Blogger

Starting a blog without spending anything and without worrying about hosting or updates is still possible: Blogger is Google's long-standing platform, free from the outset and still running.

Blogger is Google's free blogging platform, running since the early 2000s. All you need is a Google account to create a blog: pick a name, select a theme from those available and start publishing, with no hosting to buy and no updates or backups to manage, as Google handles all of it. The editor is simple, with text formatting, image and video embedding and post scheduling. Every blog gets an address ending in blogspot.com, but you can connect a custom domain purchased elsewhere at no extra cost. Themes are customizable through a visual editor, and those comfortable with HTML and CSS can edit the template code directly. Integration with the Google ecosystem is its strength: AdSense for monetization, Google Analytics for statistics and Search Console for SEO. The downside is that the platform sees minimal development these days, with features that have stood still compared to alternatives such as WordPress.

For anyone wanting to start a personal blog or side project at zero cost, without dealing with the technical side and without advanced customization needs.

Blogger is completely free, with no paid plans and no publishing limits: hosting, the blogspot.com domain, themes and Google image storage are all included. The only possible expense is buying a custom domain from an external registrar, which you can then connect to the blog at no additional cost.