WordPress.com VS WordPress.org: Which Is Better?

Grace Lopykinski
posted on September 11, 2021March 4, 2022
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WordPress has two different platforms, one is WordPress.com and another is WordPress.org. Most beginners get confused between WordPress.com and WordPress.org, which can lead them to choose the wrong platform for blogging.

WordPress was launched in 2003 by founders Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little. Some may know that the two are different platforms, but they may not know the difference between them.

This post will help you avoid confusion and give you the most comprehensive comparison of WordPress.com and WordPress.org. This article will provide you a comparison between the two platforms. That way, you can easily choose the right platform for your needs.

What is WordPress?

Simply put, WordPress.org helps you create a new website, a more popular CMS website platform you have heard of. It is a self-hosted platform that costs nothing. However, you will need a web server to host your website file and domain name. WordPress.org is open-source software and 100 percent free.

WordPress.com is free to create your website and you do not have to rely on external hosting or a domain name. All you have to do is sign up for a free account and create your website or blog the right way. WordPress.com can afford its own custom subdomain through which customers can get a memorable and unique address.

Let us look at the comparison between the two.

WordPress.org

WordPress.org is already known among website developers and all you need is a domain name and a web hosting server. It is open-source software and 100% free. Since it is self-hosted, you can download and install WordPress on your own server without any restrictions. Here you will learn how to start a profitable WordPress blog.

Advantages

You have full control over your website.
You can easily customize it.
It is open-source and available in the market for free.
It is particularly easy to use.
Your website cannot be shut down in any situation, you own your website and your data. But, the website will be shut down by your hosting provider if you do anything illegal.
It has a plugin directory that has free, paid, and custom plugins that you can add to your website at any time.
You can use any free or premium theme for your website.
You can run your own ads on this platform to generate revenue. This allows you to earn revenue without sharing your revenue with the ad brokers.
It offers the ability to create an online store and membership sites to sell products and memberships online.
Google Analytics tool for custom analytics and tracking.

Disadvantages

It does provide free space for website development, but you have to pay for hosting and domain name. It costs around $3 to $10 per month.
When you develop, you can install the WordPress software on your local system. With any luck, you can do this with a single click.
You are only responsible for creating all updates and backups for your websites.
The actual cost of it varies depending on your individual work and the type of website. The website type like blog, website, eCommerce store, etc. Also, it takes into account other factors like free or premium templates, free or premium plugins.

WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a hosted platform. Actually, the company was founded by the co-founder Matt Mullenweg. Since the founder is the same, many users confuse WordPress.com with WordPress.org.

Below are the pricing plans:

Personal – $7 (Monthly)
Premium – $14 (Monthly)
Business – $33 (Monthly)
Ecommerce – $59 (Monthly)

Advantages

The free version seems convenient for hobby bloggers because it offers 3 GB of free storage.
You only need to choose a paid plan for additional storage.
You do not have to worry about updates and backups, it takes care of that for you.

Disadvantages

It only provides its own domain name. For example, ‘yourwebsitename.wordpress.com’. If you want your own domain name, you will have to pay for it.
It places ads on all free plans. This looks annoying and you cannot make money from these ads. If you want to remove the ads, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan.
You cannot sell ads on your site until your site has more visitors. Based on the traffic you get for your website, you can apply for the advertising program called WordAds, but you share the revenue generated from the ads.
It does not allow users to install plugins like Premium, Personal. For Business Plan and Ecommerce users, you can install plugins with the total price.
Google Analytics integration is not available for Personal plan users but it is effective for other plans like Premium, Business, and eCommerce.
Your website will always have the words ‘Powered by WordPress.com’ on it, but it will be removed from your website when you have a minimum plan called ‘Personal Plan’.

What is best?

Overall, WordPress.com and WordPress.org have their own good features and plans. If you compare both, WordPress.org is the best as it offers many features, looks more compatible for users, and offers full control to its users. So, I recommend WordPress.org to users to fulfill their needs.

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Grace Lopykinski is a blogging intern at LadyBossBlogger. She currently attends the University of Tennessee and is studying Business Administration and English.

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