Host a Static Blog for Free in 2026
Pick a host, push your repo, point a domain. Three steps to a fully free static blog with custom HTTPS.
- STEP 1
Pick the host based on your traffic plans
If you expect low-to-moderate traffic and never want to think about hosting, GitHub Pages is the answer. 100 GB/month soft bandwidth covers ~100K page views and the host has been around since 2008. If you might serve images or videos that could go viral, Cloudflare Pages with unlimited bandwidth is the safer pick , one hit costing nothing matters more than the 500 builds/month cap. If your blog is part of a larger marketing site that earns revenue, Netlify Starter is the only free option that allows commercial use.
- STEP 2
Pick a static framework that fits your taste
Astro is the 2026 default for new static blogs , fast, content-collections-first, low JS by default. Next.js with `output: 'export'` works on every host listed and is good if you might add interactivity later. Hugo or Eleventy are still excellent if you want zero-runtime tooling. Skip writing markdown by hand in plain HTML , every host has zero opinion about your framework, but every framework has opinions about content collections.
- STEP 3
Wire up a custom domain and HTTPS
On GitHub Pages, set the CNAME in the repo and add the matching DNS record. HTTPS via Let's Encrypt is automatic. On Cloudflare Pages, attach the domain in the dashboard and Cloudflare handles the DNS and cert. On Netlify, add the domain in Site Settings → Domain Management. All three give free HTTPS via Let's Encrypt. The DNS propagation step takes 1-30 minutes; HTTPS provisioning takes another 5-15. Don't deploy publicly until you have the cert.
- STEP 4
Set up a deploy workflow you won't fight
GitHub Pages runs builds via GitHub Actions , write a workflow once, push triggers deploy. Cloudflare Pages and Netlify auto-build from any git repo on push. Pick whichever path matches your existing git host. The trap to avoid: enabling preview deploys on every branch will eat your build minutes (Netlify) or build count (Cloudflare). Limit to main + a couple of feature branches.