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To start a blog, pick one topic, choose a blogging platform, get a domain name, publish your first posts and add the blog to Google Search Console. You can create a free blog on Google's Blogger, with an address like yourname.blogspot.com.
For a blog you fully control, use WordPress on your own hosting. Hostinger Single costs around ₹69 a month on a 48-month term (₹3,312 paid upfront, plus GST) and renews at ₹289 a month. It includes 1 website and 10 GB of storage.
Single has no free domain, so budget ₹899 a year for a .in or ₹1,499 for a .com. Premium, around ₹139 a month, includes a free domain for year 1.
Quick answer
- Free, easiestBlogger, yourname.blogspot.com, ₹0, AdSense built in, own domain optional
- Free, hostedWordPress.com free plan, ₹0, 1 GB, shows WordPress.com ads, wordpress.com address only
- Own domain on Blogger.in domain from Hostinger, ₹1 for year 1 on a 3-year term, then ₹899 a year, plus GST
- Paid, managedWordPress.com Personal, around ₹160 a month billed yearly (₹1,920 for year 1, plus taxes), renews at ₹2,400 a year, 6 GB, plugins, free domain for year 1
- Paid, full controlHostinger Single with WordPress, around ₹69 a month for 48 months (₹3,312, plus GST), renews at ₹289 a month, 1 website, 10 GB, domain extra (₹899 a year for a .in)
- More than one blogHostinger Premium, around ₹139 a month for 48 months (₹6,672, plus GST), renews at ₹449 a month, 3 websites, 20 GB, free domain for year 1
Prices and plan details checked on 21 October 2026 on the official websites, as shown to visitors in India. Prices change, so check the live page before you pay. We may receive a commission if you buy through some links, at no extra cost to you.
Before you start: what you need
- A Google account (free) for Blogger, Search Console and AdSense.
- A laptop or phone. Our best laptops for students guide covers budget models.
- A budget of ₹0 for Blogger, ₹1,920 for a year of WordPress.com Personal, or ₹2,388 to ₹6,672 before GST for Hostinger with WordPress and a domain, depending on plan and term.
- A way to pay. Hostinger's India payment page shows UPI, RuPay, Visa, Mastercard and PayPal.
- For payouts later, a bank account with an IFSC code, and your PAN for tax deducted at source (TDS).
Step 1: How do you pick a blog topic?
Pick a topic you know well, that people search for, and that you can write at least 30 posts about. A narrow topic, such as phones under ₹20,000 or cooking for hostel students, is easier to rank for than "technology" or "food".
Test it first. Write down 30 questions a reader might type into Google about the topic. If you cannot reach 30, it is too narrow. Product topics suit affiliate links (links that pay you a commission on sales), because readers are close to buying.
Step 2: Blogger, WordPress.com or WordPress.org: which should you use?
Use Blogger for a free blog with no setup cost. Use self-hosted WordPress (the free WordPress.org software on hosting you pay for) if you plan to make money, because you control the site and can add any plugin, ad or affiliate link. WordPress.com is the middle option.
A blogging platform, or CMS (content management system), is the software you write posts in. Hosting is the rented server space for the blog's files. Plugins are add-ons that give a blog extra features.
| Platform | Price (before GST) | Renewal | Address and domain | Storage and sites | Your own ads | Plugins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blogger | ₹0 | ₹0 | blogspot.com, or your own domain | Not published | Yes, AdSense from the Earnings menu | No, gadgets only |
| WordPress.com Free | ₹0 | ₹0 | yoursite.wordpress.com only | 1 GB | No, WordPress.com shows its own ads | No |
| WordPress.com Personal | ~₹160/mo, yearly (₹1,920 for year 1) | ₹2,400/yr | Free domain for year 1 | 6 GB | Ad code where supported; WordAds from Premium | Yes |
| Hostinger Single + WordPress | ~₹69/mo for 48 months (₹3,312) | ~₹289/mo | No free domain; a .in costs ₹899 a year | 10 GB SSD, 1 website | Yes, any network | Yes |
| Hostinger Premium + WordPress | ~₹139/mo for 48 months (₹6,672) | ~₹449/mo | Free domain for year 1 | 20 GB SSD, 3 websites | Yes, any network | Yes |
Hostinger lists prices without GST, and WordPress.com lists them excluding taxes. Hostinger shows the same renewal rate for 12-, 24- and 48-month terms, and Premium's free domain comes with those terms only. The 1-month term renews at ₹399 (Single) or ₹679 (Premium) a month.
Blogger: free, run by Google
Blogger is Google's free blogging service, with a blogspot.com address, ready-made templates and AdSense in its Earnings menu. If you connect your own domain, Blogger creates the SSL certificate (the padlock that makes a site load over https). It has no plugins, so you work within its templates and gadgets (ready-made page sections).
- Pick it if you want a free blog today, or want to test whether you enjoy writing.
- Skip it if you want plugins, a custom design, or control over where your blog is hosted.
WordPress.com: hosted WordPress
WordPress.com runs WordPress for you, so there is no server to manage. Its free plan gives you yoursite.wordpress.com and 1 GB of storage, but it shows WordPress.com ads to visitors and cannot install plugins.
The Personal plan on WordPress.com's pricing page costs ₹1,920 for the first year, billed yearly, then ₹2,400 a year, excluding taxes. It removes those ads and adds 6 GB, plugins and a free domain for year 1.
- Pick it if you want WordPress without handling hosting or software updates yourself.
- Worth knowing: WordPress.com's own ad program, WordAds, needs the Premium plan (around ₹280 a month) or higher.
Self-hosted WordPress on Hostinger
Self-hosted WordPress means you install the free WordPress software on hosting you rent. You choose every plugin, ad and affiliate link, and you keep them updated yourself. Hostinger includes a free SSL certificate and weekly backups.
On Hostinger's web hosting page, Single costs around ₹69 a month for 48 months (₹3,312 upfront, plus GST) and renews at ₹289 a month. It covers 1 website and 10 GB of storage.
Single includes no free domain and no free mailbox. Hostinger's FAQ says every web hosting plan except Single includes a free domain, so budget ₹899 a year for a .in or ₹1,499 for a .com.
Premium costs around ₹139 a month for 48 months (₹6,672, plus GST), renews at ₹449 a month, and covers 3 websites and 20 GB. Both let you pick an India data centre and carry a 30-day money-back guarantee. Premium's free domain is non-refundable, so Hostinger can deduct its price from a refund.
Our Hostinger plans in India guide compares every term.
- Pick it if you plan to make money from ads or affiliate links and want control of the whole blog.
- Skip it if you are not ready to pay for 1 to 4 years of hosting upfront.
Step 3: How do you choose a blog name and domain?
Choose a short name that says what the blog is about and is easy to spell aloud, with no hyphens or numbers. Then check that the .in or .com domain and the same name on Instagram and YouTube are available.
A domain is your blog's address, such as yourname.in, rented by the year. On Hostinger's domain search page, a .in costs ₹1 for the first year on a 3-year term, then ₹899 a year. A .com costs ₹1 on the same term, then ₹1,499 a year.
Pick .in if most readers are in India, as it costs less to renew.
Step 4, free route: How to create a blog on Blogger (blogspot)
Sign in to Blogger with your Google account, create a new blog, name it and choose a blogspot.com address. If a screen looks different, see Google's Blogger help page on creating a blog.
- Go to blogger.com and sign in with your Google account.
- On the left, click the Down arrow, then New blog.
- Enter a name for your blog and click Next.
- Choose a blog address, such as yourname.blogspot.com, and click Save.
- Open Settings and, under Privacy, make sure Visible to search engines is on.
- Click New post to start writing.
To use your own domain, buy it first, then open Settings and click Custom domain under Publishing. Blogger shows two CNAME records (DNS entries that point your domain to Google). Add both at your domain seller, wait at least an hour, and enter the domain again.
Step 4, paid route: How to make a blog website with WordPress on Hostinger
Buy a Hostinger plan for 12 months or longer, claim the free domain if your plan includes one (Premium does, Single does not), then install WordPress from hPanel, Hostinger's control panel. If hPanel looks different, see Hostinger's WordPress installation guide.
- Pick Single or Premium and a term. The 48-month term has the lowest monthly price, while the 12-month term costs less upfront.
- Pay, create your account and choose the data centre closest to your readers.
- On Premium, claim the free domain in the dashboard within 12 months of buying the plan, or you lose it. On Single, buy a domain separately.
- In hPanel, go to Websites, then Add website, and choose Install WordPress.
- Select your domain, set the admin username, password, site title and language, and complete setup.
Then change two settings. In Settings, then Permalinks, choose Post name, so posts get addresses like yourblog.in/post-title. In Settings, then Reading, make sure "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" is not ticked.
Step 5: Which pages does a new blog need?
A new blog needs an About page, a Contact page and a Privacy Policy before it applies for ads or affiliate programs. Amazon also asks members of Amazon Associates, its affiliate program, to say in a privacy policy or elsewhere that third parties may show ads and set cookies.
- About says who writes the blog and why readers can trust it.
- Contact gives an email address or a simple form.
- Privacy Policy explains what data the blog collects, and that ad networks may set cookies.
- Disclosure tells readers you get a commission from some links. Amazon's agreement gives the exact sentence to show.
Step 6: How should you write your first blog posts?
Write each post to answer one question a reader types into Google, and answer it in the first two sentences. Publish 8 to 10 posts before you promote the blog, so new visitors find more than one page.
Add your own photos and experience. Google's spam policies name "thin affiliation": affiliate pages whose product descriptions are copied from the seller without original content or added value.
AI chatbots can help you outline a post or check grammar, but publish your own words. Our guide to the best AI chatbots compares the main tools.
Step 7: How do you get your blog on Google?
Add your blog to Google Search Console, a free tool that shows which searches bring visitors, and submit your sitemap, a file that lists all your posts. New Blogger blogs are added and verified in Search Console automatically.
- Add your blog as a URL-prefix property, which is your full web address. A Domain property needs a DNS record.
- Verify that you own the site. On self-hosted WordPress, Google's Site Kit plugin can do this. On WordPress.com, paste Google's HTML tag under Jetpack, then Traffic, in Site verification services.
- Open the Sitemaps report, enter your sitemap address and click Submit. Self-hosted WordPress creates one at yourdomain.in/wp-sitemap.xml, and WordPress.com sites usually use /sitemap.xml.
What does it cost to start a blog in India? Year 1 vs year 2
A blog costs ₹0 a year on Blogger, or ₹1 in year 1 and ₹899 in year 2 with your own .in domain. Self-hosted WordPress on Hostinger Single costs ₹2,807 to ₹4,211 in year 1 before GST, including ₹899 for a .in domain, because Single has no free domain.
| Route | Year 1 (before GST) | Year 2 (before GST) | What year 2 pays for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blogger, blogspot.com address | ₹0 | ₹0 | Nothing to renew |
| WordPress.com Free | ₹0 | ₹0 | Nothing; WordPress.com ads stay on |
| Blogger + .in domain (Hostinger, 3-year term) | ₹1 | ₹899 | Domain renewal |
| WordPress.com Personal, yearly | ₹1,920 | ₹2,400 + domain | Plan renewal plus domain renewal |
| Hostinger Premium, 12 months | ₹2,388 (free domain) | ₹6,287 | 12 x ₹449 hosting + ₹899 .in renewal |
| Hostinger Single, 12 months | ₹2,807 (₹1,908 + ₹899 .in) | ₹4,367 | 12 x ₹289 hosting + ₹899 .in renewal |
| Hostinger Single, 48 months | ₹4,211 (₹3,312 + ₹899 .in) | ₹899 | .in renewal; hosting is prepaid |
| Hostinger Premium, 48 months | ₹6,672 (free domain) | ₹899 | .in renewal; hosting is prepaid |
How we worked this out: prices come from the official pages on 21 October 2026, before GST. For 12-month Hostinger terms, year 2 assumes a 12-month renewal at the rate shown, plus a .in domain renewing at ₹899. On Single, year 1 also pays ₹899 for the .in.
The ₹1 .in price needs a 3-year registration, so check at checkout how much of the term you pay upfront.
Over four years, Hostinger Single on a 48-month term comes to ₹3,312 plus four years of a .in at ₹899, a total of ₹6,908. That is about ₹144 a month before GST.
Four years of Single on 12-month terms would cost ₹15,908, if renewal prices stay the same.
If you are unsure you will keep writing, start on Blogger. WordPress.com's import tool can move a Blogger blog later.
How do you make money from a blog in India?
Most blogs make money from display ads, mainly Google AdSense, and from affiliate links such as Amazon Associates, which pay a commission when a reader buys. Neither pays a fixed amount, so no one can promise what a new blog will make.
Google AdSense
AdSense shows Google ads on your blog and pays you for them. Google's AdSense eligibility page says you must be 18 or older, with original, high-quality content and access to your site's HTML. If you are under 18, a parent or guardian can sign up with their own Google account.
- On Blogger, click Earnings, then Create AdSense account.
- On WordPress, apply on the AdSense website, then add the ad code Google gives you to your site's header.
- Payment threshold is the balance you must reach before Google pays you, and Google lists $100 for US dollar accounts, with no rupee amount. You verify your address once your balance reaches $10.
- Payment dates: payments go out between the 21st and 26th of the month by wire transfer, which needs your bank's IFSC code.
Amazon Associates India
Amazon Associates pays a commission on qualifying purchases made through your links on Amazon.in. Amazon's application review page says it reviews your application only after at least three qualified sales in the first 180 days, and orders you place yourself are not counted.
- Amazon suggests at least 10 posts of original content.
- Content must be recent, generally from the last 60 days, and you must own the website.
- A rejected application cannot be reassessed.
- Amazon pays by bank transfer about 60 days after each month ends, once it owes you ₹1,000 or more.
- For Indian residents, Amazon deducts income tax at the legal rate, which changes if you have not given your PAN.
The 180 days start when you sign up, so join once your product posts get visitors.
Other affiliate programs
Web hosts such as Hostinger and WordPress.com also run affiliate programs. Join programs for products you would recommend, say on each post that you may get a commission, and mark paid links with rel="sponsored", as Google asks.
A realistic first 90 days for a new blog
Use the first 90 days to set the blog up, publish on a schedule and learn which searches show your posts. Expect few visitors at first, as Google takes time to crawl new posts.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Days 1 to 3 | Pick the topic, list 30 reader questions, choose the platform and name |
| Days 4 to 7 | Set up the blog, check search visibility, add About, Contact and Privacy pages |
| Days 8 to 30 | Publish 8 to 10 posts, add the blog to Search Console, submit the sitemap |
| Days 31 to 60 | Post once or twice a week, and improve posts that the Performance report shows getting few clicks |
| Days 61 to 90 | Apply for AdSense if you are 18 or older, and join Amazon Associates once product posts get visits |
What to check before you pay for hosting
- The term behind the low price, since Single's ₹69 a month needs 48 months upfront.
- The renewal price (₹289 a month for Single, ₹449 for Premium), plus GST.
- Websites and storage, from 1 website and 10 GB on Single to 3 websites and 20 GB on Premium.
- The free domain, which Premium includes for year 1 and Single does not. A .in costs ₹899 a year.
- The refund window of 30 days at Hostinger, or 14 days for WordPress.com yearly plans.
Common mistakes when you start a blog
- Leaving search engines blocked. The WordPress "Discourage search engines" box asks Google to skip the blog and turns off the WordPress sitemap.
- No https on a Blogger custom domain. If your domain has CAA records, add one for letsencrypt.org, or Blogger cannot create the SSL certificate.
- Joining Amazon Associates on day one. The 180-day count for three sales starts at sign-up.
What to remember
- Blogger is free. Hostinger Single with WordPress costs around ₹69 a month over 48 months, plus GST and a domain.
- Publish 8 to 10 posts, then add the blog to Search Console.
- AdSense needs you to be 18 or older. Amazon Associates needs three qualified sales in your first 180 days.
For a business or portfolio site, see our guide on how to create a website, or compare tools in our best website builder guide.
