アメーバブログ (Ameba)
Platform · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
Ameba Blog (アメーバブログ, "Ameba burogu", commonly アメブロ — "Amebro") is a Japanese blogging service run by CyberAgent (株式会社サイバーエージェント, "Kabushiki-gaisha Saibā Ējento"). The company is named as a party to the terms of service in Ameba利用規約.
This is a classic blog platform with a closed ecosystem: you get a page inside the ameblo.jp domain, a built-in editor, rankings and a subscription feed. The platform describes itself as «日本最大級のブログメディア» — "blog media on the largest scale in Japan" and states that it offers more than 240 design themes and more than 150 official genres. Note that "largest in Japan" here is a self-description, not the result of an independent measurement.
What sets Ameblo apart from Western blog engines is how tightly it is wired to two of CyberAgent's own services: the Ameba Pick affiliate program and the Dot Money points system (ドットマネー). An author's earnings run through these, not through external ad networks. The interface is Japanese: the page language in the home page markup is ja, and we found no switch to other languages.
Who's here
The numbers are published by the platform's owner. In a press release for the service's twentieth anniversary, CyberAgent reports that the number of Ameba members has passed 92 million, and the cumulative number of posts in Ameba Blog is more than 2.8 billion; the release is dated 13 September 2024 and the figures are as of 7 August 2024. An important caveat: 92 million counts members of the whole Ameba ecosystem (blogs, manga, fortune telling, avatars), not the audience of the blogging service specifically. The release gives no breakdown for blogs.
A distinctive feature of the platform is the official blogs of celebrities. In the description of its home page the platform itself claims that "blogs by more than 16,000 performers and celebrities can be read only on Ameba". This too is the platform speaking about itself.
Geography and languages: the service is Japanese-language. Neither a breakdown by country nor a list of interface languages is published on the public pages we checked.
Getting started
Registration is free and goes through an Ameba account. The age rules are set out in the terms of service: people under 18 cannot register without the consent of a legal guardian, and members aged 15 and under may not use the messaging feature.
After registration the blog is ready to go straight away: a design theme, a genre, publishing. There is no separate "business account" with document checks at the door — instead there are paid plans (see the section on limits).
If you are moving from another platform, Ameblo has an import. The blog help section lists instructions for transferring from hatena, livedoor, Seesaa, FC2, Cocolog and LINE BLOG. Each case is covered by its own article with its own caveats.
What you can publish
The platform states its size limits precisely. The help pages say: the post body is 60,000 characters (60,000 bytes) when typed in Latin script, with a guideline of about 30,000 characters for Japanese text; the post title is 48 characters; the theme name is 20 characters; the "message board" is 10,000 full-width characters (20,000 Latin ones). The same page carries a warning: when you edit the HTML, the system reformats the code at publishing time, which inflates the character counter and can make publishing fail even though the visible text fits within the limit.
The number of posts is capped as well: the limit is 3000 posts per month. No daily ceiling is named on that page.
Images. On the free plan a single uploaded file may be up to 3 MB and the image folder holds 1 TB; on the paid plan the file limit rises to 10 MB and the folder becomes unlimited. The same page adds a caveat: once the paid period ends, uploaded files stay, but the folder limit reverts to 1 TB, and you will not be able to upload new images until you delete old ones.
The prohibitions are listed in article 13 of the terms: obscene material, defamation, calls to unlawful acts, spam and artificial engagement, impersonation, recruitment into religious organizations and dating, and also commercial activity without the company's consent — including network marketing and reselling access to the service.
How to grow
The built-in growth mechanisms are genre rankings, subscriptions and the subscription feed. The blog help section sets aside separate groups of articles on subscriptions and the subscription feed, and on visit statistics and rankings. The platform gives no detailed account of its ranking algorithm: how rankings and recommendations are actually built is not stated on the pages we checked.
Among practical planning tools there is scheduled publishing: in the post editor you simply set the date and time you want. The post has to be submitted rather than saved as a draft; subscriber notifications and its appearance in the feed happen at the moment of publication. This page names no limit on the number of scheduled posts or on how far ahead you can schedule.
Path to monetization
The main official way to earn is Ameba Pick, the platform's own affiliate program. The author places product links, and when a reader buys through a link, the author is credited with a reward. The guide distinguishes two states: 発生報酬 (hassei hōshū, credited at the moment of purchase) and 確定報酬 (kakutei hōshū, confirmed by the advertiser) — what you actually receive is the second.
Entry is not automatic: you have to apply and pass a review. The program's rules are stricter than the general ones: people under 18 cannot apply even with a legal guardian's consent. The same page lists the prohibitions — self-purchases, click inflation and redistributing rewards to subscribers without permission.
Payout comes not as money directly but as points: the reward is credited through Dot Money. The beginner's guide adds that Dot Money points are exchanged with no commission, and the points themselves expire 6 months after being credited; Rakuten products run through a separate circuit — Rakuten Affiliate. There is no single commission rate: the rates vary from product to product and are shown on the shop listing.
The owner discloses the scale of the program in the same press release: the cumulative turnover of Ameba Pick has passed 120 billion yen (as of April 2024), and 45 thousand ordinary bloggers earn an annual income through the program. This is CyberAgent's figure about its own service; the release does not give an average income per author.
Tools and automation
We found no current public API documentation for Ameba Blog. In the help and legal sections we looked through (the help index, the blog section, the list of rules and guidelines), there is no developer section. So we confirm neither the presence nor the absence of an official API — we record that we found no documentation on public pages.
The practical conclusion: automation is limited to the built-in features — scheduled publishing and importing from other blog platforms.
Of CyberAgent's own services, Ameba Pick and Dot Money work in tandem with the blog — both are described in the list of rules and guidelines, which has separate documents for the program and for the points.
Limits and rules
- Length. The post body is 60,000 characters in Latin script (a guideline of 30,000 for Japanese), the title 48 characters, the theme 20 characters.
- Frequency. Up to 3000 posts per month.
- Files. 3 MB per image and 1 TB per folder on the free plan; 10 MB and no folder limit on the paid plan.
- Age. Under 18 — only with a legal guardian's consent; messaging is unavailable to members aged 15 and under; in Ameba Pick — strictly 18 and over.
- Commerce. Commercial activity without the company's consent is prohibited — which matters a lot if you plan to use the blog as a shop window.
Paid plans
Ads are shown on the free plan. You can remove them with a paid plan: the help pages describe a "plus plan" at 980 yen a month including tax and a "lite plan" at 1490 yen, which adds hiding ads on the blog page to everything the plus plan offers. The plan rules add that the price depends on the payment method: 980 yen via the website against 1210 yen via the app for the "plus", and 1490 against 1650 yen for the "lite". Also there: payment renews monthly, there is no refund for a partial period, and if payment fails the service is switched off after 14 days. Ad hiding is not complete — ads in other people's posts, in RSS and on the enlarged image page are not covered by the rule.
Who it's for
It suits you if your audience is Japanese and you write in Japanese. Ameblo gives you a ready-made environment with rankings, subscriptions and internal traffic, while Ameba Pick lets you start earning without building your own ad integration: the owner backs the scale of the program with figures.
It suits those who write a lot and at length: 60,000 characters per post and 3000 posts per month — enough headroom for almost any project.
It does not suit you if you need your own domain and full control over the design: the blog lives inside ameblo.jp, and there is no article in the blog help section about connecting your own domain. It does not suit you if you are building a project around automation: we found no public API documentation. And be careful with direct commerce — the terms require the company's consent.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
About the platform
the platform describes itself as follows: "アメブロでブログを書こう！ 16000人以上の芸能人・有名人ブログを読めるのはAmebaだけ。子育て・ファッション・ペット・旅行・マンガなどのカテゴリも展開。"
This is the platform's statement about itself, not an independent assessment
source, checked 2026-07-28
the service operator - CyberAgent, Inc. (株式会社サイバーエージェント); the company is named as a party to the terms of service
Ameba利用規約, opened in this sprint
source, checked 2026-07-28
Who's here
Registered members. the owner reports: the number of Ameba members has passed 92 million (as of 7 August 2024)
A CyberAgent claim about the whole Ameba ecosystem, not only blogs; release dated 13.09.2024
source, checked 2026-07-28
the owner reports more than 2.8 billion cumulative posts in Ameba Blog (as of 7 August 2024)
CyberAgent's claim about itself, not an independent measurement
source, checked 2026-07-28
the platform reports more than 16,000 blogs by performers and celebrities
Self-description in the home page markup
source, checked 2026-07-28
Content
the help pages describe migrating a blog from hatena, livedoor, Seesaa, FC2, Cocolog and LINE BLOG in separate instructions
The list of articles in the "インポート" section
source, checked 2026-07-28
Promotion
scheduled publishing is built in: the date and time are set in the post editor, and the post must be submitted rather than saved as a draft
The page names no limit on the number of scheduled posts
source, checked 2026-07-28
How the money works here
the main official way to earn is the Ameba Pick affiliate programme; a reward is credited when a reader buys through the author's link
A distinction is made between 発生報酬 (credited) and 確定報酬 (confirmed by the advertiser)
source, checked 2026-07-28
people under 18 cannot register in Ameba Pick even with the consent of a legal guardian
Article 1 of the program's rules
source, checked 2026-07-28
the reward is paid out in Dot Money points; exchange is commission-free, points expire 6 months after being credited
Rakuten products use a separate Rakuten Affiliate circuit; the program rules - https://helps.ameba.jp/rules/ameba_pick.html
source, checked 2026-07-28
there is no single rate: reward percentages vary from product to product and are shown on the shop listing
There is no general rate table on public pages
source, checked 2026-07-28
the owner reports: the cumulative turnover of Ameba Pick has passed 120 billion yen (as of April 2024), and 45 thousand ordinary bloggers earn an annual income through the program
CyberAgent's claim; the average income per author is not disclosed
source, checked 2026-07-28
Paid subscriptions
hiding ads on the blog page is part of the "lite plan"; the rule does not cover other people's posts, RSS and the enlarged image page
Ad hiding is incomplete - important when weighing the value of the plan
source, checked 2026-07-28
Pricing
the "plus plan" - 980 yen a month including tax when paying through the website, 1210 yen through the app
The price depends on the payment method
source, checked 2026-07-28
the "lite plan" - 1490 yen a month including tax through the website, 1650 yen through the app
The price depends on the payment method
source, checked 2026-07-28
payment renews monthly, no refund is made for a partial period; if payment fails the service is switched off after 14 days
The blog's paid plan guidelines
source, checked 2026-07-28
Limits and restrictions
post body - 60,000 characters (60,000 bytes) in Latin script; the guideline for Japanese text is about 30,000 characters
The help pages warn that editing the HTML inflates the character counter
source, checked 2026-07-28
post title - 48 characters; theme name - 20 characters; message board - 10,000 full-width characters
Full-width and half-width characters count the same for the title
source, checked 2026-07-28
publishing limit - 3000 posts per month
The page names no daily ceiling
source, checked 2026-07-28
free plan: one image up to 3 MB, image folder capacity - 1 TB
Once the paid period ends the folder limit reverts to 1 TB
source, checked 2026-07-28
paid plan: image up to 10 MB, unlimited folder capacity
Previously uploaded files are kept after the subscription ends
source, checked 2026-07-28
Restrictions
registration of people under 18 - only with the consent of a legal guardian; members aged 15 and under may not use the messaging feature
Articles 4(4) and 3(4) of the terms
source, checked 2026-07-28
article 13 of the terms prohibits commercial activity without the consent of the company, including network marketing and reselling access to the service
Material for anyone planning to use the blog as a shop window
source, checked 2026-07-28
Languages
the interface language of the home page: ja
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
Catalogue section: all similar See also: catalogue index · region: Japan · scheduler comparison · find by situation · platform restrictions