do I need technical skills to use WordPress?
No coding knowledge required. WordPress has a user-friendly interface similar to Microsoft Word. When you need advanced features, plugins handle the technical work. Millions of non-technical bloggers use WordPress successfully. If you can use social media or email, you can use WordPress. Expect 2-3 hours to learn the basics, then you’re good to go.
Can I switch from Blogger to WordPress later?
Technically yes, but it’s painful. You’ll need to export content, redirect all URLs (many get lost), rebuild your design, reinstall everything, and often lose search rankings during transition. Many bloggers lose 30-50% of their traffic during migration. Far better to start with WordPress initially, even as a beginner.
Which platform do professional bloggers use?
Over 90% of professional bloggers earning $5,000+ monthly use WordPress.org. It’s the industry standard for serious bloggers. Check any top blogger in any niche—health, finance, parenting, tech, lifestyle—and you’ll find they use WordPress. There’s a reason: it simply offers the best monetization potential and flexibility.
How long before I can start making money blogging?
This depends on your traffic, not your platform. Most bloggers see their first $100 within 3-6 months. Significant income ($1,000+/month) typically takes 12-18 months of consistent effort. Your platform choice affects this timeline—WordPress’s superior SEO helps you reach income goals faster than platforms with weaker search performance. But no platform generates instant income; all require consistent work building traffic.
Final Verdict: Your Platform Decision Made Simple
After examining every major platform, comparing features, and analyzing income potential, here’s the clear conclusion:
WordPress.org is unequivocally the best blogging platform to make money for 95% of bloggers.
It offers the perfect combination of affordability, flexibility, ownership, monetization freedom, and scalability. While it requires purchasing hosting and has a slight learning curve, these minor inconveniences pale compared to the massive income advantages.
The only scenarios where you might choose differently:
- Choose Blogger if: You’re blogging purely as a hobby, want absolutely zero cost, and don’t care about making serious income (maybe $50-200/month maximum).
- Choose WordPress.com if: You want WordPress but absolutely refuse to deal with any technical aspects and are willing to pay $25-45/month for managed hosting (though this is more expensive than quality WordPress hosting).
- Choose Wix/Squarespace if: You’re primarily a service provider (photographer, designer, consultant) who needs a portfolio first and blog second, and design is more important than blogging features.
- Choose Medium if: You’re building authority and don’t care about monetization, using it purely for exposure.
For everyone else—anyone who wants to make $500, $2,000, $5,000, or more monthly from blogging—WordPress.org is the obvious choice.
The small investment of $5-10 monthly and a few hours of learning unlocks unlimited earning potential. Every successful blogger making six figures started exactly where you are. The difference? They chose the platform that would serve them at scale, not just day one.
