Comparing WordPress.com vs WordPress.org. Are both the same or different? If you are new to the WordPress platform, then you must be definitely confused with both WordPress.com and WordPress.org. You may be vague about which one to choose among these two different platforms. Thus we came up with this topic to explain to you all its features, pros, and cons with some in-depth insight about these platforms. Based on the comparison you can make the decision and choose what suits you the best. So let’s see what’s best between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org – Comparisions
- Pricing
- Setup
- Themes
- Plugins
- Customizations
- SEO
- Support
- Backups and security Feature
- Monetization
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a hosting service created by Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress. Users often get confused because of the same founder for both WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
Pricing
When it comes to pricing WordPress.com offers a variety of plans. Even it has a free plan which includes a subdomain, for example, sitename.wordpress.com. Also, it has its own ads throughout your site only for free users. With premium, there is no such limitation except storage and it depends on the plan you choose.
- Free – Limited Features
- Personal – $48 per year
- Premium – $96 per year
- Business – $300 per year
- eCommerce – $540 per year
- VIP – starts from $5000 per month
Setup
Setting up a website on WordPress is pretty simple. All you need to do is visit https://wordpress.com and click on Start your Website. This will take you through the account creation process. Once the process is done, you will be provided with a fully functional website with the theme you have selected while sign up. Here, you can make any changes on your website anytime just by dragging and dropping whatever you want on the site. Now you have successfully created a fully functional website with WordPress.com.
Themes
It has over 150+ free themes which are made available to all package users. Apart from that, Premium, Business, eCommerce, and VIP users have access to additional 200+ premium themes. Free users don’t have access or the ability to customize the existing themes and won’t be able to add a new theme. Whereas the premium users can customize the themes. The business or higher-level users can even upload a third-party theme into WordPress.com.
Plugins
On WordPress.com, there are over 50,000+ plugins. More importantly, these plugins are available to access only for business and eCommerce plan users that cost $25 and $45 per month respectively. Business users are even allowed to install third-party plugins on your site whereas free users are not even allowed to install any of the free, paid, or third-party plugins.
Customization
When it comes to Customizations on WordPress.com, you are limited and restricted in several ways. You can customize only things that WordPress.com allows you to customize. There is no way to use custom function code on your site with WordPress.com even though you have any of the high-level packages. But with the Premium and Business package, users can use custom Cascade Stylesheets to change the color and theme of your WordPress.com site.
SEO
Search Engine Optimization is limited and for free/personal users, you don’t have any kind of control over the SEO operations. It’s because you can’t install any kind of plugins on your site as a free user. But if you are a business plan user, then you can install any of the best SEO Plugins for your site and have complete control over the site SEO.
Support
WordPress.com support is available for paid users with an additional cost of $4 per month. You can contact the customer care support only via Email or live chat support and there is no dedicated voice support available to guide with WordPress.com. The free users won’t have any kind of support on any kind of issue but you can still access the support forum for some basic clarifications.
Backups and security Feature
When it comes to maintenance, you need not worry about it much. As it takes care of all the updates, backup, optimization, and many other features on its own. All kinds of users will be provided with basic security options for their site and the paid user have additional security access to various levels on their site.
Monetization
Free and Personal plan users are not allowed to monetize at all unless they have over 25,000 monthly page views. That too, you need to apply for advertising (only with WordPress) with revenue sharing to start monetizing. You are not allowed to sell or add any external ads service on your site. With the Premium and business plan, you can get access to the WordAds program automatically and make some decent conversions.
Related: How to Optimize WordPress Database With or Without Plugin
WordPress.org
WordPress.org is the real WordPress or self-hosted WordPress. It is one of the most popular open-source website creating platforms/tools. With a domain name and web hosting, you are ready to roll out your site.
Pricing
The WordPress.org software is 100% free to install and access but to host a site and make it live online, you need to purchase a domain name & web hosting service which comes with a price tag on it. Compared to WordPress.com, the pricing is much lesser if you purchase some long-term plan for web hosting.
Setup
The setup process is not straightforward like WordPress.com. Here you won’t go to WordPress.org for setting up the site instead, you set up your site and make it live with the help of the hosting service. The setup process differs based on the hosting site you use. Once the site is live, you are given tons of opportunities to make some huge profits.
Themes
WordPress.org has over 8000+ themes along with several premium plugins. You can even upload themes from third-party sites like ThemeForest, Envato, etc. directly to your WordPress site. You can also customize all the available themes on your WordPress. The customizations are not only at the CSS level but also you can alter their functionalities and workflow of the website.
Plugins
Unlike WordPress.com, you can add numerous plugins to your site directly from the WordPress plugin store or you can upload plugin from several third-party sites. These plugins can be free, paid, or even third-party, WordPress.org will accept all kinds of plugins. WordPress has over 50,000+ plugins that you can choose from. Here are some of the best WordPress plugins which are essential for your site.
Customizations
When it comes to customizations, WordPress.org offers various options for customizing/editing a theme to make your website more unique. You can do a lot more changes than WordPress.com. It is an open-source service in which you can make various levels of customizations or even add new functionalities to your WordPress website. You can even copy/paste the code snippets to your WordPress theme to make changes.
SEO
For Search Engine Optimization, you can use various plugins, available for WordPress. Also, with those plugins, you maximize your site traffic and viewers in large quantities. These plugins have the potential to improve the ranking of your WordPress.org website in Google search results and several other search engines like Yahoo, Bing, etc.
Support
With WordPress.org, you can have 24/7 support online via chat, voice, mail, etc. They can solve any issues which you have encountered on your WordPress site. Apart from this support, you can also get support from your web hosting side too. It also has sites where you can find guides and tutorials for several WordPress-related topics which you can make use of.
Backups and Security Feature
Backup and Security features are not automated like WordPress.com and everything needs to be done manually. You need to keep your site updated and take backups regularly. When it comes to updating, make sure all the plugins and themes you have supports the upcoming WordPress update or it may result in the malfunctioning of the site. Or you can wait for a few days from the release so that most of the plugins and themes will be ready with their updates to gel with the new WordPress update. These are some of the minor things that you should take care of. There are also several plugins available on WordPress that secure and backup WordPress data automatically to protect your website. If you are having large firms with high site traffic then you can opt for a security team for your website.
Monetization
WordPress.org has several monetization options. You can add and sell ads on your websites as much as you want and there are no restrictions for it like you have with WordPress.com. All the money you earn from your site is completely yours and there are absolutely no commissions for WordPress. You can go with any method that is legal to monetize and earn money.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Comparison
| WordPress.org | WordPress.com | |
| Pricing | Starting at $46 per year | Free or premium at $96 per year |
| SEO | Yes Full SEO support can be utilized with the help of plugins | No SEO support with free version But with premium you can access SEO using plugins |
| Themes | Yes | No |
| Plugins | Supported | Not Supported |
| Monetization | Allowed | Not Allowed |
| Maintenance | Need a team to maintain a site or plugins (If needed) | Self Maintained by WordPress |
| Security | Basic security features provided and additional security can be added with the plugin | Offers some best security features within itself and no additional security can be added |
| Analytics | Powerful Analytical Support | Basic Analytical support |
| Ease to Use | Need some basic understanding of PHP | No prior knowledge required |
Conclusion
So when it comes to WordPress.com vs WordPress.org, WordPress.org offers the best control over all areas of your site and better monetization options. But, if you are a beginner at WordPress, then WordPress.com will be the best choice and if you have some knowledge of the web and stuff, then you can go for WordPress.org. In our opinion, comparing WordPress.com vs WordPress.org, the later will be the best choice. Let us know your opinion in the comments section below.
