Websites and hosting decision
Blogmaker
A competent developer can build a useful replacement for Blogmaker's core blogging features in about a week and self-host it; you’ll lose the managed uptime/backup SLA, built-in analytics/newsletter sending, and priority support unless you integrate paid third-party services.
Visit website↗$1.58/mo
$19/yr
Read off the official pricing page.
$50one-off30 h to build
$0/mo5 h/mo upkeep
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 3 seats.
Open-source builds that already do this
Every project below is open source and already does this job today. Fork one, self-host it, or take the parts you need - the build prompt further down assumes an empty file, and this is the shortcut past that. Licences differ; check the one on each card before you ship. All Blogmaker alternatives, with the arithmetic →
What a replacement has to do
- A minimal self-hosted blog that lets an author write in an editor, store posts, publish to a URL (with SEO metadata and sitemap), serve RSS, and allow subscribers to sign up.
What it still won’t have
- 99.99% uptime SLA and dedicated optimized hosting
- Built-in privacy-first analytics and bot-filtered pageview counting
- Priority support, migrations assistance, and managed backups
- Integrated newsletter sending (would require 3rd-party email service)
- Some advanced built-in features (llms.txt generation, DesignStudio, webhooks UI)
What remains hard
- Brand trust
Trusted by thousands of bloggers, writers, and content marketers worldwide!
- Execution quality
Meticoulsly crafted to fit every aspect of writing and publishing, Blogmaker removes the complexity from the process of running and maintaining a professional blog.
First-year cost
Keep paying
Paying is—cheaper in year one.
On cash alone, building overtakes the subscription at 3 seats.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
—
What you would spend
What we assumed
The verdict above measures whether you could build it. This one is only about money.
Runnable build prompt
Build a minimal self-hosted blog using Next.js (React) + PostgreSQL + Node API (Express or Next API routes). Include: a rich-text/Markdown editor, post CRUD with metadata, authors/tags/categories, sitemap and RSS generation, public read-only JSON endpoints, user-facing pages (home, post, category, author), support for custom domain and HTTPS, subscriber signup that exports to CSV and calls a webhook, and automated backups of the DB. Out of scope: WYSIWYG theme editor (DesignStudio), managed SLA/monitoring, built-in newsletter sending (use a 3rd-party email provider), and migrations from WordPress/Ghost. Provide tests for API endpoints, basic CI, and error handling for failed publishes and subscriber operations.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Build verdict base78
- An open-source build was found+5
- 5 cited sources+3
- Price verified on pricing page+3
- 3/3 assessment runs agreed+4
- Evidence score93
The base comes from the verdict. Everything under it is a check that either happened or did not, and each one is a fact frozen in this record rather than a judgement made at render time - so the same evidence always produces the same number.
How scoring works →Cited sources · 5
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official productBlogmaker homepage
- official pricingBlogmaker pricing
- official docsBlogmaker features
- open sourcefirekylin/firekylin
- open sourcebtw-so/btw
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.
