My blog is my baby and I’ll happily spend money to run it. Of course I don’t want to overspend, and as a result, I have switched hosting providers several times throughout the last 15 years. That’s my biggest expense in running my blog, after all. So if you’re wondering: how much does it cost to run my personal blog? As little as possible!
If you want to know how much it costs to run your own personal blog, I’ve made this post for some simple insights for beginners who are thinking about starting their own blog. I will talk about how much it costs to run my personal blog and how you can start your own personal blog with low costs.
Fixed Costs for Running a Blog
There are a couple of costs I can’t do without in order to run my personal blog. In order to have people be able to access my blog via the domain name inspiremari.nl, I pay for the following:
-
Hosting
Per Month: around 5 USD
Per Year: around 60 USD
Since 2009: est. 650 USD -
Domain
Per Year: 12 USD
Since 2009: 150 USD
Oof. That’s actually a lot! But hey, everyone’s got their hobbies. This is my most expensive one. Every other hobby pales in comparison.
Basic Necessities
Now, pretty much everyone has an internet connection and a phone or laptop nowadays, so should it really be included in the price to run a website? For the fun of it, you could include your monthly internet costs in the price of running a website. In the past, that would mean another 50 USD per month(!). I’ve managed to reduce this to about 20 USD per month now.
Moreover, a major part of my blog consists of art and photos. So I need a smartphone with a camera good enough to take good-looking pictures, and since I run several YouTube channels as well and use the videos on my personal blog, I need a smartphone that is strong enough to edit videos. So let’s add a few more costs:
-
Phone: 215 USD
POCO X3 Pro RAM 8GB ROM 256GB - Phone Case: 15 USD
- Screen Protector: 10 USD
- MicroSD: 10 USD
- Laptop: 750 USD
Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming Laptop – 15.6 Inch - Laptop Bag 20 USD
- Previous PC costs around 2k USD
- Drawing Tablet: 280 USD
Huion Kamvas 13 - Previous Drawing Tablet: 65 USD
Wacom
Total expenses: 3365 USD. And that’s just an estimate! Don’t forget though, this is over the course of years. In fact, if you divide these costs over 15 years, it’s only 215 USD per year. My previous smartphone was gifted to me by my parents and before that, I only had second hand phones that were very old or broken. I didn’t have a drawing tablet with a screen since June 29, 2021.
Cheap Ways to Run a Personal Blog
Okay, maybe now you’re like: that’s cool. I don’t feel like spending money. How much does it cost to run my personal blog in the cheapest way possible? Well, in all honesty, you have without a doubt spent a few hundred on smartphones, a laptop/PC and so forth, but yeah let’s forget about those expenses. You have a device and an internet connection. Now you want to start your own personal blog. Well, you can actually do that for free.That’s right. You can simply write your blog on a free host such as WordPress.com, Blogger.com or Neocities.org
Free Hosting: The Catch
Nothing is really free, right? Right. That means there’s a catch to using free hosts such as the ones mentioned above. But don’t worry, a catch doesn’t necessarily mean something very bad. It usually just means you have limited customization options, sometimes ads, and limited space and bandwidth.
Is It Possible to Make Money With My Blog?
If you are hosting your blog on a free hosting platform, your options for making money with your blog are typically limited. If you really want to take your blogging hobby seriously, I recommend registering a domain name and paying for quality hosting. It doesn’t have to cost much and I do recommend starting small: take the smallest hosting package available. You can always upgrade!
Ways to Make Money with Your Blog
Here are a couple of ways to make money with your blog:
- Display Ads: You can earn revenue by displaying ads on your blog. Programs such as Google AdSense allow you to place ads relevant to your content, and you earn money based on clicks or impressions.
- Promoting Products: You can earn commissions by promoting products or services through affiliate links. When your readers make purchases through these links, you receive a percentage of the sale.
- Sponsored Posts: Brands may pay you to create content featuring their products or services. Do ensure that sponsored posts align with your audience’s interests to maintain authenticity.
- Sell Products or Services: You can use your blog as your portfolio to showcase your services. Additionally, you can create and sell e-books, courses, templates and other digital products.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve ever wondered: how much does it cost to run my personal blog, I hope your question has been answered! Of course the exact costs depend on your personal needs and budget. You may not believe it if you see my numbers, but I like to keep my costs low. Having said that, it is a hobby I don’t mind spending some money on, within reason. My phone, my drawing tablet, my laptop will last me for years to come. So my current costs are basically hosting and my domain name for about 60 USD a year. I think that’s reasonable.
