Two products share one name, so check which one you are signing up for. WordPress comes in two forms. WordPress.com is the hosted service run by Automattic, with a free plan that gives you a yoursite.wordpress.com address, 1 GB of storage, unlimited pages and posts and 7 days of basic stats, with no credit card needed. Free sites show WordPress.com ads to visitors, and a custom domain, plugin installation and ad-free pages need a paid plan. Paid plans list at $9 (Personal), $18 (Premium), $40 (Business) and $70 (Commerce) a month, and the yearly rates run $4, $8, $25 and $45 a month for the first term. WordPress.org is the open source software you install on a host you pay for and manage yourself. G2 shows 4.4 from 2,718 reviews. Reviewers like the plugins and ease of use, and they complain about plugin upkeep, cost creep and limited customization on the hosted plans.
Free tier quotas
Free plan
WordPress.com, no credit card needed and no expiry date
Address
yoursite.wordpress.com subdomain; no custom domain on Free
Storage
1 GB on Free (6 GB Personal, 13 GB Premium, 50 GB Business and Commerce)
Content
Unlimited pages and posts
Stats
Basic stats for the last 7 days
Ads
WordPress.com ads shown to your visitors on Free
Plugins
Not on Free; plugin installation is on paid plans per the FAQ
Newsletter
Built in; Free can import up to 100 subscribers from another platform
Security
Malware detection, firewall and DDoS protection on every plan
WordPress.org
Open source software to install on your own host, paid for and managed separately
Last sniffed Oct 18, 2026. Always confirm on the official pricing page.
👍 Good boy
+A free plan with no card. The pricing FAQ says the free plan has no expiration date and you can start without a credit card, with hosting, SSL and a CDN included on every plan.
+You can leave the hosted version. WordPress.org is open source software you install on your own host, and the pricing page says the built-in import tool brings in sites from Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Medium, Blogger and self-hosted WordPress. An r/Wordpress commenter said a self-hosted site is often the better choice for flexibility and cost-effectiveness.
+Plugins are the strongest point in reviews. G2 counts 98 mentions of an extensive plugin range among the pros, and a G2 reviewer called the thousands of plugins what allows extensive customization.
+Ease of use leads the G2 summary with 229 mentions. A G2 reviewer got a blog online in under an hour without watching tutorials, and another said they could build any type of site without coding.
+Developer access exists on Business and Commerce. The FAQ lists SFTP/SSH, WP-CLI, Git commands and GitHub Deployments on both plans, and real-time backups with one-click restores.
+Security is handled for you. The FAQ lists malware detection, a web application firewall, DDoS protection and automatic core updates on every plan, and a G2 reviewer said they stopped worrying about hosting, updates and security.
+Opinions on price are mixed but not all negative. A G2 reviewer who is an SEO specialist said WordPress is not as expensive as other platforms and gave them full control over content and SEO.
+Rating is high. G2 shows 4.4 from 2,718 reviews with 64% five-star and 28% four-star, and the review pool is mostly small businesses.
+A large ecosystem backs it. An older Hacker News commenter said WordPress has plugins for every imaginable use case, which most headless CMSs lack.
👎 Watch out
−Free comes with ads and missing basics. The pricing page says free sites display WordPress.com ads and that a custom domain, plugin installation and ad-free pages need a paid plan.
−Customization is tighter on the hosted service. A G2 reviewer called advanced customization and plugin flexibility very limited compared with a fully self-hosted setup, and another said the same about limited customization versus self-hosted WordPress.
−Costs add up. G2 counts 58 mentions of WordPress.com as expensive because many plugins cost extra, and a G2 reviewer said they hit paid plan limits quickly and that the price starts to feel expensive for a small site.
−Plugin upkeep is a chore. G2 counts 94 mentions of plugin issues, and a G2 reviewer said plugins slow the site down and one bad update can break the whole thing.
−Introductory prices rise at renewal. The pricing page shows Personal at $4 a month on a 12-month term but auto-renewing at $5, Premium $8 renewing at $9, Business $25 renewing at $28 and Commerce $45 renewing at $50.
−Support drew a recent complaint. A G2 reviewer on the Business plan wrote in August 2026 that live support felt non-existent, with replies taking 12 hours and often incorrect. Other G2 reviewers praise support, so experience varies. Trustpilot shows 3.8 from 4,178 reviews for the hosted brand, below G2's 4.4.
−Security worries show up in reviews. G2 counts 37 mentions, and a G2 reviewer said an open platform has numerous vulnerabilities that hackers or spammers can exploit.
The catch
WordPress means two things. WordPress.com is the hosted service, with a free plan and paid plans. WordPress.org is open source software you download and run on your own hosting, which you pay for and manage separately. The software costs nothing, so your bill is the host, the domain and any paid plugins.
The free WordPress.com plan needs no credit card and does not expire. It gives you a yoursite.wordpress.com address, 1 GB of storage, unlimited pages and posts and basic stats for 7 days. WordPress.com ads show on free sites, and a custom domain, plugin installation and ad-free pages need a paid plan.
The prices quoted for yearly terms are promotional first-term rates that renew higher: Personal $4 renews at $5, Premium $8 at $9, Business $25 at $28 and Commerce $45 at $50, all per month. Monthly billing is $9, $18, $40 and $70. I did not find a statement on commercial use for the free plan, so that field is unknown.
What’s included
✓Block editor
✓Managed hosting with a CDN and SSL
✓Built-in newsletter
✓Plugin marketplace (paid plans)
✓Premium themes (paid plans)
✓Custom domain (paid plans)
✓SFTP/SSH, WP-CLI and Git on Business and Commerce
✓GitHub Deployments on Business and Commerce
✓Real-time backups on Business and Commerce
✓WooCommerce on Commerce
✓Site import from Wix, Squarespace, Medium and others
✓WordAds income program
Free tier value
Generosity
B
Estimated value
Free hosted plan; paid from $4 a month yearly; WordPress.org is free to self-host
Feature parity
Free: 1 GB, a wordpress.com subdomain, ads for visitors, no plugins. Paid adds domains and plugins.
Screenshots
HomepagePricing page
Paid plans
Personal, $9 monthly or $4 a month on a yearly term
6 GB storage, free domain for the first year on annual terms, no ads for visitors, premium themes, plugin installation and free support. Renews at $5 a month on the 12-month term.
Premium, $18 monthly or $8 a month on a yearly term
13 GB storage with the free first-year domain, ad-free pages and plugin access of Personal. Renews at $9 a month on the 12-month term.
Business, $40 monthly or $25 a month on a yearly term
50 GB storage, premium stats and analytics, payment buttons, VideoPress, SFTP/SSH, WP-CLI, Git commands, GitHub Deployments, real-time backups and 24/7 priority support. Renews at $28 a month on the 12-month term.
Commerce, $70 monthly or $45 a month on a yearly term
Everything in Business plus WooCommerce with built-in store extensions, unlimited products, abandoned cart emails and 0% transaction fees. Renews at $50 a month on the 12-month term.
Common questions
What is the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
WordPress.com is a hosted platform that manages hosting, security, backups and updates. WordPress.org is open source software you download and install on a host you pay for and manage.
Is the free plan really free?
The pricing FAQ says it has no expiration date and needs no credit card. Free sites show WordPress.com ads.
Can I use my own domain on Free?
No. The free plan uses a wordpress.com subdomain. Annual and multi-year paid plans include a free domain for the first year.
Can I install plugins on Free?
No. The pricing FAQ lists plugin installation on paid plans, starting at $2.75 a month on a 3-year term.
Which plans include SSH and Git access?
The FAQ lists SFTP/SSH, WP-CLI, Git commands and GitHub Deployments on both Business and Commerce.
Can I move an existing site in?
Yes. The FAQ says the import tool supports Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Medium, Blogger and self-hosted WordPress sites.
Change history
Checked October 22, 2026
Pricing page lists Personal $9, Premium $18, Business $40 and Commerce $70 monthly, with yearly terms from $4 to $45 a month. G2 shows 4.4 from 2,718 reviews and Trustpilot shows 3.8 from 4,178.
