Many beginners struggle to choose between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. In fact, this is one of the most frequently asked questions by our readers.
Due to the similarity of the names, users are not sure what the difference is and which one is better for their needs.
WordPress.com offers a fully hosted WordPress platform for creating websites. Its free and low-tier plans are quite limited, but upgrading to the Business or Commerce plans removes many restrictions.
WordPress.org, on the other hand, is home to the open-source WordPress website builder. It is ideal for users who want full control and unlimited customization options for their website.
This guide will explain the differences, highlight each platform’s strengths, and help you decide which one is right for your needs.
Since choosing the right platform is crucial for your online success, we have created the most detailed comparison of WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org (text comparison, table-based comparison, and a full infographic).
You can use the links below to jump to a specific section:
If you just want to start a blog or make a website the RIGHT way, then you can skip this article and head over to our guides here:
- How to Start a Blog with WordPress (step by step)
- How to Create a Website with WordPress (step by step)
- How to Start an Online Store with WordPress (step by step)
- How to Create and Sell Online Courses with WordPress (step by step)
Having said that, let’s take a look at the differences between self-hosted WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com.
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org (Infographic)
Note: This infographic and article compare the powerful self-hosted WordPress.org with the free WordPress.com website hosting service. You can unlock additional functionality in WordPress.com by upgrading to their paid service. We have highlighted those features as well.
If you’d prefer a written comparison, please keep reading.
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org Comparison
The best way to understand the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is to examine each platform individually.
Here’s a comparison of both versions of WordPress:
WordPress.org
WordPress.org, aka “self-hosted WordPress,” is the popular website platform you have heard all the great things about.
It is an open-source software, and it’s 100% free for anyone to use. All you need is a domain name and web hosting.
Below are the pros and cons of using the self-hosted WordPress.org to build your website or blog.
WordPress.org Benefits
WordPress.org gives you complete control over your website. You can customize every aspect and tailor it to your needs without restrictions.
Here are the main pros of WordPress.org:
- The WordPress software is free, open-source, and incredibly user-friendly. It powers over 43% of all websites on the internet, making it the most popular website builder in the world. (See: Why is WordPress free?)
- You have full ownership of your website and data. Unlike other platforms, your site won’t be taken down unless you violate the law. You’re in total control.
- You can use free, paid, or custom WordPress plugins to add powerful functionality to your website.
- Your website design is completely customizable. Choose from free or premium WordPress themes or create a custom design that suits your brand.
- You can monetize your website by running your own ads without sharing revenue, opening up many opportunities to make money online.
- You have access to powerful tools like Google Analytics for tracking and analyzing your website’s performance.
- It’s an excellent platform for eCommerce. With WordPress.org, you can create an online store to sell digital or physical products, accept payments, and handle shipping, all from your site.
- You can build a membership site to sell premium content, courses, or even access to a private community.
WordPress.org Cons
While WordPress.org is packed with benefits, it does come with a few responsibilities. Here’s what you need to consider before choosing WordPress.org:
- Hosting costs: Since WordPress.org requires self-hosting, you’ll need to pay for a hosting provider. Costs start around $3–$10 per month but may increase as your site grows. That said, a growing website should also generate enough income to cover these costs.
- Installing WordPress: You will need to install the WordPress software yourself. Luckily, most popular hosting providers offer one-click installation, making it super easy to get started. For more guidance, check out our tutorial on how to install WordPress.
- Updates: You’ll need to update your WordPress site manually. Thankfully, it’s just a single click from the dashboard.
- Backups: You’re responsible for keeping backups of your site. However, there are many backup plugins that let you automate this process, so it’s hassle-free.
The total cost of building a WordPress.org website depends on your project. For example, a simple blog costs less than an eCommerce store or a membership site. You can build a website for as little as $46 per year by using free themes and plugins. (See: How much does it really cost to build a WordPress website?)
Why We Recommend WordPress.org
For 99% of users, WordPress.org is the best choice because of its flexibility, ownership, and ability to scale. We have been building WordPress websites for the past 16+ years, and almost all our businesses have websites built using WordPress. You can read more about our experience in our full WordPress review.
If you’re ready to get started, then just check out our guide on how to start a website.
Bonus: Our friends at Bluehost are offering WPBeginner readers 75% off web hosting plus a free domain name. They’re one of the officially recommended WordPress hosting providers.
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a hosting service created by Automattic, which is the company co-founded by WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg. Because of the same founder, many users confuse WordPress.com with the self-hosted WordPress.org platform.
WordPress.com offers several pricing plans to cater to different user needs:
- Free: Basic features with limitations.
- Personal: $48 per year.
- Premium: $96 per year.
- Business: $300 per year ($120 / yr with our WordPress.com coupon).
- Commerce: $540 per year ($270 / yr, 50% off with our WordPress.com coupon).
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for large-scale needs.
Let’s explore the pros and cons of using WordPress.com.
WordPress.com Benefits
WordPress.com is an excellent choice for users looking for a low-maintenance platform, especially hobby bloggers or individuals creating personal websites.
Here are the key benefits:
- Managed Maintenance: WordPress.com handles updates, backups, and security, letting you focus on your content.
- Cost-Effective Entry: The Free plan offers an easy way to start with no upfront costs. However, paid plans offer real value with more customization, storage, and features that you will need.
- Scalability: Upgrading to the Business or Commerce plans unlocks powerful features like custom plugins, premium themes, and advanced eCommerce tools.
- Built-In Features: Free plan users get pre-installed Jetpack features, offering basic performance and security tools.
WordPress.com Cons
While WordPress.com is user-friendly, there are some limitations, particularly on lower-tier plans:
- Advertising: Free plan sites display ads that you don’t earn revenue from. Paid plans remove these ads.
- Monetization Restrictions: Selling ads on your site is prohibited on Free and Starter plans. WordAds is available on higher plans but requires revenue sharing.
- Plugin Limitations: Custom plugins are restricted to the Business and Commerce plans, which are more expensive than WordPress.org hosting plans.
- Theme Customization: Free plan users have limited themes. Paid plans allow for premium themes and custom CSS.
- Analytics: Integration with Google Analytics is available only on Pro and higher plans.
- Domain Names: Free plan sites use a WordPress.com subdomain (e.g., yoursite.wordpress.com). Custom domains require a paid plan.
- Content Control: Sites must follow WordPress.com’s terms of service, with potential removal for violations.
- Branding: Free plan sites display “Powered by WordPress.com,” removable with paid plans.
- eCommerce Features: Available only on the Business and Commerce plans, designed for online stores using WooCommerce.
- Membership Sites: Building membership sites is not supported on low-tier plans.
Why We Recommend WordPress.com
We believe WordPress.com‘s Business and Commerce plans offer an ideal fully managed platform for users who don’t want to worry about technical overhead.
It does have some limitations, but the ease of scalability, security, and safety balance them out. For more details, see our full WordPress.com review.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org (FAQs)
Since this is a popular topic and WPBeginner is the largest free WordPress resource site for beginners, we get tons of questions about WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org.
We have done our best to answer the most frequently asked questions below:
1. WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org – Which one is better?
If you are a personal blogger and you don’t care about making money from your website, then go with the free WordPress.com.
If you are a business or a blogger wanting to make money from your site, then we recommend using the self-hosted WordPress.org. It gives you the freedom and flexibility to grow your website how you want.
On the other hand, the WordPress.com Business plan ($120 / year for each website) offers a powerful platform with fully managed hosting. If you are willing to spend a little exta for a worry-free setup, then you may find it an excellent option.
In our expert opinion, WordPress.org is much better in terms of cost, flexibility, and control. It is the platform that almost every professional blogger, small business owner, and even big-name brands like Disney uses.
2. Can I monetize a free WordPress.com website?
WordPress.com does not allow you to run ads on free WordPress.com websites. If you are on the Premium plan or above, you can join their WordAds program and share your ad revenue with WordPress.com.
You can put some affiliate links on your website, but that’s about it.
Basically, you have very limited options to monetize content on your WordPress.com website.
With WordPress.org, you have full control over your new website’s content management system and unlimited monetization options.
3. WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org – Which one is better for eCommerce?
WordPress.org offers the easiest way to build an eCommerce website. You can use WooCommerce to build your store or choose from many other WordPress eCommerce, membership, and LMS plugins.
WordPress.com also offers a Commerce plan starting at $270 per year, which is a hefty amount if you are just starting. However, it is still limited in features, and you’ll have to follow WordPress.com’s terms of service for your eCommerce store.
See our guide on how to start an online store without a high budget. It includes how to get your domain for free and all the powerful features you need to grow online.
4. How do I start a WordPress.org Website?
To start a self-hosted WordPress website, you need a domain name and WordPress hosting.
A domain name is the address of your website on the Internet, such as google.com or wpbeginner.com. Web hosting is where your website files are stored on the Internet.
We recommend using Bluehost to host your website because it is one of the largest web hosting companies in the world. It is also an official WordPress.org recommended web host. Last but not least, it offers our users a free domain, free SSL, and 75% off hosting.
For step-by-step instructions, you can check out our free guide on how to make a website.
If you need help, the WPBeginner team can even install WordPress and build your website for free. Learn more about how our free WordPress blog setup works.
5. Can I Move From WordPress.com to WordPress.org?
Often, new users who don’t know the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org start with the free WordPress.com service. Once they see the platform’s limitations, they want to switch to self-hosted WordPress.org.
Luckily, you can definitely switch from WordPress.com to WordPress.org and fairly easily move all of your content.
We have created a step-by-step guide on how to move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org, or you can take advantage of our free blog setup service, and we will transfer your blog for free.
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org – Summary
The best way to consider the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org is to compare them to renting versus owning a house.
WordPress.com is similar to renting a house. You have limited power and control over what you can and cannot do.
WordPress.org is like owning a house. Where you have full control, no one can kick you out, and you can do anything that you want.
Below is the summary of everything we discussed above in our self-hosted WordPress.org vs WordPress.com comparison:
| Feature | WordPress.org (Self-Hosted) | WordPress.com (Free Plan) | WordPress.com (Business Plan) | WordPress.com (Commerce Plan) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $46 – $100/year | Free | $120/year | $270/year |
| Custom Domain | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Hosting Storage | Unlimited | 1 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB |
| Monetization Freedom | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Branding Freedom | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| SEO Features | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Analytics | Yes (Google Analytics, etc.) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Theme Support | Yes | Limited | Yes | Yes |
| Plugin Support | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| eCommerce | Fully customizable | No | Yes | Yes |
| Membership Site | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Migration Options | Flexible | Limited | Flexible | Flexible |
| Developer Resources | Extensive | Limited | Limited | Limited |
| Control and Ownership | Full ownership | Limited | Improved | Improved |
| Maintenance | User-managed | Fully managed | Fully managed | Fully managed |
| Community Support | Extensive (forums, docs, etc.) | Limited | Limited | Limited |
Video Tutorial
Final Thoughts
The confusion created by similar domains, WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org, is quite unfortunate for beginners. There is a lot of history behind the decisions, and you can read more about that in our article about how WordPress.com and WordPress.org are related.
We hope that you found this article helpful in understanding the main differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.
We wish you all the best with your website and hope that you choose the right platform.
If you have chosen WordPress.org, then you may want to follow these useful guides:
- How to learn WordPress in 7 days or less
- Best WordPress plugins for your website (expert pick)
- Ultimate WordPress security guide to improve your website security
- Ultimate Guide on how to speed up WordPress (including power user tips)
- Ultimate WordPress SEO optimization guide to help improve your own website ranking (without hiring an expert)
- Proven tips to increase your blog traffic
We hope this article helped you understand the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org. You may also want to see our guide on the history of WordPress and proven ways to make money online with WordPress.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
R
Can I start out with wordpress.com and switch to wordpress.org without loosing my search result rankings?
WPBeginner Staff
Yes you can, but we will not recommend it. If you are just starting out then why not start with WordPress.org? it will save you from the hassle of transferring your website.
Matija
Any way I could put this infographic on my blog with link back to wpbegginer?
Marti
I’m using Wordpress for my website, but it’s hosted through ipage. Will OptinMonster still work?
WPBeginner Staff
OptinMonster works with all self hosted WordPress sites on most WordPress hosting providers.
WPBeginner Staff
We would say you have come to the right place. We do not offer career advice but we are confident that you will lots of learning material on WPBeginner.
Mayank Agarwal
how to earn .. i know it might sound like a very lame question to you… but i am a beginner.. and i am passionate about building a career in this stuff…
Joseph Rye
I now have a domain name, so my website is activated through Wordpress, but I cannot share my posts the easy way I used to. I looked at publicise but that just sent me back to dashboard and settings which didn’t allow me to just include Facebook, twitter and the like to my posts and just get it out there. I created a website because I would be able to store more content from a wide-range of endeavour, but feel I am now not in possession of the right skills to just fire out my stuff….Very disillusioned right now and frustrated…feel like jacking the whole thing in and taking a long walk off a short pier….help!
Sherri
Ok…it seems I finally got my question answered. I have a domain that I’m hosting via wordpress and I don’t have full functionality because it’s still sitting on wordpress. Ugh!!! Glad I found you guys!
Angie
This is very helpful. I am totally new to this and would like to use the wordpress.org, which I already downloaded, but you have to start a host acct first as far as I can tell, and I can’t afford it yet, so I will start creating content on the free hosted .com, and keep learning until I can afford to switch over. Thx for the info!
Joe Good
Is the self hosted version available to run on your own private web server?
WPBeginner Support
Yes, it is.
Admin
Craig Corbin
You can self host using a hosting service, but I didn’t see any mention the option of actually self hosting. While I’m learning WordPress I installed aamps and I am running my WordPress site from my server. My server in my house. It is for the more geeky in the group but it is an actual free way to test WordPress.
-Craig
Larry H.
I definitely like the hosted wordpress as I am able to get help when I need it. I am relatively new to building a site and need to learn everything which is quite extensive. I have a quality choice for a wordpress theme and can customize it also.
Does anybody have any great ideas for building backlinks manually that are effective?
Melanie
Although I don’t have the intention to transform my blog in a money machine, I choose the self hosted version. The change happened only this week and I am struggling with some feature that I loved in the WP.com version. I miss the “like it” button for other WP bloggers and the reblogg function. There’s plugins for that?
All in all, I am very happy with my choice and till now don’t regret it. PS: thank you for the post that helped me a lot.
WPBeginner Support
You can try JetPack plugin, which is a bundle of modules which allow you to add WordPress.com features to your self hosted site.
Admin
Beth Kahlich
Can’t emphasize enough how disappointed I was that you can’t use Google Analytics tracking code on Wordpress.com sites. This is a complete deal breaker for me. If you upgrade to the Premium service – you should certainly be able to install that functionality, as their own reporting is totally inadequate.
Robert
ALL reviews for wordpress.com seem to forget a major advantage there. When you start a site there. You will immediately start getting readers. Also your site will be in Google right away. You don’t have to do any SEO or any advertising. All blogs and posts are up for the community for display and there is this thing ‘Freshly Pressed’ where they pick eight posts every and highlight them.
Now what I do is — have a site on wordpress.com and get visitors there and use that site to drive most of my traffic to my self hosted wordpress.org site.
Frances
I “helped” a friend put her website together. When I left for the night she said she was going to bed soon. By the next day she was almost done. It looked like I could do it to. Here go’s my try!
Dawn P
I have my own domain name that I purchased and have a blog on blogger currently that I do not keep up on because I wasn’t getting enough traffic to the blog. I have heard great things about wordpress.org but want to make sure before I decide to go with wordpress I am not wasting my money because I am just starting out and have no idea how to “make money” from a blog. Do you have any guides or information on how to make money from your blog so that hopefully it will pay for itself?
WPBeginner Support
Dawn web is so full of websites claiming to teach people how to make money out of their blogs. WPBeginner’s goal is to help beginners. We do have some articles where we showed users how to make money with iTunes affiliates, or other similar services. May be you will find those useful.
Admin
sharexact
I have self hosted wordpress.org blog. I want to know Is there any way to reach wordpress.com audience?
Jade
I have to agree. This is such a great comparison of WP.com and WP.org because it does what so few articles do – it breaks down the true cost of Wordpress.com.
People choose WP.com thinking it’s free and just choosing the “cheapest” option – but there is a price to pay, literally and in other ways. If you’re a professional blogger, I recommend Wordpress.org all the way. Yes, you’re paying for your domain and host but this is a tiny cost given the huge opportunities and freedom you have to make that money back times many, many times! Not to mention the fact that you truly own your content!
Cindy Smith
I’ve created a couple of sites using GoDaddy and WordPress.com but I don’t like the limitations of columns, how video is used and theme limits. I just downloaded the WP.org but now I’m not sure I have the computer geek skills to get me to the next level. I’ve looked at the step by step directions of renaming the files and opening an FTP. I want to take on this challenge but could use some guidance in getting it set up…any suggestions!
Mac Gyver
Cindy, you don’t need to get FTP software when you host with GoDaddy. It’s built into File Manager already, and they have a separate Java based FTP. Manipulating your files etc inside the server is easy, and a live tech guy/girl will walk you through it.
Call GoDaddy & they’ll explain.
Krista hulshof
I am trying to decide whether I should move to self hosted for my architecture firm. In the cost section you do not say if you need to buy a domain from Wordpress or not to transfer it to your self hosted site? I know just enoug to be dangerous ( mostly to myself) when it comes to web design, is there a idiot proof tutorial on how to tranfer and set up your self hosted blog? Do you need to set up a redirect from the original free Wordpress blog? Does google search your self hosted Wordpress blog the same as if you are hosted by Wordpress free? Thanks.
Allan
I agree with the recommendation. I chose wordpress.org for my new site.
Rant begins …..
I disagree with the “super easy to use” statement. It isn’t, for a true, real beginner — even a very technical one, but one not having any blogging or website design experience. There is a major hurdle to overcome at the very beginning.
I have not found a glossary of terms for blogging or website design orientation that is needed before you start.
I have not found good info on what you need to know ‘before you start’, and was actually expecting “ease of use”.
I found that very friendly and free support for themes, widgets, hosting companies, etc., etc., do not understand beginners, make broad and incorrect assumptions about what a beginner knows, and skip over the basics very quickly and provide coding tips and examples for PHP and CSS files.
And I wish the hundreds of references to “ease of use” all over the Wordpress community would go away, or be edited to say that I’d you have a few months or years struggling with inferior products and tools, then WordPress is “easy”! And the videos on Wordpress.tv and YouTube! They jump to detail just as quickly.
There are thousands of users who have difficulty getting started and many more thousands of WP ‘consultants’ and experts who are kept busy and make a good living selling WP services because frankly, “it ain’t easy”.
I’m tempted, time permitting, to create a page on my website describing my stumbling journey on the first few steps.
Feedback from others would be appreciated.
Ester Benjamin Shifren
I absolutely agree with you. I’m quite computer literate, but have stalled creating a website for a long time because It’s not as easy as they’re saying. This site explains it best so far, and for a long time no one has been able to clearly explain the difference in the two options. My question as well, is, who reads the blog when it’s first sent out? Who is the readership composed of? So, I guess when you pay for a host you get the .org version. That’s really OK with me. I published a book, have already purchased a GoDaddy domain name, and absolutely must create a website and blog ASAP. I’m getting there, thanks to good articles and liks like these.
Anita Strawn de Ojeda
On your info graph you state that the free word press + VIP option allows one to add plug ins and other things for a mere $2500 a month for up to five sites. Seems a bit steep. Is this a type-o, or is it really that expensive?
Editorial Staff
Its really that expensive. VIP hosting is for VIP clients like CNN and others.
Admin
Kelli
Thanks for the helpful info!
In making the decision WPfree vs WPpaid as a totally clueless newbie. I was mostly concerned with my tiny scope of knowledge & ability design & manage independent of WP.com support community but, it seems (from comments) that most beginners catch the learning curve as they step into the realm. So, I’m taking the plunge and going with WP.org.
I’m already getting frustrated with the design limitations even though I don’t even know what I’m doing!
Wish me luck!!
Dnetsurfer
If i Just register for custom domain name But still Hosted my wordpress blog in wordpress.com – Can i use plugin feature..
Editorial Staff
No, you cannot use plugins on WordPress.com unless you get the VIP hosting package which costs $X,XXX / month.
Admin
joanpique
For webmasters is much better self hosted, for people who don’t know anything of programming or design, or people who don’t care about personalizations, the free hosted is the choice…
I have my self hosted wordpress with a personalized theme, and from wordpress.com (free hosted) i only envy the comment form with facebook, twitter, openid, avatars support, suscribe to comments/posts and the effects in the form…
Anyone know any tutorial for making something similar in a theme (without a lot of plugins)?
Alfonso Brodsho
I agree. Self hosting is the way to go.
Debra Leigh Wilson
Nice quick and dirty comparison between the two. I went straight to self-hosted when I first moved to WP simply because I wanted my own domain and was unaware that you could get one through them at the time. Still, I’m glad I did as I love having full control over everything. I don’t know what I would do without the Atahualpa theme. <3
Daniel Peiser
you’re right, I was seeing the old one
WPBeginner - WordPress for Beginners
I think you are still seeing the old version. Please retry. Just cleared all caches.
Daniel Peiser
it’s informative, but I feel that a few icons/images would make it more appealing and linkable. There’s a mistake in the credits at the bottom (WPBeginer with one N)
gmw
“Free WordPress.com is not for your brand. If you want to start a corporate blog, then you need the Self-Hosted WordPress Software.” This part needs to be corrected!
Nothing kills a theory better than a fact. Go to http://jumpforward.wordpress.com. This is a FREE WordPress.com blog. No VIP upgrade. No domain mapping upgrade. No CSS upgrade. This blog is associated to the following website: http://www.jumpforward.com.
Those of you who have been watching ABC’s Shark Tank reality show, might recall seeing Jump Forward’s co-founders negotiating for venture capital back in 2009. Clearly not a pair of fools who want to blog about their stamp collection.
Supporting a blog that has the potential for significant traffic spikes is no small concern. For a startup company who needs a blog in addition to their core web application, offloading those concerns to a cloud hosted service is a VERY LEGITIMATE OPTION. Often times the CEO is also the head of marketing, part-time programmer and system administrator. In this scenario WordPress.com can be a Godsend. @Alex’s comment “Blog it and forget it!” is right on the money.
Are there trade-offs? Absolutely! You document many of them well but to suggest that a free WordPress.com site cannot fit into a successful corporate business model is both misinformed and misleading.
wpbeginner
@gmw Certainly, if you don’t care about matching your brand identity with a custom theme, look and feel, then go with a free WordPress.com. Last I checked, most major companies have matching look and feels for their blogs, so their users don’t feel alienated when they visit the blog pages. However, we are in the works of correcting the statement.
wpbeginner
@photomatt Matt, we would love to correct anything that is wrong. Just shoot an email. Granted, this graphic is pretty outdated now.
photomatt
There’s so much wrong and misleading in this graphic I’m amazed it’s on a site that claims to know about WordPress, no credibility.
Jeff Hensiek
Good article. I’m looking at developing my own personal site (bring in some extra cash) and i was debating whether it would be good to self-host the blog or to have WP do it for me. Thanks for the info.
The only thing that wasn’t addressed was the SEO capabilities…Does Google penalize a WP hosted (FREE) site?
thanks for the info.
Editorial Staff
Nope, there are SEO benefits that you can get from plugins in the self-hosted version. Free WP doesn’t allow you to have plugins.
Admin
jason
can you start out with freewordpress.com then later move everything over to self hosted? how easy is it to do so?
Editorial Staff
Yes you can start out with the free wordpress.com and then move to self-hosted. It is relatively easy. If you use our Free Setup service, then we can move it over for you for FREE.
Admin
Loreen72
I see the infographic… where is the full article? Is there a different link? I hate to be dense – but I’m not seeing a way to read the entire article anywhere.
Editorial Staff
Click on the image to see the infographic… That is the whole article.
Admin
etcwd
i have my own wordpress blog hosted on a small server. it is very easy to install and to use. i choose self-hosted because i can make mirror changes if i want to
Courtney Engle
Can you also add a 3rd column reviewing paying Wordpress.com as their paid host (as TechCrunch does).
Editorial Staff
There is no point in doing that because it is not something that beginners need. Now if you are a company that is at Tech Crunch’s level or Giga Om’s level, and you get millions of users then you would need WordPress.com Paid hosting. Otherwise it is much more suitable and efficient to run a Self-Hosted WordPress site.
Admin
dave
One other thing to add is simple credibility. Hosting on your own domain shows you are serious about your blog as a hobby or as an enterprise.
michael soriano
wordpress.com now offer custom urls for their users (without the “.wordpress.com” suffix) – this kinda conflicts with the “branding” section inside your infograph.
Editorial Staff
Do they offer that on Free WordPress.com ??
Admin
Design+
thnx for the post, important stats
Rob
In my view, it’s better to start with self hosted platform. The main thing is freedom. You can do whatever you want and whatever you like because it’s your own…and you can learn understand more about it.
Imran Hunzai
I am sharing this article on my Blog (http://imranhunzai.wordpress.com), is it legal?
Editorial Staff
It is legal to share infographs as long as you link to this article for users to view the full infograph. You may not copy the full infograph and host it on your server. In short, simply take a thumbnail of this infograph, paste it on your site and link to our site for the users to view the full infograph.
Admin
Martin Espericueta
I would suggest to even peeps that are not intending to go “big” to purchase a domain, and self-host a wordpress install. My main reason is simply that when I support them – I have to manage 301 redirects. Loss of Google PR is one factor (yes, it’ll follow, but NOT 100% all the time!)
Also, branding.
Editorial Staff
Thanks Martin for your input. Yes it is an important point to consider when starting is that if you do choose to move to self-hosted platform, you might Search Engine Ranking Positions (SERPs) and Google Pagerank (PR).
Admin
Ben
The fact that you can use any theme sells it to me.
Self hosted is best. No doubt about it.
Ben
—
PixelClouds.com
Amber Weinberg
I think if you’re just starting out, and not sure if blogging is going to be your thing – it’s best to save the money and start out at WordPress.com, once you’re sure that it’s something you want to do – spending the money on finding a host and unique design is the way to go
Name Removed [TOS Violation]
It’s more wiser to choose Self hosted Wordpress than Worldpress.com . Even if you are a beginner. it’s never too late move all of your free WP to self hosting WP. The cost of self hosting is more cheaper than upgrade your free WP to the premium.
Brad Parler
I really like the analogy that Matt Mullenweg uses to compare the two service, “It’s the difference of owning a home, and just renting an apartment…” Watch this video it’s the 2nd question.
http://wordpress.tv/2009/10/29/matt-mullenweg-wordpress-now/
He also talks about VIP…
Editorial Staff
Didn’t even know that video existed. Just watched it and it is a great analogy. Thanks for sharing that with us Brad.
Admin
Vikas Gupta
On WordPress.com blogs that get more than 50k pageviews per month the user can has the option to get show ads in partnership with WordPress (revenue sharing is 50:50).
In fact, if you do not want ads on your blog then wp.com is just prefect and better than the self-hosted ones. And TOS is everywhere (including in the web host’s policy). It can very successfully be argued that if you do not have commerical/very professional needs, then wp.com blogs are actually ahead of wp.org in many ways!
Alex (Viper007Bond)
I disagree with the last WP.com bullet point. There are tons and tons of corporations that use WordPress.com (both VIP and not). And with the domain mapping upgrade, it’s easy to remove the .wordpress.com part of your blog’s URL.
Anyway, as to which is better — I think it entirely comes down to what you’re looking for. “With great power comes great responsibility.” Not everyone wants that responsibility or to have to deal with upgrades, traffic (what if you get Dugg), and so forth. WordPress.com is blog and forget.
Editorial Staff
Alex read the caption below. “Free WordPress.com”
We are aware that there are numerous corporates that are using the VIP WordPress.com program. Which is ok, but we do not recommend using free WordPress.com to any corporates or any new businesses. It is impossible to have custom themes in the free WordPress.com which is what most corporates want. Now unless they upgrade to the VIP version, they are not going to get that.
Admin
Alex (Viper007Bond)
The corporations who use a free WordPress.com tend to use the Sandbox theme and the Custom CSS upgrade to skin the site to their needs.
raiderhost
i like wordpress …
to manage and get full control i choose self hosting