Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n
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WordPress.org vs WordPress.com: Which One Are You Actually Paying For?<\/h2>\n
At first glance, WordPress.com vs WordPress.org may seem similar because they both use the same WordPress software. However, the real difference behind WordPress pricing lies in what your money is actually paying for.<\/p>\n
With WordPress.org, most of your budget goes toward infrastructure and flexibility. You pay for:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Your own hosting<\/li>\n
- Your domain name<\/li>\n
- Optional developer or maintenance support<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In exchange, you get full ownership and customization freedom. This setup works especially well for businesses, growing brands, and WooCommerce stores that need scalability.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, WordPress.com pricing focuses more on convenience. The platform bundles hosting, security, backups, and maintenance into one subscription, which reduces the technical workload for beginners.<\/p>\n
In other words:<\/p>\n
- \n
- WordPress.org: <\/strong>lower starting cost, more control, more responsibility<\/li>\n
- WordPress.com: <\/strong>simpler setup, predictable pricing, less flexibility<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nWordPress.org Total Cost Breakdown<\/h2>\n
A self-hosted WordPress.org website gives you full ownership and flexibility, but it also comes with a few essential costs.<\/p>\n
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/litextension.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/wordpress-homepage.webp\")
WordPress homepage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n According to our experience, every WordPress.org site needs 3 non-negotiable components before it can go live:<\/p>\n
- \n
- WordPress software (Free):<\/strong> The core CMS is open-source and free to download and use.<\/li>\n
- Domain name ($10-20\/year):<\/strong> Standard .com, .net, and .org domains usually fall within this range. Some registrars offer lower first-year pricing, while others charge closer to 20 USD after renewal.<\/li>\n
- Web hosting ($3-30\/month):<\/strong> Shared hosting plans for beginners often start around 2.99\u20135 USD\/month, while managed WordPress hosting costs for growing businesses can reach 20\u201330 USD\/month.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
For a bare-bones personal website using free themes and plugins, the total WordPress website cost typically lands around $75\u2013150 per year<\/strong>. This setup works well for personal blogs, portfolios, or simple business websites with minimal customization needs.<\/p>\n
\nWordPress.com Pricing Plans<\/h2>\n
As you can see, WordPress.org is free to download, but you'll need to manage your own hosting and domain name. Meanwhile, WordPress.com is the exact opposite: it handles hosting and domain names for you but comes with upfront costs.<\/p>\n
By the time of this writing, you can choose from six different WordPress.com plans:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Free:<\/strong> $0<\/li>\n
- Personal:<\/strong> $9\/month<\/li>\n
- Premium:<\/strong> $18\/month<\/li>\n
- Business:<\/strong> $40\/month<\/li>\n
- Commerce (for online stores):<\/strong> $70\/month<\/li>\n
- Enterprise:<\/strong> Starting from $25,000\/year<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"WordPress.com](\"https:\/\/litextension.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wordpress-com-pricing.webp\")
WordPress.com pricing plans<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Apart from the WordPress premium plan\u2013Enterprise plan, (for which you'll need to contact the team for a personalized quote), the other five WordPress plans have set prices. Here are some important differences between these five that you should keep in mind:<\/p>\n
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Free<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Personal<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Business<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Business<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Commerce<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Unlimited pages and users<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p>
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p>
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p>
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p>
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p>
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Real-time backups<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
No
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>No
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>No<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p>
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p>
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Priority support<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
No
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>No
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p>
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p>
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Install plugins and themes<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
No
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p>
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p>
<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Customize fonts, colors<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
No<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Commerce solutions<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Only via plugins<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
AI Assistant<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
20 requests<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
SEO and analytics tools<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
No<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
No<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
No<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
Yes<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Transaction fee for standard payment<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/td>
- Personal:<\/strong> $9\/month<\/li>\n
- Domain name ($10-20\/year):<\/strong> Standard .com, .net, and .org domains usually fall within this range. Some registrars offer lower first-year pricing, while others charge closer to 20 USD after renewal.<\/li>\n
- WordPress.com: <\/strong>simpler setup, predictable pricing, less flexibility<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- WordPress.org: <\/strong>lower starting cost, more control, more responsibility<\/li>\n