Mark Beaty also asks whether Radio Userland is worth $39.95 – I think so. The primary contenders for hosted weblogs are Userland, TypePad and Blogger. The lowest cost TypePad option is $49.50 per year, the free Blogger weblog doesn’t provide RSS, and Blogger Pro is no longer available. At $39.95 per year (for continued support and hosting), Radio Userland has an attractive feature/cost ratio.

The real question is whether you prefer smart client/dumb server or dumb client/smart server? I like having a lightweight desktop CMS, so I like Radio Userland – your mileage may vary. Both Userland and TypePad offer a free 30-day trial. My advice is to try them out before making a decision.

In fact, I’m willing to pay Userland more. I’d pay for my own domain name. And I’d also pay to be on a faster server – especially for referrer statistics. Since I don’t have that option, I plan to move to my own hosted space in the near future.