Are you fed up with the current restrictions on Tumblr and want to shift to a alternative microblogging platform? We understand your anxiety, as you feel utterly disgusted by these new algorithms. There are numerous blogging and social media websites, but you can count those on fingers that provide you with absolute freedom of expression.
Tumblr remained the hotbed of free and outspoken discussions. It’s the platform where anyone can speak about anything. With that said, you feel the need to share and read people’s ideas on some other social platform. This brings us to several similar options, ready for you to visit them. In this article, we have found the best Tumblr alternative for you.
Let us show you how you can quickly shift to another social blogging platform. So, take a sip of your coffee while exploring some Tumblr alternatives.
What is Tumblr?
Tumblr is a unique combination of social media and a blog. Usually, you don’t see many websites like Tumblr that host social media interaction with other users and provide a dedicated blog space.
That’s why it remained one of the most popular apps among teenagers. People would come on this platform just like any other social website.
After adding their emails and credentials, you get a space where you can write anything.
Not only that, but you can also post pictures, videos, and GIFs to create interactive posts.
People will like, comment, or share your posts like any other social media post; only you have to tweak with some hashtags to increase their reach.
To make your profile unique, you can create your personalized themes or find any pre-existing ones.
You can be as lengthy as you like, but shorter posts become more viral than long-form blogs. According to Statista, Tumblr lost almost 100 million users in two months, from December 2021 to February 2022.
You might be in awe as to what would be the reasons for such a significant traffic loss in just two months. So, let’s find out why is it so?
Why Tumblr is becoming Bad?
There could be a lot of reasons behind Tumblr’s gradual downfall. But, one thing is clear. It has done something that annoyed its users to the brink of leaving this platform.
Some say it failed because it restricted adult content, thus removing any NSFW posts.
Others comment that its clumsy ad strategy left it into oblivion.
We will discuss in detail why people are shifting to other alternatives.
1. New algorithms banning NSFW:
People knew Tumblr because of its freedom of blogging. But unfortunately, that brought many taboo ideas to the platform. For example, many pornographic media took to Tumblr to freely display their obscene and adult content.
On top of that, it brought loads of visitors who had nothing to do with creativity except watching adult content.
Many people who do not consume such content found themselves in difficult situations. Moreover, this influx of NSFW content was detrimental to Tumblr’s future. As a result, Apple took action by removing its app from the iOS store.
Tumblr also wanted to give space to businesses to display their ads but found itself in a predicament as no one would like to express their business ads on a platform that contains a whopping 30% of NSFW traffic.
It passed a regulation to remove nudity of any kind to get ads. But this led to a sudden decrease in traffic. The traffic loss resulted from people leaving this microblogging website for good.
2. Infrastructure wasn’t advertisement oriented:
If you have visited Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media platform, you must have seen ads in your feeds.
Businesses pay those platforms, and they run campaigns on their behalf. That’s how business grows, and these platforms earn money.
That was the opposite for Tumblr. It didn’t have many options for companies to sell their products or services to the people.
The only way businesses could advertise themselves was through blogging. On top of that, Tumblr doesn’t provide any insights into the target audience.
Due to such an old system, businesses left this platform for better options.
3. Problems with the Yahoo sales team:
When Tumblr owned Yahoo, they decided to combine both resources to bring sales to Tumblr.
A well-trained marketing team of Yahoo and a massive platform like Tumblr was the perfect combo, but soon differences ran between them, and they couldn’t deliver anything regarding ads.
Due to intra-organizational differences, they end up messing up everything.
5 Best Tumblr alternatives you should consider 2025
Among a few of Tumblr’s alternative options, these six platforms have similarities with Tumblr.
Do you have a flair for writing? Then, the medium is for you. Focused on blogging, it is a powerhouse of content ideas—someone looking for quality content on varied topics must visit the medium.
That’s because it provides an equal opportunity to amateur and professional writers to jot down their ideas on a free blogging platform.
So if you can’t shun the idea of giving your thoughts a life, you should come to medium. Though it differs from Tumblr in the social media aspect, it has the potential to become a better substitute.
It pays you if your content gets likes or comments from medium-paid members. To become a medium premium member, you can pay $5 monthly or $50 annually.
This way, you become a medium partner and get valued through payments. On top of that, Medium isn’t restricted to a single discipline. Instead, you can find a slew of articles on different niches.
Pros:
Aesthetically simple:
You won’t feel confused the first time you visit the medium website. It has a straightforward interface. After going through account creation, you will get directed to your profile. It’s easy to use and minimalist, but not boring.
You can quickly churn out some remarkable stories through its editor.
SEO-optimized:
Unlike WordPress, you don’t feel the need to optimise your medium blog for ranking. However, you will surely get traction if you have written an easy-to-read blog post, added the right keywords, and touched on the problem in detail.
Your post may even rank in the top position on SERPs above high authority websites.
Interactive posts:
Here you will find its resemblance with Tumblr. Once you are done with the arduous writing task, you can now enjoy people’s claps and comments on your story.
Cons:
Less visibility for new writers:
If you believe in instant fame, then Medium is not a place for you. Its algorithms don’t bring traffic to new profiles.
It has designed its algorithms in such a way that the more you remain active, the better you get visibility.
SEO experts and bloggers call it a gold mine of real-life issues. They went on Reddit and found the content ideas or created customer avatars. It has a lot more common with Tumblr than any other website.
Though you can expect to write blog posts on it, you can still write posts for discussions. Those who love to be in a community should give it a try. Once you write something on Reddit and post it in a subreddit, you will get upvotes or downvotes and replies to your text.
It’s a much more fast and more energetic platform where you can see people debating hotly and answering questions more pragmatically.
Pros:
Discussion on almost every topic:
Sometimes you won’t find the right answer on Google, as it may show different views. To avoid confusion, you can go to Reddit and search for the topic. You will surely get your required answer in any subreddit.
Power of community:
In this world of individualism, finding consensus on a single point is difficult. But when people reach that consensus, they can fight anything. That’s what Reddit teaches us.
In an incident, a group of Reddit traders set their bets against big tycoons and rose Gamestop stakes to the historical points in the stock market.
Cons:
Strict moderation:
Sometimes its moderators are biased toward some people and don’t let them post anything against a certain group, a school of thought, or an ethnicity.
As its name hints toward pins, it creates pins and boards of your favourite picture, video or gif. It’s a social bookmarking platform that helps you save the links to your desired topics with the help of visuals.
It’s an innovative idea and is very useful because mostly, we don’t have time to get to certain content. However, after pinning it, we can check it later. It is similar to Tumblr in terms of its visuals; however, it lacks interaction with others.
Pros:
Content Marketing:
This platform has become a launching pad for digital marketing because it garners huge traffic like Facebook.
Cons:
No saving option:
It helps you pin the image, video, or Gif of your choice but doesn’t allow you to save those items on your drive.
It’s a free blogging platform owned by Google. If you are planning to leave Tumblr, then you consider Blogger.
Truly dedicated to bloggers, it’s a platform where you can write anything you want. Even you can monetise your blog with Google ads.
Though it lacks aesthetics, you can add pictures to your blog.
Pros:
Free web hosting:
Blogging can be a lucrative business, as it leverages you to earn passive income from multiple streams.
But that thing that stops everyone is the Webhosting fees. If you are trying to launch your own blog, you need to buy hosting from your own pocket.
However, blogger relieves you from this anxiety, as it provides free web hosting by google.
Cons:
Simplistic design:
Though it can be a reasonable platform for amateurs, it does not provide the services that a real blogger needs. That’s why it’s quite simple in its design and features.
If you want to enjoy a Twitter-like interface and Tumblr-like features, you should move to Mastadon.
A free, open-source and decentralised microblogging website that helps you create communities and post anything you want.
It can be the right choice for those who want to leave Tumblr because of the NSFW ban. You just need to go to the website and create an account on it to get access to some awesome features.
Pros:
Highly decentralized:
People get annoyed when a moderator on Reddit bans them from writing something which is against a certain group or idea.
The same goes for other highly centralised sites like Facebook, Twitter or even Tumblr. The Donald Trump account ban fiasco is a pertinent case in point.
That’s the reason decentralised platforms like Mastadon are in vogue. They can help stop muzzling the voices that need some platform to express themselves.
Cons:
Difficult to operate:
The only disadvantage of Mastadon is that it’s difficult to operate for a layman. If its algorithms get improved, it can become the best Tumblr alternative.
Why are you searching for Tumblr Alternative?
As you know, Tumblr is a platform where you can create your blog without paying a single penny for hosting. Moreover, you can engage with as many other creators as you can.
You may want more engagement, but it doesn’t provide instant success. You post a story hoping it will gain traction, but its algorithms don’t work like that, and you get no traffic. After feeling despondent, you may think about leaving this platform because it doesn’t work for you.
On the other hand, the NSFW ban might have discouraged you if you believe in freedom of expression and are vocal about it. To consume such content, you decide to try an alternative.
Perhaps you are a business that didn’t get the desired results on Tumblr and are now looking for a more effective platform to sell your products.
Whatever the reason, you can find several other platforms that provide similar services to Tumblr.
Below are some options you should consider for blogging and social interactions, where you can also consume the content of your choice.
The internet is full of Tumblr alternatives, but it’s not easy to go on each platform to find which one suits you. Therefore, we have provided you with several best options available in the market.