{"id":44189,"date":"2020-11-11T07:48:43","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T07:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/?p=44189"},"modified":"2025-12-03T11:32:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T09:32:45","slug":"wordpress-com-vs-wordpress-org","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/wordpress-com-vs-wordpress-org\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s the Difference Between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"44189\" class=\"elementor elementor-44189\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ebc02dc elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ebc02dc\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-24fd153\" data-id=\"24fd153\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-346e45f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"346e45f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Struggling to understand the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org (also known as self-hosted WordPress)?<\/p>\n<p>Because they have the same name, it&#8217;s easy to think that they&#8217;re the same thing. However, while they are closely related and both of them let you <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/create-website-with-wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">create a website<\/a>, WordPress.com and WordPress.org are very different tools, so it&#8217;s important to understand the differences and which is better for your situation.<\/p>\n<p>In general, WordPress.<strong>org<\/strong> is the home of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/for\/developer\/\" target=\"_blank\">open-source WordPress software<\/a>&nbsp;(also called self-hosted WordPress). The software is free, allows for almost complete freedom (in terms of development, usage, and control over data), and can be integrated with outside plugins and themes. When most people say &#8220;WordPress&#8221;, they mean WordPress.<strong>org<\/strong>. WordPress.<strong>com<\/strong> is one specific implementation of the open-source WordPress software. And while it may seem simpler to install, it is more expensive and limited in the freedom of development, control, usage, and third-party integration.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>However, there are a lot of important differences that result from that dynamic, which is why we wrote an entire comparison of the two. We&#8217;ll start by introducing you to both platforms and their pros and cons. Then, we&#8217;ll help you decide which one is right for you and share some tips on how to get started.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, you may be interested to learn the <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/wordpress-vs-website-builders\/\">difference between WordPress and site builders<\/a> to further help you understand what&#8217;s best for you.&nbsp;<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0d5453a elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"0d5453a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-gac=\"CTA_Elements\" data-gaa=\"Link\" data-gal=\"Position_Text_CTA\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/shared-vs-managed-wordpress-hosting\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Some WordPress Hosting Providers Offer Managed Plans That Can Rival What WordPress.com Offers<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4039498 blog-toc elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4039498\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Table of Contents<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5bc5282 blog-toc elementor-icon-list--layout-traditional elementor-list-item-link-full_width elementor-widget elementor-widget-icon-list\" data-id=\"5bc5282\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"icon-list.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-icon-list-items\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#what-org\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">What Is WordPress.org?<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#pros-org\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-angle-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M224.3 273l-136 136c-9.4 9.4-24.6 9.4-33.9 0l-22.6-22.6c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9l96.4-96.4-96.4-96.4c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9L54.3 103c9.4-9.4 24.6-9.4 33.9 0l136 136c9.5 9.4 9.5 24.6.1 34z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">Pros of WordPress.org<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#cons-org\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-angle-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M224.3 273l-136 136c-9.4 9.4-24.6 9.4-33.9 0l-22.6-22.6c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9l96.4-96.4-96.4-96.4c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9L54.3 103c9.4-9.4 24.6-9.4 33.9 0l136 136c9.5 9.4 9.5 24.6.1 34z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">Cons of WordPress.org<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#costs-org\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-angle-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M224.3 273l-136 136c-9.4 9.4-24.6 9.4-33.9 0l-22.6-22.6c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9l96.4-96.4-96.4-96.4c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9L54.3 103c9.4-9.4 24.6-9.4 33.9 0l136 136c9.5 9.4 9.5 24.6.1 34z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">Costs of WordPress.org<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#what-com\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">What Is WordPress.com?<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#free-business\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-angle-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M224.3 273l-136 136c-9.4 9.4-24.6 9.4-33.9 0l-22.6-22.6c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9l96.4-96.4-96.4-96.4c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9L54.3 103c9.4-9.4 24.6-9.4 33.9 0l136 136c9.5 9.4 9.5 24.6.1 34z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">WordPress.com Free\/Cheap Plans vs Business Plan<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#pros-com\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-angle-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M224.3 273l-136 136c-9.4 9.4-24.6 9.4-33.9 0l-22.6-22.6c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9l96.4-96.4-96.4-96.4c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9L54.3 103c9.4-9.4 24.6-9.4 33.9 0l136 136c9.5 9.4 9.5 24.6.1 34z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">Pros of WordPress.com<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#cons-com\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-angle-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M224.3 273l-136 136c-9.4 9.4-24.6 9.4-33.9 0l-22.6-22.6c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9l96.4-96.4-96.4-96.4c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9L54.3 103c9.4-9.4 24.6-9.4 33.9 0l136 136c9.5 9.4 9.5 24.6.1 34z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">Cons of WordPress.com<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#costs-com\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-angle-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M224.3 273l-136 136c-9.4 9.4-24.6 9.4-33.9 0l-22.6-22.6c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9l96.4-96.4-96.4-96.4c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9L54.3 103c9.4-9.4 24.6-9.4 33.9 0l136 136c9.5 9.4 9.5 24.6.1 34z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">Costs of WordPress.com<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#best\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">WordPress.com vs WordPress.org \u2014 Which Is Best for You?<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#free-plans\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-angle-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M224.3 273l-136 136c-9.4 9.4-24.6 9.4-33.9 0l-22.6-22.6c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9l96.4-96.4-96.4-96.4c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9L54.3 103c9.4-9.4 24.6-9.4 33.9 0l136 136c9.5 9.4 9.5 24.6.1 34z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">WordPress.org vs Free\/Cheap WordPress.com Plans<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#business-plans\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-angle-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M224.3 273l-136 136c-9.4 9.4-24.6 9.4-33.9 0l-22.6-22.6c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9l96.4-96.4-96.4-96.4c-9.4-9.4-9.4-24.6 0-33.9L54.3 103c9.4-9.4 24.6-9.4 33.9 0l136 136c9.5 9.4 9.5 24.6.1 34z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">WordPress.org vs WordPress.com Business Plan<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#how-to-start-org\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">How to Start a WordPress.org Site<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#how-to-start-com\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">How to Start a WordPress.com Site<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#move\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">Can You Move From WordPress.com to WordPress.org?<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4437752 elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"4437752\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"what-org\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ab3fe36 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ab3fe36\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What Is WordPress.org?\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bc28ea6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"bc28ea6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"336\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=336\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/wordpressorg.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-44193\" alt=\"wordpressorg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/wordpressorg.jpg 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=300\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/wordpressorg-300x140.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-11e115e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"11e115e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>WordPress.org is the home of the free, open-source WordPress software. You, or anyone else, can download the WordPress software from WordPress.org and install it on your own web hosting. You can also modify the software as much as you want &#8211; it&#8217;s 100% yours to do with as you please.<\/p><p>Because you need to install the WordPress.org software on your own website hosting to run it, WordPress.org is also often called <strong>self-hosted WordPress.<\/strong><\/p><p>Again, when people say &#8220;WordPress&#8221;, they&#8217;re usually referring to WordPress.org, not WordPress.com.<\/p><p>With WordPress.org, you get to take advantage of the full flexibility of the WordPress <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/cms\/\"   title=\"What Is a Content Management System (CMS)? (2025)\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"25626\">content management system<\/a> (CMS). You&#8217;ll be able to install any one of the tens of thousands of <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/wordpress-themes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WordPress themes<\/a> and plugins:<\/p><ul><li><strong>Themes &#8211; <\/strong>these control how your WordPress site looks &#8211; think of them as your site&#8217;s &#8220;clothing&#8221;.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>Plugins<\/strong> &#8211; these add new features to your site. You can pretty much add any feature imaginable to your site with plugins. For example, want to design your site with a visual,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/features\/editor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">drag-and-drop website builder<\/a>? Just install the <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elementor<\/a> plugin and start building.<\/li><\/ul><p>You also have full access to all of your site&#8217;s underlying code. If you&#8217;re a beginner, this might not sound very appealing right now. But it&#8217;s very important as your site grows because it means that you can always tweak your site to make it perfectly match your needs (or at least <a href=\"https:\/\/experts.elementor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hire a developer to do that for you<\/a>).<\/p><p>If you&#8217;re just starting out and feeling overwhelmed by the idea of setting up and maintaining your own web hosting, don&#8217;t worry! Choosing a managed WordPress host like <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/wordpress-hosting\/\">Elementor Hosting<\/a> for WordPress includes award-winning support and would also take care of all the technical stuff like security, software updates, performance, and backups so you can just focus on building your site with ease.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-190681c elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"190681c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"pros-org\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f8f0e82 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f8f0e82\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Pros of WordPress.org\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-974f5dc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"974f5dc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The main advantage of using self-hosted WordPress is that you get to unlock the full flexibility of WordPress and you have 100% control over your site:<\/p><ul><li>You can install your own themes and plugins.<\/li><li>You can use any web hosting, including our <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/wordpress-hosting\/\">Managed WordPress Hosting<\/a> which includes everything you need to get started, including our Elementor Pro editor.<\/li><li>You can use any web hosting, which lets you pick very cheap hosting when you&#8217;re just getting started.<\/li><li>You can edit literally anything on your site &#8211; there are no arbitrary limitations on what you can do.<\/li><li>There are no restrictions on what type of content you can create (as long as you&#8217;re following your government&#8217;s laws, of course!).<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-71a9329 elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"71a9329\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"cons-org\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-862d9dc elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"862d9dc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Cons of WordPress.org\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5544ef2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5544ef2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li>You will need a certain level of technical knowledge if you decide not to use a managed WordPress hosting provider. Beginners may struggle with tasks such as installing updates, creating backups, and dealing with server-related issues.<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>You definitely don&#8217;t need to be a developer to maintain and secure your self-hosted WordPress site &#8211; it just adds a little extra work to your schedule.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b5bf8fd elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"b5bf8fd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"costs-org\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9370c5c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"9370c5c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Costs of WordPress.org\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c5ce437 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c5ce437\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>There are only two unavoidable costs to run a self-hosted WordPress site:<\/p><ol><li><strong>Web Hosting<\/strong> &#8211; on the low-end, you can pay under $5 per month, which works when you&#8217;re just getting started.<\/li><li><strong>Domain name<\/strong> &#8211; this costs ~$10 per year, but some web hosts give you a free domain name.<\/li><\/ol><p>All in, this means the basic cost of a self-hosted WordPress site is ~$70 per year. However, this doesn&#8217;t include any premium themes or plugins that you might want to use, and you might need more expensive hosting as your site grows.<\/p><p>Most web hosts also let you host multiple WordPress sites. So the &#8220;per site&#8221; costs will go down if you plan to create multiple sites.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-76868f1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"76868f1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"what-com\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aec5e10 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"aec5e10\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What Is WordPress.com?\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4adeb23 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"4adeb23\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720,h=394\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/wordpresscom.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-44194\" alt=\"wordpresscom\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=720\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/wordpresscom.jpg 720w, https:\/\/elementor.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/f=auto,w=300\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/wordpresscom-300x164.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3b7a694 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3b7a694\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>WordPress.com is a for-profit company that offers its users a simpler way of installing the software. Like a good hosting provider that provides additional maintenance and security services for a price, WordPress.com takes this responsibility on itself \u2014 for a price. It&#8217;s owned by Automattic, a company founded by the co-founder of the open-source WordPress software (hence the similar names).<\/p><p>You can think of WordPress.com as one specific implementation of the open-source WordPress software. All WordPress.com sites use the WordPress.org software, but not all sites using the WordPress.org software are on WordPress.com (in fact, most WordPress.org sites are self-hosted).<\/p><p>Instead of needing to install the WordPress software on your own web hosting, you can just register for a WordPress.com account and get started right away, which makes it very simple.<\/p><p>However, to achieve that simplicity, you need to give up some of the flexibility that you would get with the self-hosted WordPress software. For example, depending on your plan, you might not be able to install your own WordPress themes and plugins and your site might have ads from WordPress.com on it.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-981d090 elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"981d090\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"free-business\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b3045cc elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"b3045cc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">WordPress.com Free\/Cheap Plans vs Business Plan\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0cf6181 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0cf6181\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In the past, the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org was very clear. If you wanted to use your own themes and plugins, your only option was to use WordPress.org, which made it the de facto choice for anyone who wanted the full flexibility of WordPress.<\/p><p>That difference became a lot less clear when, in 2017, WordPress.com updated its Business and <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/features\/ecommerce\/\"   title=\"eCommerce\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"25625\">eCommerce<\/a> plans to allow users to install their own themes and plugins.<\/p><p>Now, the WordPress.com Business plan sits kind of in-between self-hosted WordPress and the free WordPress.com plan. The Business plan still doesn&#8217;t give you as much flexibility as self-hosted WordPress, but it gives you a lot more flexibility than the free WordPress.com plans.<\/p><p>For example, if you pay for the WordPress.com Business plan, you&#8217;ll be able to:<\/p><ul><li>Install your own themes and plugins (including <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elementor<\/a>).<\/li><li>Connect to your server and access your site&#8217;s files via SFTP.<\/li><li>Edit your <strong>wp-config.php<\/strong> file (a key WordPress configuration file).<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2a0fe6b elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"2a0fe6b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"pros-com\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6f75e6d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6f75e6d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Pros of WordPress.com\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-24445d2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"24445d2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The biggest advantages of WordPress.com deal with simplicity:<\/p><ul><li>WordPress.com offers its own hosting, so there\u2019s no need to look for an external hosting provider when you sign up for a new account.\u00a0<\/li><li>You aren&#8217;t responsible for any maintenance or security &#8211; WordPress.com handles all of that for you. This means you can just sit back and focus on creating content. This of course comes with a cost.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6f050a2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"6f050a2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"cons-com\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a355de8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a355de8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Cons of WordPress.com\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0c8b626 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0c8b626\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The main con of WordPress.com is that you lose a lot of the flexibility of the WordPress software in exchange for the simplicity of WordPress.com. Some of the biggest issues here are that:<\/p><ul><li>You can&#8217;t install your own themes and plugins unless you pay for the Business or eCommerce plans.<\/li><li>You can&#8217;t add certain types of code, access your site via FTP, or make other such modifications unless you pay for the Business or eCommerce plans.<\/li><li>The WordPress.com Business plan is somewhat expensive &#8211; if you want to install your own themes\/plugins, you can find cheaper options with self-hosted WordPress (especially for multiple sites).<\/li><li>You&#8217;re subject to the WordPress.com Terms of Service. While these terms are not overly strict, they do limit what type of content your site can have.<\/li><\/ul><p>In the list above, you can see that most of the biggest cons apply to the free and cheap WordPress.com plans. That is, the WordPress.com Business plan removes a lot of the arbitrary limitations that WordPress.com puts on the WordPress software. However, there are still some more advanced limitations, like no WP-CLI, no cron jobs, etc. WordPress.com also <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.com\/support\/incompatible-plugins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bans a lot of plugins<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a16f784 elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"a16f784\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"costs-com\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-22e20b4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"22e20b4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Costs of WordPress.com\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-51591b7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"51591b7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>You can create a free site on a WordPress.com <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/setup-subdomain-wordpress\/\">subdomain<\/a> (<strong>yoursite.wordpress.com<\/strong>) or you can pay $48 per year to use your own custom domain name. However, these plans are heavily limited. Most notably, you can&#8217;t install your own themes and plugins on these plans.<\/p><p>To be able to install your own themes\/plugins, you&#8217;ll pay at least $300 per year for the Business plan. You&#8217;ll also need to pay for your domain name after the first year and this doesn&#8217;t include any premium themes or plugins that you might want to use.<\/p><p>Those prices are <strong>per site<\/strong> &#8211; the costs will be the same for every site you launch.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-94935ef elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"94935ef\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"best\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3962734 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3962734\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">WordPress.com vs WordPress.org \u2014 Which Is Best for You?\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1fc9fc1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1fc9fc1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Deciding between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org is really a three-way decision because WordPress.com is drastically different between its free\/cheap plans and its Business and eCommerce plans.<\/p><p>Let&#8217;s tackle the free\/cheap plans vs WordPress.org first, then we&#8217;ll get to the Business plan.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b0b286a elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"b0b286a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"free-plans\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-355d58d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"355d58d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">WordPress.org vs Free\/Cheap WordPress.com Plans\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9b1f901 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9b1f901\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>When it comes to WordPress.org vs WordPress.com&#8217;s limited plans, the answer is almost always to use self-hosted WordPress. Not being able to install WordPress themes and plugins removes a large part of what makes WordPress so popular.<\/p><p>For example, on the free\/cheap WordPress.com plans, you won&#8217;t be able to install <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elementor<\/a> to design your site, nor will you be able to use <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/hello-theme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Hello theme<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4a2823f elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"4a2823f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"business-plans\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-390b40e elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"390b40e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">WordPress.org vs WordPress.com Business Plan\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-87e4c59 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"87e4c59\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Choosing between self-hosted WordPress and the WordPress.com Business plan is a more nuanced decision because the WordPress.com Business plan remedies a lot of the shortcomings of the free plans.<\/p><p>For example, you&#8217;ll be able to install Elementor on both self-hosted WordPress and the WordPress.com Business plan and you&#8217;ll also be able to use the Hello theme on both.<\/p><p>One of the biggest factors here is the price. For most people, going with self-hosted WordPress will be a lot cheaper than paying for the WordPress.com Business plan, especially when you&#8217;re just getting started.<\/p><p>With self-hosted WordPress, you can host multiple low-traffic websites for under $100 per year <strong>in total<\/strong>. However, with the WordPress.com Business plan, you&#8217;ll be paying at least $300 per year <strong>per website<\/strong>.<\/p><p>If you&#8217;re willing to pay this premium for the hands-off nature of WordPress.com when it comes to security <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/wordpress-maintenance-mode\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">and maintenance<\/a>, that could make the WordPress.com Business plan a good choice. However, for most people, the trade-off isn&#8217;t worth it.<\/p><p>Another important consideration is that, even on the Business plan, you&#8217;re still subject to the WordPress.com Terms of Service. If you violate these terms, they can delete your account (and your site). If you&#8217;re bumping up against any of the topics in <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.com\/support\/user-guidelines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the WordPress.com User Guidelines<\/a>, you&#8217;ll definitely want to use self-hosted WordPress to avoid any issues.<\/p><p>Finally, if you&#8217;re a developer, WordPress.com does still put some limitations on you. While you can use SFTP and access your database, you won&#8217;t be able to use more advanced features like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hivelocity.net\/kb\/what-is-cron-job\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cron jobs<\/a> or WP-CLI.<\/p><p>Basically, unless you put a large value on simplicity and are willing to pay a premium for it (and sacrifice some flexibility), self-hosted WordPress is still probably a better choice.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7fd3e53 elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"7fd3e53\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"how-to-start-org\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aa58208 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"aa58208\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to Start a WordPress.org Site\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-20281ac elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"20281ac\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Creating a self-hosted WordPress site has a few extra steps as compared to creating a WordPress.com site. However, because WordPress is so popular, most web hosts still make it very easy to install WordPress.<\/p><p>To get started, you&#8217;ll first need to purchase web hosting and a domain name. Your web hosting is what powers the WordPress software and your domain name is the permanent &#8220;address&#8221; of your WordPress site on the Internet. For example, our domain name is &#8220;elementor.com&#8221;.<\/p><p>We have some guides to help here:<\/p><ol><li><a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/wordpress-hosting-elementor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to choose WordPress hosting<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/wordpress-hosting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Our recommended WordPress hosting<\/a><\/li><\/ol><p>Most web hosts also let you purchase your domain name as part of the signup process (some, like Bluehost, will even give you a free domain name for your first year).<\/p><p>Once you sign up for your web hosting, virtually all web hosts give you a WordPress installer tool that lets you install the WordPress software with just a few clicks. From there, you can log in to the WordPress dashboard and start building your site.<\/p><p>For more detailed instructions on getting started with self-hosted WordPress, check out these posts:<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/create-website-with-wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to create a WordPress website<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/create-blog-wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to make a blog with WordPress<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2be74a0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"2be74a0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"how-to-start-com\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70444e0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"70444e0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to Start a WordPress.com Site<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-48147d9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"48147d9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>To create a WordPress.com site you <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">go to WordPress.com<\/a> and register for an account.<\/p><p>During the signup process, you can choose between using a free WordPress.com <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/subdomain\/\"   title=\"What is a Subdomain &amp; How Is It Used? 2025 Guide\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"25627\">subdomain<\/a> (like <strong>yoursite.wordpress.com<\/strong>) or your own domain name (like <strong>yoursite.com<\/strong>).<\/p><p>You can also choose between using one of the free\/cheap plans or opting for the WordPress.com Business plan. <strong>Remember<\/strong> that if you choose a plan below the Business plan, you won&#8217;t be able to install your own themes and plugins and you&#8217;ll lose a lot of the flexibility of the WordPress software.<\/p><p>If you want to use <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elementor<\/a> to visually design your site, make sure to choose at least the Business plan.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2272b18 elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"2272b18\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"move\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-eb78f69 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"eb78f69\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Can You Move From WordPress.com to WordPress.org?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9a2dc8b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9a2dc8b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Yes!<\/strong> If you start on WordPress.com, it is possible to later move your site to WordPress.org. You&#8217;ll be able to move all of your content and you&#8217;ll also be able to change your domain name (or redirect your domain name to your new site).<\/p><p>The basic process goes like this:<\/p><ol><li>You export your content from WordPress.com.<\/li><li>You use a built-in tool to import your content to self-hosted WordPress.<\/li><li>If needed, you set up a redirect to send all of the visitors from your old WordPress.com site to your new self-hosted WordPress site.<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36a5ebf elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"36a5ebf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">WordPress.com vs WordPress.org? Now You Know\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-574b104 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"574b104\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Figuring out the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is something that&#8217;s confused many new WordPress users. To recap:<\/p><ul><li><strong>WordPress.org &#8211; <\/strong>the home of the open-source, free, non-profit WordPress software. Anyone can take this software and use it in any way.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>WordPress.com<\/strong> &#8211; one specific implementation of the WordPress.org software, run by a for-profit company. It is heavily limited on its free plans.<\/li><\/ul><p>For most users, WordPress.org, also called self-hosted WordPress, is the best choice because it gives you the full flexibility of WordPress at a very low cost.\u00a0<\/p><p>You can use <a href=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elementor<\/a> to design your website with both self-hosted WordPress and the WordPress.com Business plan. However, if you use a WordPress.com plan below the Business plan, you will not be able to install your own themes and plugins, which means you cannot use Elementor.<\/p><p>Do you still have any questions about choosing between WordPress.com and WordPress.org? Ask us in the comments!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Understand the clear difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org and find out which of them best fits your needs and price range. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":44191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[79],"marketing_persona":[51],"marketing_intent":[48],"class_list":["post-44189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wordpress","tag-build"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>WordPress.com vs WordPress.org: The Key Differences | Elementor<\/title>\n<meta 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content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/elemntor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-11T07:48:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-03T09:32:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/elementor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/04.11.2020_WORDPRESS.ORG-VS-WORDPRESS-01.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ben Pines\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@elemntor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@elemntor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ben Pines\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" 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