WordPress vs Blogger (2026): Which Is Better for Your Blog?
Our WordPress test blog on WordPress 7.1.2 with the free Astra theme 4.14.0, October 2026.
Our verdict: Blogger is the better pick if you want a free, simple online journal and never plan to earn much from it. It costs nothing, Google runs the servers, and you can start in minutes. For everyone else, self-hosted WordPress wins. You own your site, you can pick from thousands of themes and plugins, you have full SEO control, and you can earn from ads, affiliate links, memberships and products. If you start on Blogger and outgrow it, plan the move early: Blogger’s current export format did not work with the official WordPress importer on our test install.
This comparison is for someone starting a blog in October 2026. The WordPress side is hands-on: we built a small blog on a test install and ran the official Blogger Importer plugin. The Blogger side is based on Blogger’s public pages, the Blogger Help Center and Google’s official Blogger blog. We did not create a Blogger account.
WordPress vs Blogger Quick Facts
Facts below were checked on blogger.com, the Blogger Help Center, WordPress.com and WordPress.org in October 2026.
| Blogger | Self-hosted WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, including hosting | Software is free; hosting from about $3/month intro, plus a domain |
| Address | yourname.blogspot.com, or a custom domain you buy elsewhere | Your own domain |
| Who runs it | Google (Blogger launched in 1999; Google bought it in 2003) | You, on the host you choose |
| Themes | A small set of built-in themes, changed in a theme designer or with HTML and CSS | Thousands of free and paid themes |
| Plugins | None; Google’s own “gadgets” only | 60,000+ plugins |
| SEO controls | Search description, custom permalinks, robots tags, redirects | Everything, plus SEO plugins like Yoast and Rank Math |
| Ways to earn | AdSense and pasted ad code | Ads, affiliate links, memberships, courses, products |
| Support | Help Center and a volunteer community forum | Your host, plugin vendors, forums |
| Market share | 0.3% of all websites (W3Techs) | 40.2% of all websites (W3Techs) |
| Best for | Free personal journals and hobby blogs | Growing niche blogs and business sites |
First, Which WordPress? WordPress.com vs Self-Hosted
Searchers mix these up all the time, and the difference matters for this comparison.
- Self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org) is free software you install on a web host you pay for. You get full control, any theme, any plugin. This is what most people mean by “WordPress,” and it is what we used on our test install.
- WordPress.com is a hosted service run by Automattic. It works more like Blogger: they run the servers and you pick a plan.
WordPress.com plans as listed on its pricing page in October 2026 (yearly billing, first-year price, then renewal):
| WordPress.com plan | Price | What you get that matters for a blog |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | wordpress.com address, 1 GB storage, WordPress.com ads shown to visitors, no plugins |
| Personal | $4/month for the first year, renews at $5/month | Free domain for one year, no ads, plugins allowed, 6 GB |
| Premium | $8/month for the first year, renews at $9/month | Adds WordAds (earn from ads), Google Analytics, all premium themes, 13 GB |
| Business | $25/month for the first year, renews at $28/month | Adds backups, staging, SFTP and priority support, 50 GB |
Monthly billing costs more: $9, $18 and $40 a month for Personal, Premium and Business. The pricing page lists paid subscribers and paid content on every plan, including Free.
WordPress.com Free is closest to Blogger, but it shows WordPress.com’s ads, while Blogger lets you run your own AdSense ads for free. Once you pay, self-hosted WordPress gives you the most freedom for similar money.
Cost: What Free Actually Buys You
Blogger is free. Google hosts the blog and gives you a blogspot.com address and an SSL certificate (the padlock in the browser). The only optional cost is a custom domain. Blogger’s help page tells you to buy it from a domain provider and connect it with two DNS records. (Blogger’s About page still mentions buying a domain in a few clicks, but that option went away after Google sold its domain business; Squarespace took over Google Domains registrations on September 7, 2023.)
Self-hosted WordPress costs money every month, but not much to start:
- Hosting: budget shared hosting starts around $3 a month on a long prepaid term. For example, Hostinger’s Premium plan is $2.99/month on a 48-month term and renews at $10.99/month, as of October 2026 (see our Hostinger review for the full price table). If you want someone else to handle speed and updates, our guide to managed WordPress hosting covers the next step up.
- Domain: a yearly fee to a registrar. Many hosts include the first year.
- Theme and plugins: free options cover a whole blog. Our test blog used only free ones.
A realistic first year on self-hosted WordPress is under $100 if you take a long hosting term. Blogger is $0. That gap is the main reason people still choose Blogger.
Ownership and the Risk of Google Changing Things
This is the biggest difference. On Blogger, Google sets the rules. Its content policy says that for violations it can delete posts or whole blogs and disable your Blogger or Google account. You cannot move a blogspot.com address to another service, so if you leave, your old links stay behind.
Google has also changed or removed Blogger features before:
- In February 2019, Blogger removed its Google+ widgets and Google+ comments when Google+ shut down. Google’s Blogger team wrote that comments posted as Google+ comments could not be migrated and would no longer appear.
- Since mid-2025, the “Back up content” button in Blogger sends you to Google Takeout, which delivers your posts and comments as a
feed.atomfile inside a zip. The old.xmlexport is gone. As you will see below, that change broke the official WordPress importer. - The official Blogger team blog has not posted since May 20, 2020.
The official Blogger team blog, where the latest post is still from May 2020. Captured October 2026.
None of this means Google will close Blogger. It still works, and Google still updates the Help Center. But a quiet product with one owner is a risk if your blog becomes important to you.
With self-hosted WordPress, your files and database sit on a server you rent. If you fall out with your host, you move to another one with a tool like All-in-One WP Migration and keep your domain and URLs.
Ease of Use
Blogger’s public home page, October 2026.
Blogger is easier on day one. You sign in with a Google account, pick a name, address and theme, and start writing. There is nothing to install or update, and Google handles security.
WordPress asks for more setup. On our test install we picked a theme, installed an SEO plugin, created three categories, set up readable post URLs and added five posts with images. None of it was hard, but it is a list of decisions Blogger never asks you to make. Most hosts offer a one-click WordPress install, which removes the hardest part.
After setup, writing feels similar in both. WordPress’s block editor is more flexible for layouts and embeds, but you, or your host, must keep WordPress, the theme and plugins updated.
Design and Themes
Blogger offers a small set of built-in themes. The Help Center explains that you can change colors, fonts, backgrounds and column widths in a theme designer, add gadgets to the layout, or edit the theme’s HTML and add custom CSS. Third-party Blogger templates exist, but you install them by pasting theme code, and Google’s help page notes that authors who add third-party code do so at their own risk.
WordPress has thousands of themes. Lightweight free themes like Astra, GeneratePress and Kadence suit blogs well, and each has a paid version if you need more. On our test install, the free Astra theme installed in seconds and gave the blog the card layout shown at the top of this page with its default settings, no code needed. If you also compare hosted site builders, our WordPress vs Squarespace and Wix vs WordPress comparisons look at design freedom on those platforms.
Plugins and Features
This is where Blogger falls furthest behind. Blogger has no plugins. You get Google’s gadgets (such as an archive, a labels list, your profile and AdSense ads), plus an HTML/JavaScript gadget for pasting code from other services.
Self-hosted WordPress has more than 60,000 plugins. For a blog, the useful ones cover SEO, email signup forms, contact forms, spam protection, backups, and later memberships, courses or a store.
Blogger does have useful built-in extras: private blogs with invited readers only, posting by email, built-in stats and a Google Analytics connection. If you want a private family journal, that reader-access setting is genuinely handy.
SEO Controls
Both platforms can rank in Google, and content quality matters more than the platform. The difference is how much control you get.
Blogger covers the basics. In Settings you can turn on a search description (meta description), set custom robots tags and a custom robots.txt file, add custom redirects and a custom 404 page, and connect Google Search Console. In posts you can set a custom permalink, add image alt text and mark links nofollow.
WordPress gives you all of that and more through plugins. On our test install, Yoast SEO 28.6 installed in seconds, added a sidebar to the post editor with a focus keyphrase, search appearance settings (SEO title and meta description) and readability checks, and generated an XML sitemap at /sitemap_index.xml straight away. Yoast and Rank Math also handle schema markup and breadcrumbs. Our Rank Math vs Yoast comparison explains which one fits which kind of site.
Making Money: AdSense vs Everything Else
Blogger is built around Google AdSense. You sign up from the Earnings tab, then place ads between posts or in the sidebar with the AdSense gadget. You can also paste ad code from other networks into an HTML gadget, and set a custom ads.txt file. To use AdSense you must be 18 or older and follow AdSense policies, and Blogger does not allow ads on blogs marked adult. Affiliate links work in any post. That is about the limit: no built-in memberships, paid newsletters, courses or store.
WordPress lets you combine several income streams on one site:
- Display ads from AdSense or any ad network that accepts your traffic.
- Affiliate links, with link management plugins such as ThirstyAffiliates.
- Memberships and paid content with plugins like MemberPress.
- Online courses, digital downloads and physical products.
- Sponsored posts and email newsletters you own.
If earning money is part of the plan, even a small part, this point alone tips the decision to WordPress. If paid newsletters are the main plan, also read our Ghost vs WordPress comparison.
Support and Security
Blogger has no direct human support. You get the Blogger Help Center and the Blogger Help Community, where volunteer Product Experts answer questions. Security is Google’s job, which is a real plus for non-technical writers.
Self-hosted WordPress support comes from your host, theme and plugin vendors, and the WordPress.org forums. Security is shared: your host protects the server, and you keep WordPress and plugins updated.
Hands-On: Moving From Blogger to WordPress With the Official Importer
WordPress lists Blogger as a built-in import option under Tools > Import. Clicking Install Now installs the free Blogger Importer plugin from WordPress.org. On our test install it took about 3 seconds.
The Tools > Import screen on WordPress 7.1.2, with Blogger at the top of the list. October 2026.
The plugin is maintained by WordPress.org contributors, but it is old. As of October 2026, Blogger Importer is at version 0.9.3, was last updated on October 21, 2024, has 50,000+ active installations and a 3.1 out of 5 rating. WordPress.org warns that it “hasn’t been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress.” It imports posts (published, scheduled and drafts), comments, categories and images. It does not import Blogger pages, widgets or your theme.
To test it without a Blogger account, we made two tiny export files, clearly marked as test data, each with two posts, three labels, one image hosted on Google’s Blogger image servers and one reader comment:
- A file in Blogger’s classic
.xmlexport format, the one Blogger used before Takeout. - A file in Google Takeout’s
feed.atomformat, which is what Blogger gives you today.
We uploaded each one on a test install running WordPress 7.1.2 and PHP 8.3.
| What we checked | Classic Blogger .xml file | Current Takeout feed.atom file |
|---|---|---|
| Posts | 2 of 2 imported, with original dates | 0 of 2 |
| Comments | 1 of 1, attached to the right post | 0 of 1 |
| Labels | Became categories; 2 merged into matching existing categories, 1 created | None |
| Images | Copied into the Media Library and set as the featured image, but the image inside the post still loaded from Google’s servers | None |
| Links between posts | Rewritten to the new WordPress address | Not applicable |
| Author | Created a new user with the Subscriber role, or you can map posts to an existing user | Not applicable |
| Message at the end | “All done. Have fun!” plus PHP warnings | “All done. Have fun!” plus PHP warnings |
| Time | About 2 seconds | Under 1 second |
Blogger Importer 0.9.3 after uploading a Takeout-format feed.atom test file: it reports success but imported nothing. October 2026.
The key finding: with today’s Takeout export, the official importer imported nothing and still said “All done.” Our test server shows PHP warnings on screen; on a typical live host those are hidden, so you would only see the success message. The reason is in the plugin’s code: it looks for the post and comment markers that Blogger’s old export used, and the Takeout format does not include them.
With the classic file, the import worked well. Posts, the comment and the labels all came across, and the link between the two posts pointed to the new WordPress address.
A test post imported from a classic Blogger .xml file, with its image and reader comment. The image is from Google’s 2019 Blogger post about removing Google+ widgets. October 2026.
A few more things we noticed:
- Your URLs change. The Blogger address
/2024/05/first-sample-post-with-image.htmlbecame/first-sample-post-with-an-image/. The importer saves the old path in a custom field, but it does not create redirects. If your blog used a custom domain, point the domain at your new host and add redirects. If it used a blogspot.com address, that address stays with Google. - Check images after the import. The images were downloaded, but on our test install the post body still pointed to Google-hosted copies.
- The upload box has a size limit. It shows your server’s maximum upload size, which was 2 MB on our test install. A large blog’s export may need a higher limit from your host.
If you only have a Takeout file, the official importer is not the tool to use. We ran the same feed.atom file through BtW Importer, a newer free plugin on WordPress.org (version 4.2.1, 500+ active installs, last updated June 27, 2026). It imported both posts and their categories, downloaded the image at full size and swapped it into the post, and created 301 redirects from the old Blogger paths. It did not import the comment. It is a small plugin with few users, so back up first and check your content afterwards.
The Blogger Help Center page that now points to Google Takeout for backups, October 2026.
Before you migrate, also download a copy of your Blogger theme from Theme > Backup in Blogger (the importer does not bring it over), list your Blogger pages so you can recreate them, and turn labels you used as tags into WordPress tags with the free Categories and Tags Converter from the same Tools > Import screen.
WordPress.com users have fewer options. Its import guide does not list a dedicated Blogger importer.
Which Should You Choose?
Hobby blog or personal journal: Blogger. If you write for yourself, your family or a small circle, Blogger is free, safe and simple, and private blogs with invited readers are a nice extra. Keep regular Takeout backups.
Growing niche blog: self-hosted WordPress. If you want search traffic, an email list and some income, start on WordPress now. Moving later costs more time than setting up WordPress costs today, and as our test showed, the official migration path is shaky with current Blogger exports.
Business blog or company site: self-hosted WordPress. You need your own domain, full control over design and SEO, forms, analytics and room to add a shop or members area. Blogger’s lack of plugins and direct support rules it out. If you would rather not manage hosting at all, WordPress.com’s paid plans are a reasonable middle ground.
FAQ
Is Blogger still free in 2026?
Yes. Blogger is free, including hosting, a blogspot.com address and SSL. The only optional cost is a custom domain, which you buy from a domain provider and connect in Blogger’s settings.
Is WordPress better than Blogger for SEO?
WordPress gives you more control. Blogger covers the basics, such as search descriptions, custom permalinks, robots tags and redirects. WordPress adds SEO plugins for sitemaps, schema markup, breadcrumbs and redirect management. Good content can rank on either platform.
Can you make money on Blogger?
Yes, mainly through Google AdSense, which you set up from Blogger’s Earnings tab. You can also add affiliate links and code from other ad networks. Blogger has no built-in memberships, paid newsletters or store, which WordPress can add with plugins and Ghost has built in.
Does the official Blogger Importer still work?
Partly. On our test install with WordPress 7.1.2, version 0.9.3 imported posts, comments, labels and images from a classic Blogger .xml export. It imported nothing from the feed.atom file that Blogger’s Google Takeout backup produces today, while still reporting success.
Can Google delete my Blogger blog?
Yes. Blogger’s content policy says Google can delete posts or blogs and disable your Blogger or Google account for policy violations. Google has also removed Blogger features in the past, such as Google+ comments in 2019. Keep regular backups whichever platform you use.
Is WordPress.com the same as WordPress?
No. WordPress.com is a hosted service with free and paid plans. Self-hosted WordPress is free software you install on your own web host. Most “WordPress vs Blogger” advice, including ours, assumes self-hosted WordPress.