Decided to finally start your own blog and considering WordPress as your platform? That’s great! However, there are many WordPress plans available, which can make it challenging to pick the right one.
This article will give you an overview of those plans and explain the differences between WordPress.com and the self-hosted version. By the end, you will have a good idea of which plan will work best for you. Let’s go!
A quick explanation of the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
First, let’s talk about the main difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org (or self-hosted WordPress). Both use the same underlying WordPress CMS (or “software”), but they function a bit differently.
WordPress.com is a fully hosted solution, which means you can sign up for an account, make a few tweaks to your theme, and launch your blog immediately. However, its features are limited, and you’ll have to invest in more pricey plans to access many of the customization options that are available by default in self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org).
In contrast, WordPress.org requires you to find your own web hosting service, which means you can’t use it on its own. However, even the cheapest hosting plan will grant you access to the software’s full set of features. Not to mention that due to WordPress’s popularity, many hosting companies offer it pre-installed or as a one-click installation.
But it goes beyond just installation. These companies – like Bluehost, SiteGround, or Hostinger – have entire WordPress services that cater to beginner users and make it very easy to get started.
You can choose from several types of WordPress hosting plans. Most new bloggers opt for shared hosting as it’s the most affordable and sufficient for small sites. However, as your website grows, you might need to consider more powerful plans such as VPS or cloud hosting.
Nonetheless, despite the numerous advantages of using self-hosted WordPress, some people still prefer the simplicity of an all-in-one solution and WordPress.com delivers on it.
WordPress plans explained and compared
Apart from the free option, there are five WordPress.com plans that are suitable for different kinds of websites:
- Personal: Entry-level plan for users who want to use a custom domain.
- Premium: More advanced features for professional bloggers.
- Business: Access to custom plugins and themes.
- Commerce: Designed for online stores.
- Enterprise: For large corporations with equally large budgets and complex needs.
Since the Business and Commerce packages are not designed for bloggers, we’ll focus on the free, Personal, and Premium plans. Then we’ll discuss the benefits of self-hosted WordPress for bloggers. Here’s a quick top-level overview of the four options we’ll be looking at:
| * | Storage space | Access to all plugins | Access to all themes | Customize fonts and colors | Connect custom domain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress.com Free | $0 | 1 GB | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| WordPress.com Personal | $2.75 | 6 GB | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| WordPress.com Premium | $5.50 | 13 GB | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| WordPress.org | * | * | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
1. WordPress.com Free
For a completely free option, the WordPress.com free plan does give you a pretty impressive set of features. These include:
- 1 GB storage
- Unlimited pages (as long as you don’t go over the 1 GB)
- Unrestricted bandwidth
- Global CDN with 28+ locations
- Free SSL certificate
- Some Jetpack plugin features (e.g., visitor stats, contact form, paid content gating, etc)
- Security suite (brute-force protection, spam protection, DDoS protection and mitigation, etc)
On the other hand, if you want to run a legitimate blog these features are still severely limiting.
Perhaps the two biggest drawbacks are that you won’t be able to remove the WordPress.com ads or to connect your own custom domain. This means you’ll be stuck with something like example.wordpress.com.
On top of that, you won’t be able to use any of the plugins in the WordPress repository, and you’ll be stuck with a limited amount of free themes.
Plus, there’s no real customer support available with the free plan. All you get is a so-so AI chatbot to help you with some general questions. In short, it’s not a very appealing option for serious bloggers.
2. WordPress.com Personal Plan
The Personal plan resolves the two aforementioned problems that the free plan has – it removes the WordPress.com ads and lets you connect a custom domain to your blog. In fact, not only does it let you connect a custom domain, but it gives you one for free in your first year.
In addition, it bumps your storage space up to 6 GB and gives you access to additional themes. Beyond that it’s not much different from the free plan though. This is to the point that it has more in common with the free plan than it does with the Premium plan.
However, for only $2.75 per month (on a three-year contract), it’s close enough to free that you can’t complain too much.
3. WordPress.com Premium Plan
The Premium plan is when WordPress.com starts to become a bit more interesting. In addition to the benefits already offered on the Personal plan, this option gives you access to 13 GB storage and even more premium themes.
It also comes with handy monetization and analytics features such as WordAds, the ability to accept payments via PayPal, and an analytics dashboard courtesy of Jetpack.
The big drawback though is that you still won’t have access to all 13,000+ themes in the official repository, nor to the 59,000+ plugins available. If you wanted that then you’d have to spring for the next plan up – the Business plan – which is significantly more expensive.
Speaking of money, the Premium plan will run you $5.50 per month on a three-year plan. It might be worth it for some use cases – particularly if you don’t care about the big drawback mentioned above.
Difference between WordPress Personal and Premium plans
At this point you probably have at least some idea of the difference between the two entry-level WordPress.com plans. You may have also noticed that the Premium plan is double the cost of the Personal plan. This begs the question: is it really twice as good?
While the answer to that is subjective, it certainly offers a lot more than the meager crumbs you get on the Personal plan. For example, you can…
- Customize your site’s fonts and colors
- Earn revenue with WordAds
- Get in-depth site analytics via a dedicated dashboard
- Accept payments via PayPal
- Upload 4K videos via VideoPress
- Access to more premium WordPress themes
- Modify your WordPress site’s CSS code
- Unlock unlimited social media shares
It’s worth noting that despite the wide features gap between them, both plans do allow you to collect payments. However, only the Premium plan supports PayPal. Customer support is also available on both plans, though the Premium plan implies that responses are provided in a more timely manner.
Finally, two huge benefits of using WordPress.com – which includes even the free plan – is that you get a free SSL certificate and access to a global CDN with over 28 locations.
Below is a visual recap of some of the differences between WordPress Personal and Premium:
4. Self-hosted WordPress
As an alternative to WordPress.com’s plans, you can use the open-source WordPress.org software and “self-host” it on your own web hosting. Because the WordPress software is free, the only real cost you’ll have to worry about (at least initially) is paying for your hosting. Later on you might want to invest in a premium theme or premium plugins, but these things are optional.
With the self-hosted approach, you will remove all of the artificial limitations that WordPress.com imposes on you as a means of trying to get you to spend more money on a higher plan.
For example, you’ll be able to use any theme or plugin that’s available in the WordPress repository. You’ll also be able to customize your blog’s fonts and colors – something that’s not allowed on WordPress.com’s free or Personal plans.
The only real limitation you’ll need to deal with will be your server’s capabilities. However, this shouldn’t be an issue unless you expect abnormally high traffic. But if that’s the case, then your blog will already be in a position to make some money – money that you can reinvest in a higher-level hosting plan that can handle more traffic.
Let’s take Bluehost as an example…
Using Bluehost with self-hosted WordPress
Bluehost gives you a choice of four shared hosting plans:
- Basic: from $1.99 per month
- Choice Plus: from $3.99 per month
- Online Store: from $7.45 per month
- Pro: from $9.99 per month
Even the cheapest option is already superior to the three WordPress.com plans we looked at.
Aside from the free custom domain and free SSL certificate (which, to be fair, you also get with WordPress.com), Bluehost offers you 10 GB of NVMe storage, which is faster than WordPress.com’s SSD storage.
An easy way to think about it is this:
For $1.99 per month (on an annual contract), Bluehost will give you 10 GB of a better type of storage. While for $2.75 per month (on a three-year contract), WordPress.com will give you 6 GB of a not-as-good type of storage. And if we really want to make this an apples-to-apples comparison, then technically the annual plan price on the WordPress.com plan is $4 per month. Simply put, WordPress.com asks you to pay more, but gives you less.
Moreover, while both WordPress.com and Bluehost advertise live chat support, Bluehost doesn’t force you to interact with an AI chatbot as a frontline throttle. As soon as you tap the little chat icon, Bluehost connects you with a human fairly quickly – and 24/7 at that! Plus all plans above the entry-level plan offer 24/7 phone support as well – which is not offered on any WordPress.com plan (not even the $25,000 per year VIP plan 🤯).
The downsides are that self-hosted WordPress has a slightly steeper learning curve than WordPress.com due to the vast amount of features, and you’ll have to take care of your website maintenance yourself. However, there are managed WordPress hosting options you can look into that will help mitigate these challenges.
Which WordPress plan is best for blogging?
Choosing a WordPress plan for blogging will depend on your goals and whether you need advanced customization options. For instance, if you just want a simple platform to write about your hobby, you can probably save your money and use the free WordPress.com plan.
On the other hand, if you want to appear more professional or monetize your content in the future, you’ll have to consider other options. WordPress Premium might be the right choice for less tech-savvy users who don’t mind a higher price point.
It comes with handy built-in features geared towards professional bloggers. You can easily create members-only content and earn money from ads. However, you should only go for this option if you’re confident that you’ll be happy with limited theme choices. You also won’t be able to use any plugins to extend your website’s functionality.
Otherwise, self-hosted WordPress is by far the most versatile solution. With providers such as Bluehost, you can easily start a simple blog and scale it in the future as your website grows.
You’ll have full control over the functionality and the branding of your site. You can also easily branch out and add a shop or portfolio if you like, which wouldn’t be possible with either of the paid WordPress plans offered by WordPress.com. With starting costs as low as $1.99 per month, it’s an excellent value for the money.
Conclusion
WordPress is a popular blogging platform that evolved into a powerful CMS. Most beginners are familiar with WordPress.com, which is a fully hosted solution. However, its features are limited, which is why you shouldn’t ignore self-hosted WordPress when deciding to build your site.
To recap, we’ve discussed a few WordPress pricing plans that are geared towards bloggers. If you want full control over your website and unlimited customization features, you should consider using self-hosted WordPress with a hosting provider such as Bluehost. Otherwise, go for the free WordPress plan offered by WordPress.com if you want a simple hobby blog.
Do you have any questions about WordPress plans? Let us know in the comments section below!
Or start the conversation in our Facebook group for WordPress professionals. Find answers, share tips, and get help from other WordPress experts. Join now (it’s free)!