Do you know that WordPress is parted into two different platforms? One is WordPress.com and the other is WordPress.org
Most of the times WordPress users gets confused and cannot find right platform for their website, which leads to them choosing wrong platform for their website. Also it is equally important to understand the proper difference between them. If you know that there are two platforms of wordpress but don’t know the right difference between them, Then also it is worthless.
You should know the proper difference between platforms: WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
If you search on google “WordPress”. Then these two results will be showed.
Key Difference between WordPress.com And WordPress.org:
” Hosting “
Are WordPress.com and WordPress.org are same?
Not at all, Both of them are completely different. Both are completely different websites/organizations/web solutions.
But other companies have different domains for the same site for “.com” and “.org”. Yes, there are websites with the same domains but it is not with WordPress.
But before learning about the difference in WordPress, If you don’t know what is WordPress then you should check our website, We are a WordPress website developing resource website: Vebely.com
- How to start blogging? Step by step guide
- How to Create Your Website? Step by step guide
In this article, we will point out every difference between WordPress.com VS WordPress.org
Let’s learn what is the difference!
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
1st difference between both is the name.
- WordPress.com : .com stands for “commercial”
- WordPress.org : .org stands for “organizations”
Now for the technical aspect, The main difference between both is the hosting of the website.
- With WordPress.org, the Owner of the website hosts the website on their own hosting service.
- But WordPress.com takes care of all the other aspects than making a website and makes the process a whole lot easier for beginners.
About, Pros & Cons of WordPress Platforms
WordPress.org
WordPress.org aka “the real WordPress”, is the popular website platform that you have heard all the great things about.
It is open-source and 100% free for anyone to use. All you need is a domain name and web hosting. This is why it is also referred to as self-hosted WordPress.
Below are the pros and cons of using the self-hosted WordPress.org to build your website or blog.
WordPress.org pros
With WordPress.org, you have full control of your website. You are free to do anything you want and customize it as much as you need.
Here are some of the benefits of choosing WordPress.org to build your website, and the reason why it is our #1 pick for the best website builder.
- The WordPress software is free, open-source, and super easy to use. (See why is WordPress free?)
- You own your website and all its data. Your site will NOT be turned off because someone decides that it is against their terms of service (as long as you are not doing something illegal). You are in full control.
- You can add free, paid, and custom WordPress plugins/apps to your website.
- You can use customize your website design as needed. You can add any free or premium WordPress theme that you want. You can also create completely custom designs or modify anything that you want.
- You can actually make money from your WordPress site by running your own ads without sharing revenue with anyone.
- You can use powerful tools like Google Analytics for custom analytics and tracking.
- You can use self-hosted WordPress to create an online store to sell digital or physical products, accept credit card payments, and deliver/ship the goods directly from your website.
- You can also create membership sites and sell memberships for premium content, courses, etc and build an online community around your website.
WordPress.org Cons
There are very few cons of using the self-hosted WordPress.org site.
- Like all websites, you will need web hosting. This is where your website files are stored on the internet. Initially, the cost is around $3-$10 per month. However as your website grows and gets more traffic, the web hosting costs will increase as expected, but then you would be making enough money to cover the costs.
- You are responsible for updates. You can easily update your WordPress site by simply clicking on the update button (1-click), so it’s not too much work.
- You are responsible for backups. Thankfully, there are tons of WordPress backup plugins that let you set up automatic backups.
The real cost of a WordPress.org website varies based on what you are trying to build (simple blog, portfolio website, eCommerce store, membership site, etc). There are also other factors like free templates vs premium templates, free plugins vs premium plugins, etc.
On a low budget, you can build your website for as little as $46 per year. See our guide on how much does it really cost to build a WordPress website for full details.
For 99% of users, our recommendation is always to use WordPress.org. See our guide on how to start a website.
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a hosting service created by the co-founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg. Because of the same founder, often users confuse WordPress.com with the popular WordPress.org software.
Pros on WordPress.com
- It’s free for up to 3GB of space.
- You will not have to worry about updates or backups. WordPress.com will take care of that.
- You don’t need to worry about any technical stuff
- Fixed features are set to default as per our plan
Cons of wordPress.com
- After that, you will have to switch to a paid plan for more space. that costs for Personal plan $48 /year gives you 6GB, Premium plan $96/year gives you 13GB storage or Business plan for $300/year for 200 GB storage
- They place ads on all free websites. You don’t make money from it. If you don’t want to see their ads, then upgrade to a paid plan of $48 per year.
- No ads. It if is a high traffic website then you can apply for their advertising program called WordAds. Premium and Business plan users can use WordAds right away.
- You cannot upload plugins. Business plan users can install from a selection of compatible plugins ($300 / year).
- Custom themes are not allowed. Free plan users can only install from the limited free themes collection. Premium and business plan users can also select premium themes. Only Premium and Business plan users can use custom CSS.
- You are restricted to their stats. Google Analytics like tracking platforms is not allowed. Business plan users can install only Google Analytics.
- They can delete your site at any time if it violates the terms of service.
- WordPress.com will be showed on the website. It can be removed by upgrading to the Business plan.
Prices Comparison between WordPress.com & WordPress.org
WordPress.org:
WordPress.org is completely FREE/
However, making it visible publicly requires to have a domain and hosting.
WordPress.com
It offers both free and premium plans:
There are four pans.
Personal, Premium, Business & Ecommerce
The Free plan indeed is 100% free with no strings attached.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org in Practice:
Here’s how the cost comparison between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org plays out in practice. This is what it will roughly cost to start a basic website with a custom domain name on either platform:
- WordPress.com Personal plan = $4 / mo. = $48 / year. This plan already comes with a custom domain name included.
- WordPress.org + entry-level hosting from Bluehost = $2.95 / mo. = $35.40 / year. However, you need to buy it for three years upfront to get a price as low as that. Buying for a shorter time will be more expensive. This plan comes with a custom domain name included, too.
One cost that you need to add to both options is the price of domain name renewal after the first year. This is usually in the range of ~$15 annually.
Conclusion: Which One is Cheaper?
- If you just want to get started with a basic personal website, WordPress.com is cheaper
- In any other scenario, WordPress.org is going to be cheaper? more value for money overall, all things considered
Setup Process in WordPress.com & WordPress.org
WordPress.com
Getting started with WordPress.com is as simple as it can be. Just go to WordPress.com, and click on the Start your website button.
WordPress.com will take you through the steps, one by one, letting you configure your new website in an easy-to-grasp way. Just enter your email, a name for your site, and pick a design from a set of pre-made themes.
After a couple of minutes, you will walk out with a functional website or blog that you can start using right away.
WordPress.org:
The setup with WordPress.org software isn’t as straightforward.
First off, in most cases, you don’t actually go to the WordPress.org website to begin your adventure with the platform. Instead, you start by going to your web host of choice and signing up there.
During the setup process at the host’s platform, you’ll get access to one or more methods of installing WordPress on your hosting account.
If you’re going to use a hosting platform such as Bluehost (which we recommend), you’ll get access to a one-click installer. In this case, similarly to WordPress.com, just provide a name for your site, fill out a couple of forms, and you have your site ready to go.
Your experience may vary with different hosts. Some might give you a script installer tool called Softaculous, which does basically the same thing as Bluehost’s installer, only in a less user-friendly way.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org – Which is Better?
A personal blogger, who doesn’t care about monetization of the website can go with the free WordPress.com.
For a business or a blogger that is focused on monetization then we recommend using self-hosted WordPress.org. It gives you the freedom and flexibility to grow your website the way you want.
While you can get several advanced features with the WordPress.com Business plan ($300 / year for each website), you can make that money go much further on a self-hosted WordPress site which costs $46 per year.
In our opinion, WordPress.org is hands down the better platform.
Themes & Plugins in .com and .org
In wordpress.com you have access to themes according to your plan.
- The free and personal plan gives you 150+ free themes
- Premium, business and eCommerce plan gives you access to 200+ premium themes
- Plugins are only allowed in business or eCommerce plan in .com
In wordpress.org you can use any theme developed ever, whether it is premium or nonpremium.
There are so many WordPress resources vendors that sell amazing plugins and themes you can use their plugins and themes also with .org.
You can use WordPress plugins, some other premium plugins, and also our Vebely’s plugins
Customizations Availablity in .com vs .org
WordPress.com and wordpress.org are both based on the same initiative so both platforms are the same however their services are different.
WordPress.com has fixed templates from where you can choose what type of layout and design you are looking for, there for it only possible to customize it to a certain level. WordPress.com keeps your website up to date with their new versions
But WordPress.org is entirely open-source software. It gives you transparent source code to customize completely (We do not recommend changing core code)
There are no limits in customizing wordpress.org. WordPress.com gives you a notification for every update and you have to update it manually.
In short, with .com you can choose from customizations given by WordPress.com But with wordpress.org you can do anything.
Support Centre Availability
WordPress.com does not provide any support for the free plan, But they provide extra services for 4$/month to provide email and live chat support.
On another hand
WordPress.org does not have any support staff website for wordpress.org. However, your Webhosting provides is your support staff.
Most of the popular and quality providing hosting service companies do provide WordPress support in their services.
Popular hosts that do provide WordPress support in their services.
- Bluehost
- Siteground
- Kinsta
The important thing to consider:
There is a number of channels that help on WordPress regarding queries and provides WordPress tutorials to learn more. You can check our guides on WordPress at Vebely.com
Monetization between wordpress.com and .org
Yes, you can move your website from wordpress.com to wordpress.org. Most of the time after finding of limitations of the platform everyone transfers the website to the organization’s website.
There are no rules or policies on migrating website. Most of the users get confused on both platforms and sometimes they want to migrate the website to another platform after some time.
You can follow this ” How to migrate wordpress.com website to wordpress.org “
Can I move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org?
Yes, you can move your website from wordpress.com to wordpress.org. Most of the time after finding of limitations of the platform everyone transfers website to the organization website.
There are no rules or policies on migrating website. Most of the users get confused on both platforms and sometimes they want to migrate website to another platform after some time.
You can follow this “ How to migrate wordpress.com website to wordpress.org “
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org – Summary
To choose the best platform for your needs you need to know the right platform.
For example, suppose you want to go somewhere and you take the train/bus or you get your own car.
Both ways have their own pros and cons, but you have to find what suits you the most.
WordPress.com is a bus or train where you will be dropped at a fixed place without any route changes but in this way, you don’t need to work on technical stuff. Just enjoy the ride.
On other hand in WordPress.org is like having a car of your own, where you need to maintain it. But you can customize it in any way.
Here is a summary including everything on self-hosted wordpress.org vs wordpress.com:
| WP.org (Platform) | WP.com (Free) | WP.com (Premium) | WP.com (Business) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $46 – $100 / year | Free | $96 / year | $300/ year |
| Domain | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Storage | Unlimited | 3 GB | 13 GB | 200 GB |
| Monetization | Yes | No | Yes (with rev/share) | Yes (with rev/share) |
| Brandings | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| SEO | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Analytics | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Theme Help | Yes | No | Limited | Yes |
| Support | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Ecommerce | Yes | No | No | No |
| Membership | Yes | No | No | No |
| Maintenance | Yes | No | No | No |
| Full Control | Yes | No | No | No |
Final Thoughts
Mostly confusion is created between WordPress.com and WordPress.org because of the name but they provide different services. They provide different services but are the same platform allowing users to create websites.
Both platforms have their pros and cons, there is no single winner. It depends on what your requirements are, What your budget is and how much experienced you are.
What we suggest is:
- If you just want to launch a personal project wither for learning, testing or as a hobby, etc. You can use WordPress.com. You can use a free start-up plan, and focus only on the website and let WordPress work for your technical work.
- If you want to create a serious website for a target purpose then you must go for WordPress.org software. It allows complete freedom and customization with branding.