The Ultimate List of Blogging Platforms, Blog Software, Free and Paid!

[This is part of the Blogging Foundations Starter Kit Series.]

*Last Updated: September 6, 2011*

Choosing the right blogging platform is just as important as understanding what a blog is, answering the question about why you should blog, and even your blogging persona, because you eventually have to use one!

In fact, choosing the right one could mean the difference between becoming a successful casual blogger, a TentBlogger, and even a Professional Blogger (if that’s your aim), and separate you from the ocean of mediocre ones.

But where do you start? Well, they say that knowledge is power and it’s best that you have as much of it as possible! So, I decided to create a list of the all of the blogging platforms and software that exist out there and let you take a gander!

Currently I have over 100 different platforms listed! As you peruse them please note the following things:

This list is by no means complete. I’m sure I’m missing a few.
This list is roughly ordered in terms of use and adoption globally. In other words, the more popular systems are at the top.
A few of these might be considered more on the side of a Content Management System (CMS) but they are listed because they have a great blogging component to them.
Some are free and some you have to pay for. Do your research!
Some require zero technical knowledge to get started while others require a lot!
With some of them you can start blogging in minutes while some of them require a little bit more setup and installation time.
Some of these are a part of a social networking application and web service (a’la Facebook, MySpace, Ning, etc.) while most of them are just blogs.
Some of these are closer to microblogs and are used for microblogging while others might be more suited for video blogging or vlogging.

Remember that choosing the right blogging platform is a personal decision as well as a strategic business one, and the person who ultimately should decide is you! Make sure that whatever blog software you use meets as many of your needs as possible (do you know what you need?).

In fact, I let you know what I use here (if you’re curious).

So, without further ado, here’s the ever-growing list of blogging software and platforms. Please let me know if I’m missing one!

1. WordPress

WordPress is one of the top blogging platforms in the world and is used by more people than any other (and with good reason).

TentBlogger is built on WordPress and it is my blogging software of choice.

Please note that there is a free version called WordPress.com and a self-hosted solution called WordPress.org where you can download the application yourself, install it, and use it on your own server. We use the latter.