Blogspot vs WordPress – Which is Better for Blogging in 2021 & Why?

The first decision you need to make on your blogging journey is choosing the right blogging platform. There are many blogging services out there, and you need to figure out which one suits your needs best. To help you do that, we have drawn up this comprehensive comparison between two such platforms – Blogspot and WordPress.

Now, before we proceed, let’s clear out the difference between Blogspot and Blogger. While Blogger is a free blogging platform, Blogspot is a free service domain provider. They both are owned by Google and work in tandem with each other. This means that if you sign up on Blogger, you will automatically get a free domain from Blogspot. They are often used interchangeably.

Another thing to note is that this article talks about WordPress.org, which is a self-hosting platform and is different from WordPress.com.

In this guide, we will highlight all the differences between Blogspot and WordPress by testing out all their features, so that you can decide which is better – WordPress or Blogspot.

Okay, here we go.

1. User interface simplicity

Neither of the platforms is too complicated to use, but there are a few differences you should note.

It’s easy to set up WordPress by downloading it for free, but there are many other additional features that may take some time to learn. If you have no prior experience in blogging, you might have some difficulty in setting up a hosting account and purchasing a domain name. Without doing these things, you cannot begin publishing posts on WordPress.

Blogspot, however, is easy to use from the get go. All you have to do is link your Google account with your Blogger account, pick out a theme for your blog, and start publishing your posts.

Verdict: Blogspot vs. WordPress: User interface simplicity

There’s no denying that Blogspot is easier to use than WordPress, especially for beginners. But do take into account the learning curve that WordPress offers for the future of your blog.

2. Customization capabilities

There are quite a few differences between Blogspot and WordPress in terms of the customization capabilities on offer.

Even the free version of WordPress comes with countless templates for you to choose from. And if you have a few extra bucks to spare, you can make the most of premium themes and added features like widgets and plugins that will do wonders for your blog. What’s more? You can customize these as you wish. You can even modify their source code.

On the other hand, Blogspot offers you lesser choice in the matter. There are free templates to pick from, but the variety is limited. Even the customization tools don’t match up to what’s inside WordPress’s arsenal.

Verdict: Blogspot vs. WordPress: Customization capabilities

This round has a clear winner: WordPress. It has a limitless variety of high-quality themes and features that can all be customized completely. Blogspot just can’t compare.

3. Ownership and control

Who owns your blog? To answer this question, we will look at the differences between Blogspot and WordPress’s ownership policies.

As WordPress is an open-source platform, it grants full complete and ownership to the blogger. Yes, you have to pay a fee to host your account and buy your domain name, but post that, the blog belongs to you and no one else.

Blogspot, as we mentioned before, is owned by Google. What this means in terms of ownership is that the control lies fully with the tech giant. Your blog is on their servers and is owned by them. They can suspend the service or revoke your access from your blog whenever they want.

Verdict: Blogspot vs. WordPress: Ownership

WordPress wins this round due to the clear ownership and control it offers to you, i.e. the blogger.

4. Support 

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced blogger, it’s always better to have an active support system where you’re setting up your blog. Here are the key differences between Blogspot and WordPress’s support community. 

Admittedly, WordPress is a little more complex than Blogspot, but the good news is, it comes with an active support community to answer all the questions you may have. With countless user forums and threads being updated every day, there are many sources for you to rely on to gather information from. Additionally, you can also pay to get live support on this platform. 

Blogspot does not provide individual support to all of its users. This is understandable since it is a free service. There are basic tutorials that you can seek out, but they may not answer all of the unique questions you might have. 

Verdict: Blogspot vs. WordPress: Support

As a blogger, you will have to learn quite a few things as you go. However, WordPress will offer you more support than Blogspot in this area.

5. Cost

By now you know that WordPress is not entirely free, and Blogspot is. Let’s get into this in detail.

The software of WordPress is actually free, but to be able to use it, you need to pay for a hosting account as well as a domain name. You can purchase these from Bluehost at $2.75 a month. That’s not all. Keep in mind that you may have to spend on some other paid services and products on WordPress to fully furnish your blog.

You don’t necessarily need money to set up your blog on Blogger. The sub-domain offered by Blogspot is completely free, although you can opt to pay for a custom domain. The templates, themes, and other features on Blogger are also mostly free.

Verdict: Blogspot vs. WordPress: Cost

Which platform is better in terms of cost – WordPress or Blogspot? If you want a blog that costs you no money, the answer is easy – Blogspot.

6. Making money

At the end of the day, many bloggers want to make money through their blogs. So, which platform will help you do that?

WordPress helps you drive more traffic to your blog by offering you multiple SEO features and benefits. With more people reading your blog, you are more likely to monetize your blog in the future.

The problem with monetizing a Blogger blog is that it doesn’t have too many SEO benefits. With a free domain from Blogspot, your blog may not rank high on search engines, therefore attracting fewer people to read what you’ve written.

Verdict: Blogspot vs. WordPress: Making money

So, if you want to make a livelihood out of your blog, we recommend you go with WordPress.

Which is better – Blogspot or WordPress?

In order to simplify this comparison even further, below is a table jotting down the main differences between Blogspot and WordPress.

Feel free to bookmark this page and revisit it when you’re setting up your blog.