Hosting is free if you host it on GitHub Pages. I have my own VPS on DigitalOcean. Maintenance of that node is insignificant though, as the machine auto-updates itself. And you don't need to do it if you're on GitHub or GitLab Pages or other similar services.
The initial cost was a little high, setting it up and all. But now that cost is virtually zero.
And guess what ... it's mine, my blog, my website, on my own domain. It's part of my identity, it's the link I place in email signatures. It's my creation, just like my work or open source contributions.
In 2005 when my career started I was also using a blogging service. Until my membership was revoked for some reason and I lost articles in which I poured my soul in. Never again.
Outsourcing your blog to others is ... foolish. And not having a blog, as a computer scientist, is equally foolish.
So setup a static blog with a tool like https://jekyllrb.com. The initial setup smells like yak shaving, however you'll get over it and you won't regret the investment.