Microblogging and social media websites are the best platforms for sharing information and ideas with the world. This is why most influencers and corporations have accounts on social networking and microblogging sites.
Tumblr is one of those platforms with a separate fanbase. It allows you to post different types of content, including stories, GIFs, links, Spotify tracks, and videos in a short-form blog. You can follow other people’s blogs and see their content via a ‘dashboard’ interface.
As of 2024, Tumblr hosts over 605 million blogs, with 12.8 million blog posts published daily on the platform. However, the site has faced various criticisms, including issues with copyright, censorship, and the promotion of self-harm.
In recent years, millions of users have left Tumblr, primarily due to content restrictions, privacy, and data concerns. Others may have switched because they found other platforms more appealing or better suited to specific niches. If you’re considering a switch, we’ve compiled a list of the best Tumblr alternatives where you can connect with like-minded communities and express your views.
Did you know?
Around 48% of Tumblr users are Gen Z, while 30% are Millennials, with a significant portion of users aged between 18 and 25. Approximately 60% of users visit Tumblr for entertainment purposes, while 12% use it to connect with family and friends.
Table of Contents
16. Plurk
Monthly Vistors: 6.5 million+
Plus Point: Horizontal timeline
Plurk is a social networking and microblogging platform that allows users to post short updates, known as “plurks,” in a unique horizontal timeline format. It has garnered a dedicated user base in Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. It is predominantly popular among younger audiences aged 18-35.
Unlike conventional vertical feeds, Plurk’s horizontal timeline offers a visually distinct way to view updates, allowing users to track conversations and interactions in a linear, time-based manner. Plus, users can personalize their profiles and timelines with different themes, layouts, and widgets.
Regarding its revenue model, the platform is add-supported, with options for premium features and in-app purchases to enhance user experience.
15. Steemit
Monthly Vistors: 84 million+
Plus Point: Decentralized platform
Steemit is a blockchain-based social media platform that allows users to create content, interact with others, and earn cryptocurrency for their contributions. It is built on the Steem blockchain and rewards users with STEEM tokens for publishing content, upvoting, and commenting.
The platform features multiple reward systems — users can earn by creating content, holding Steem Power, (a vested form of STEEM), and participating in Steemit’s decentralized autonomous organization.
Unlike popular platforms like Tumblr or Twitter, Steemit attracts tech-savvy users and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, with a substantial portion of the user base from North America and Europe.
14. DeviantArt
Monthly Vistors: 102 million+
Plus Point: Comprehensive art categories
DeviantArt is one of the world’s largest online communities for artists and art enthusiasts, allowing users to showcase and discuss their creative works. It features a wide variety of art forms, including traditional art, digital art, photography, literature, and more.
In 2017, DeviantArt was acquired by Wix, an Israeli software company, for $36 million. Following the acquisition, DeviantArt was integrated with Wix’s website-building tools, allowing users to seamlessly create and manage personal websites alongside their DeviantArt profiles.
Today, DeviantArt boasts impressive user engagement, with a bounce rate of 34.84% and an average of 11.58 pages per visit. The platform generates revenue through premium memberships, advertising, and commissions from print sales.
13. LiveJournal
Monthly Vistors: 53 million+
Plus Point: Focuses on detailed, long-form posts
LiveJournal combines elements of online journaling, personal blogging, and community interaction. It offers robust privacy settings, allowing users to control who can view their posts.
Besides blogging, the platform incorporates social networking features like friends lists, messaging, and commenting, enabling users to build and maintain connections. Users can even personalize their journals with various themes and layouts, creating a unique online space that reflects their personality.
While LiveJournal is available in 33 languages and has a global user base, its demographics are heavily skewed towards Russian-speaking users. A major chunk of its audience resides in Russia, Ukraine, and other CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries.
12. Substack
Monthly Vistors: 85 million+
Plus Point: Content creators are paid well
With Substack, users can publish newsletters directly to their audience and monetize their content through paid subscriptions. The platform has gained popularity among independent journalists and writers in the US and other English-speaking countries.
Substack combines the ease of blogging with the structure of an email newsletter. Writers get to monetize their content directly by offering paid subscriptions to their newsletters. The subscription prices on the platform typically range between $5 and $10 per month, or more for premium content.
The best thing is writers keep the majority of the revenue (90%), with Substack taking only a 10% fee. This subscription-based revenue model allows for more stable and predictable income for writer. It currently has over 20 million monthly active subscribers, with more than 17,000 writers earning money on the platform.
11. ArtStation
Monthly Vistors: 22 million+
Plus Point: Tailored specifically for visual artists
As the name suggests, ArtStation allows artists to showcase and promote their portfolios and network with other creatives. It even has a ‘Jobs’ board that connects artists with potential employers and offers freelance opportunities, helping them find work in industries such as animation, gaming, film, and advertising.
The platform supports various visual art forms, including character design, concept art, digital painting, 3D modeling, and animation, making it a comprehensive showcase for multiple artistic styles and disciplines.
Plus, it has an integrated marketplace where artists can sell their work to earn extra income. This marketplace now offers a broader selection of products, such as 3D models, brushes, textures, and other digital assets, meeting diverse needs in the creative industry.
10. Diaspora
Monthly Vistors: 100,000+
Plus Point: No ads on the website; user retain 100% ownership of their data.
Diaspora is a user-owned, nonprofit, distributed social network. It contains a cluster of independently owned nodes (called pods) that interoperate to form the network.
Diaspora relies on two principles:
- Decentralization: It doesn’t have huge central servers owned by a corporation; instead, it is hosted by many different individuals and institutions.
- Privacy: Users’ data is not sold to advertisers. They retain complete ownership of their data.
Like Twitter, Diaspora supports #tags and ‘mentions’ (a username preceded by a @symbol). Users can format text and links using Markdown, upload photos to posts, and embed media from YouTube, Vimeo, and other sites.
9. GNU social
Plus Point: It has been deployed on hundreds of interoperating servers.
GNU Social is an open-source software microblogging server that implements the OStatus standard (an open standard for federated microblogging) for interoperation between installations.
GNU Social offers functionality similar to Twitter: it supports categorization using hashtags, attached media files in podcast format, and embedding content from other sites. However, unlike Twitter, it also provides the potential for open, distributed communication between microblogging communities.
Although individuals and enterprises can install and control their own data and services, installing software might be tricky for users with no technical background.
8. Newgrounds
Monthly Vistors: 15 million+
Plus Point: Full of an endless supply of exciting games and videos.
Newgrounds is a social media and online entertainment website that hosts user-generated content in four main categories: games, movies, audio, and art. You can submit content from the website’s homepage. Unlike Tumblr, the site supports adult content. Each submission is rated (from 0 to 5 stars) and reviewed by other users.
In addition to private messaging and a live chat room, a community portal is also available where you can communicate with others through different Internet forums.
7. Typepad
Monthly Vistors: 3 million+
Plus Point: Built-in support and thousands of beautiful templates are available.
Typepad is a flexible blogging service used by many media companies and large organizations to host their weblogs, such as the BBC, MSNBC, and ABC.
You can use it to sell your services and products and run ads on your blog. There is an option to integrate your blog with Google Analytics so you can track which of your blogs are the best performers and how you can get the most out of your content. The service is subscription-based, starting at $8.95 per month, but you can begin with a 14-day free trial.
6. Yammer
Active Users: 7 million+
Plus Point: Keeps you updated on what’s happening within the organization.
Yammer is a freemium service designed for private communication within organizations. As it is owned by Microsoft, it is included in all Office 365 enterprise plans.
Yammer helps employees stay updated on daily activities and collaborate on projects. It allows the creation of public or private groups for team collaboration and keeps documents in context during online discussions. In short, Yammer can help teams reduce meetings and internal emails, enhancing productivity through timely and relevant conversations.
5. Ghost
Plus Point: Suitable for building all kinds of websites
Ghost is designed to simplify the process of online publishing. It powers many different websites, ranging from individual bloggers to a large team of writers.
In terms of features and functionality, Ghost surpasses Tumblr. However, Ghost’s content creation format is quite different. While Tumblr provides basic editing tools, Ghost offers a feature-rich editor with responsive cards for creating various types of content.
Ghost is an open-source platform, meaning your content is entirely yours. Unlike Tumblr, no one can remove, suspend, or repurpose your work. This is especially important for full-time publishers.
4. Mastodon
Monthly Vistors: 2 million+
Plus Point: Decentralized service; offers specific privacy options
Mastodon is an open-source, self-hosted social networking service. It has microblogging features similar to Twitter. Users can post short messages called ‘toots’ and configure the privacy settings of each post. Unlike other mainstream social networking websites, Mastodon lives in different chunks called ‘instances,’ each with its own rules and administrators.
There are many useful features; for example, you can hide spoilers or sensitive content behind a button before posting. The system is designed to discourage selfish or gratuitous posts. Mastodon users are way more queer and friendly. Once you join, you will see more and more artist posting their work.
3. Reddit
Started in: 2005Awards are BACK! 👏 We’re re-introducing some of your favorite awards, reimagined in our new 3D styling. New to this feature? Learn more on how you can start giving your favorite Reddit posts and comments a little extra support here: https://t.co/9ki2GU7vwJ pic.twitter.com/IQmXYFsRcJ
— Reddit (@Reddit) May 20, 2024
Monthly Vistors: 3.6 billion+
Plus Point: Anonymity and Privacy
Reddit is more of a discussion website than a microblogging website. Registered users upload content (text posts, images, and links), which are then voted up or down by other users.
Contents are organized by topics into user-generated boards called ‘subreddits.’ There are more than 138,000 active subreddits on various topics ranging from science and technology to movies and video games. Submissions that attract more up-votes appear at the top of their subreddit. And if your post receives enough upvotes, it will ultimately appear on the website’s homepage.
Reddit has more than 500 million user accounts, with 44% of US users aged between 18 and 20. The platform shows strong engagement, with a bounce rate of 42.03%. On average, users visit 4.62 pages per session, spending a total of 6 minutes and 14 seconds on the site.
2. WordPress
Started in: 2003Grow your WordPress skills with the refreshed Learn WordPress experience, featuring brand-new Learning Pathways built to take you from beginner to advanced. Check it out: https://t.co/YcUcF69254 #WordPress #LearnWP pic.twitter.com/0A4lwbnpZo
— WordPress (@WordPress) August 29, 2024
Plus Point: SEO friendly, thousands of themes and plugins are available for customization.
While Tumblr offers a platform for sharing blogs, WordPress provides the tools to create a full-fledged website. As the most popular content management system, WordPress powers over 478 million websites, including 33% of the top 10 million.
Originally designed for blogging, WordPress has evolved to support various types of web content, such as online stores, media galleries, forums, and mailing lists. As an open-source tool, it focuses on accessibility, performance, security, and ease of use, allowing you to concentrate on sharing your services, products, and stories.
Today, WordPress dominates the CMS market with a 62.7% share and offers more than 30,000 themes and 70,000 plugins.
1. Medium
Monthly Vistors: 130 million+
Plus Point: Clean and minimalist design
Medium is the perfect example of social journalism: it has both professional and amateur publishers. You can think of it as a Twitter for long-form content, except it has an algorithmic timeline that shows your stories based on your interests.
This is the ideal platform for gaining fresh perspectives on the topics you care about most. It features no ads, noisy news feeds, or distractions, ensuring a focused experience. You can set up a custom domain name to make your blog unique. Plus, the platform provides detailed statistics, including how many people viewed your stories and how many read them in full.
If you have blog content anywhere on the web, you can import it on Medium. This will give your content a second life and help you continue to grow your audience.
Read More
