Choosing between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is one of the most important early decisions when building a website. It’s a business decision that affects scalability, margins, and customer relationships. While both use the same core software, they serve very different needs. This guide explains the differences in plain language so you can confidently choose the option that fits your business needs, goals, and budget.
WordPress.org (or self-hosted WordPress) is the open-source WordPress software that you can download for free and install on your own hosting provider of choice. You get full control to do whatever you want with the software. However, you are responsible for managing hosting, security, updates, and performance.
WordPress.com (or hosted WordPress) is a managed platform run by Automattic (the company behind WordPress). They handle hosting, security, backups, and core updates on your behalf. In return, you accept certain limitations, depending on your chosen plan. In order words, WordPress.org gives you the software to build whatever you want on your own hosting provider while WordPress.com provides a finished and customized version of the software that you rent on their platform.
Limitations and cost considerations
WordPress.org itself is free and comes with no limitations, but you are fully responsible for every component needed to run your website and pay separately for them as needed. This includes:
- Web hosting
- Domain name
- Premium themes or plugins (optional)
- Page builders (e.g. Divi, Elementor, Beaver etc.)
- Maintenance, security or developer support (optional)
This creates a more flexible pricing model. You only pay for what you need. Entry costs can be low, especially with affordable hosting providers. As your site grows, costs increase gradually in response to real business needs, not platform restrictions. For long-term projects, WordPress.org often becomes more cost-effective, particularly when advanced features or custom functionality are required.
WordPress.com uses a subscription-based pricing model. Hosting, security, backups, and updates are bundled into a single monthly or annual fee. The advantage is predictability. That is, you know exactly what you’ll pay each year, and technical maintenance is handled for you. However, there are limitations which depends on the chosen plan.
- Free plan: No cost, but includes WordPress.com branding, no custom domain, and limited features.
- Personal & Premium plans: Starts at $48, and $96 per year respectively. Allows custom domains and improved design tools, you cannot use any third-party plugin, custom theme or perform advanced customization. Similarly, you cannot perform server-level customization and have limited performance tuning capabilities.
- Business, commerce, and enterprise plan: They start at $300, $540, and $25000 per year respectively. Allows you to use third-party plugins, upload custom themes, use third-party page builders such as Elementor and Divi, have some server level access and control over performance optimization. However, even on higher plans, some plugins (especially caching, security, and backup plugins) may be restricted.
The downside is “advanced features” gating. As your needs grow, you may be forced into higher plans to unlock basic functionality. Over time, this can make WordPress.com more expensive, especially for businesses that need flexibility.
Can you migrate away from WordPress.com
Compared to WordPress.com, WordPress.org migration is typically easier and comes with no additional cost because you control the hosting environment and there are no platform-specific features.
In contrast, WordPress.com’s managed environment introduces mild platform dependency. In general, it is very easy to migrate WordPress.com’s core content (Posts and pages, media files (images, videos), categories and tags or users and comments). However, migrating the design and functionality can become more difficult as highlighted below for the theme, plugin, and page builders
Themes
- WordPress.com’s exclusive themes do not transfer
- Design layouts often need to be recreated
- Block themes usually convert well, but styling may need adjustments
Plugins
- Plugins are not transferred automatically
- They must be reinstalled on the new platform
- Some WordPress.com-specific features have no direct equivalents
Page Builders
- Standard WordPress block content migrates cleanly
- Proprietary WordPress.com blocks may not exist elsewhere
- Complex layouts may require rebuilding
Consequently, migrating away from WordPress.com require planning and can come with additional cost. Nevertheless, if you intend to migrate away at a later stage,
- Use standard WordPress blocks
- Avoid WordPress.com exclusive features
- Use widely supported plugins
- Keep URLs simple and consistent
What option is best for you?
Choose WordPress.com if you:
- Want minimal technical involvement including manage hosting and security
- Are building a blog, portfolio, marketing or content site
- Do not require heavy or advanced customization and are more focused on
- Traffic spikes are unpredictable
- Have the budget for higher plans if needed
Choose WordPress.org if you:
- Want full control and flexibility
- Need custom features or integrations
- Plan to grow or scale your site
- Want freedom to change hosting providers