Blogger, the official blogging website for BlogSpot (Google), and are two of the most popular blogging platforms in today’s online world. For new bloggers, or for bloggers looking for a change, it is hard to choose between the two. Let us look at some of the differences between the two sites, to understand which would be the best option for you.

Blogger is a rented site. You cannot have it in your name. The domain name remains’ that of BlogSpot. On the other hand, does not have any such qualms. It is an open-source blogging site. However, the disadvantage here is that with , you would have to maintain your blog page on your own. This would mean the security, backup and protection from spammers are your own responsibility. Blogger takes care of these issues for you.

As you do not have to create your own domain name with Blogger, it is a basically free site. requires you to pay an annual fee to keep using your domain name. In addition, you would also require to pay a monthly hosting fee with . With Blogger, you get 1GB of free space, that connects to your Google+ account.

The disadvantage of Blogger is that since you do not own the space, you can only edit pre-existing templates. There is limited space for customization at an advanced level, and no FTP access. , on the other hand, provides full freedom to modify your blog as you see fit. Customization can be taken to the highest level for a very individualistic website.

This means that your Blogger webpage would be a basic drag-and-drop design, whereas the page would provide a wide variety of designs to increase the uniqueness of your page. also allows you to add any design or functionality as required to your page. Blogger does not give the option of adding plugins, though it does have a set of simple gadgets for the webpage.

Moneymaking wise too, Blogger gives you easy access to Google AdSense, so that you can make money by putting on advertisements on your page. gives you complete control, which means it allows you to run as many ads, links or affiliations as you wish on your webpage.

The basic difference in all of this, the most important thing that matters, is the flexibility each of these blogs offer the user. Blogger offers a simplistic platform, a basic design format, which makes it easy for the user to manipulate. It, however, does not have the cutting-edge customization, the incredible flexibility and the upgrades and innovation offered by .

This is the reason why has managed to successfully get over 75 million people to create a wide range of exotically intricate sites upon it, whereas Blogger powers a mere 1.1% of internet sites.
In this fast-paced world, portability is also an important factor, and gives the user that edge. Blogger however, has made this into a complicated process, posing quite a big risk of losing your SEO such as followers and SE rankings, if you make the move. This prompts users to not go for Blogger when launching their websites in the first place.

Also has a wide online community which offers support in developing your website further. There is a large amount of documentation, a set of dedicated chatrooms and many online forums where you can turn to for help. Many online companies have also been set up, which work at only providing support to users. Blogger, on the other hand, has a very basic documentation set which does not offer much support. The online support is also very limited.

The most important point is also of being up-to-date. Blogger has not made any updates to their platform and the user experience for a long time now. There has been a trend of dying Google apps, such as Google AdSense and Reader due to non-updates. It remains that if Google wishes to, they can shut down Blogger at any point in time.

Being an Open Source, does not have its existence dependent on the whims of any one company. It is a tool developed by the people for the people. Having nearly 28% of the world’s websites hosted on , it is also unlikely that it would shut any time soon.

Looking at all of these factors, it is apparent that would be the more popular choice. However, if a user is looking at a simple platform where they do not wish to make any advanced changes, or have much customization, Blogger would offer them a much better deal.

In the long run, it is what the user requires, that would work for the site. has its own advantages, as does Blogger, and a User would do well to look at both before deciding which platform to go for.