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Prices checked on October 9, 2026. This guide is based on the published plans and documentation, not on long-term use by us.
Quick answer
Want a site without the maintenance? WordPress.com handles updates, security and backups for you. Paid plans start at $4 a month billed yearly, with a free domain for the first year.
“WordPress” means two different things. WordPress.com is a hosting service: you sign up and your site is online. Self-hosted WordPress is the free software from WordPress.org, which you install on hosting that you rent yourself. Both run the same WordPress, but the cost, the control and the work involved are different.
This guide compares the two so you can pick the right one before you spend money.
The short answer
- Choose WordPress.com if you want a site without managing a server, and you are happy to pay for that convenience.
- Choose self-hosted WordPress if you want full control and the lowest possible cost, and you do not mind handling updates, backups and security.
- Choose managed WordPress hosting if you want both: full control with the maintenance done for you. It costs the most.
Side-by-side comparison
| WordPress.com | Self-hosted WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting cost | Free plan, paid plans from $4 a month billed yearly | Software is free. You pay for hosting and a domain |
| Setup | Sign up and start | Buy hosting, install WordPress, connect the domain |
| Updates and security | Handled for you | Your job, or your host’s on managed plans |
| Backups | Included, real-time on the Business plan | Your job: a plugin or your host |
| Plugins and themes | Depends on the plan | Any plugin or theme, from day one |
| Server access | SFTP, SSH and WP-CLI on the Business plan | Full access on most hosting |
| Ads on your site | WordPress.com shows its ads on the Free plan | None unless you add them |
| Free domain | First year free on yearly paid plans | Depends on the host |
Cost
WordPress.com paid plans cost $4 a month (Personal), $8 (Premium), $25 (Business) and $45 (Commerce) when billed yearly. Paying month by month costs more than double on the lower plans. Our WordPress.com pricing guide has the full table and the ways to pay less.
Self-hosted WordPress has no fixed price. Basic shared hosting is usually the cheapest way to run a WordPress site, and prices vary widely between hosts and between the first term and the renewal. Add a domain name, and budget for any paid plugins or themes you need. At the other end, managed WordPress hosting such as Pressable starts at $250 a year for one site with backups and security included.
The lesson: compare the renewal price of hosting, not the first-year offer, and count the extras you would have to buy separately.
Control
Self-hosted WordPress gives you everything: any plugin, any theme, your own code, direct access to the files and the database. Nothing is switched off.
WordPress.com gives you more control as you move up the plans. The Business plan adds developer tools such as SFTP, SSH, WP-CLI and GitHub deployments, and behaves much more like a self-hosted site. Plugin access on the lower plans has changed over time, so if a particular plugin matters to you, check the plan comparison before you pay.
Maintenance
This is where WordPress.com earns its price. WordPress core updates, security, performance and backups are handled for you, and there is support when something breaks.
With self-hosted WordPress on ordinary hosting, those jobs are yours. They are not hard, but they have to be done: keep WordPress, plugins and themes updated, run backups and test that they restore, and add a security plugin. A plugin like Jetpack can cover backups, malware scanning and spam for a self-hosted site.
Selling online
Both routes can run WooCommerce. On WordPress.com you need the Commerce plan at $45 a month billed yearly, which includes store tools, premium store themes and unlimited products. On self-hosted WordPress, WooCommerce itself is free and you pay only for hosting and any extensions you add. See our guide to the best official WooCommerce extensions for what those cost.
Which should you choose?
- First website, personal blog or portfolio: WordPress.com Personal or Premium. Least work, fixed price.
- Small budget and willing to learn: self-hosted WordPress on shared hosting.
- Business site that must stay online: WordPress.com Business, or managed WordPress hosting.
- Online shop: self-hosted WooCommerce on good hosting if you want flexibility, or WordPress.com Commerce if you want it managed.
- Freelancer or agency with several client sites: managed WordPress hosting with multi-site plans.
Can you switch later?
Yes. WordPress has built-in export and import tools, and many hosts offer free migrations, so you can move between WordPress.com and a self-hosted site. Moving is easier while the site is small, so it is worth choosing carefully, but you are not locked in.
Try WordPress.com | See Pressable managed hosting
Prices and plan features are set by each company and can change at any time. Always confirm the final price at checkout.
