WordPress.org vs WordPress.com – what are the differences?

Do you think about what is the difference between WordPress.org vs WordPress.com? This detailed comparison will help you understand the differences between them to make the right choice.

WP.org and WP.com are two different platforms. If you’re just starting out with WordPress, it may be a bit confusing. In order to choose the most suitable platform for your website, I have prepared a comparison for you. Let’s see how they really differ from each other.

WordPress.org

WordPress.org is open source. This means you can use it for your own website for free. However, to create a site you need to have your own domain and web hosting.

Advantages of WordPress.org

• the whole system is free (you pay only for domain, hosting, eventually theme and plugins),
• it is easy to use,
• you have full control of the website since you possess domain and hosting, your website cannot be cancelled, you are the site owner,
• you can choose freely available or paid themes and edit them as you like,
• you can use plugins (paid or free),
• the site may contain ads, profit from them is just yours, you don’t pay any commissions,
• better brand building – you don’t need to publish „Powered By“ links on the website,
• you can use traffic tracking tools and the like, such as Google Analytics,
• you can have your own e-commerce there,
• you can charge for accessing paid content on your website,
• WP.org has open code, which means that various programmers can contribute to it.

Disadvantages

• you need to pay for domain and hosting,
• you must perform backups and updates of themes and plugins yourself,
• you need to care about optimizing your website, protecting against SPAM and so on.

Do not forget: To create a website with WP.org, you need your own domain and web hosting.

WordPress.com

WordPress.com was created by co-founder of WordPress itself Matt Mullenweg. This is a hosting service which allows you to choose from five different service packages (valid at the time of writing):

• Free – limited version,
• Blogger – 3€ monthly,
• Personal – 5 € monthly,
• Premium – 8 € monthly,
• Business – 25 € monthly,
• eCommerce – 45 € monthly.

Advantages of WordPress.com

• suitable for non-technical people who do not want to waste their time and energy to start and set up their own WordPress, hosting, domain.
• up to 3 GB free, no need to pay for hosting or domain,
• you do not need to track updates and subsequently update the website,
• the service also takes care of backing up your site.

Disadvantages

• You can’t post your own ads in the free version. This is only possible in the paid version, but you will pay a commission for their publication.
• In the free version, ads will appear on your website, and you won’t get any profits from them. However, the ads won’t show if you switch to a paid service package.
• Free service has very limited features. Any installation of plugins is possible only in the Business package. Thus, you do not have the ability to improve the look and functionality of your website.
• Smaller choice of themes. You can choose from paid themes only in the Business package.
• WP.com has its own analysis tools. You cannot use other analysis tools in the Free, Personal, and Premium packages.
• You are not the website owner and do not have full control over it. This can be deleted if you breach some of WP.com’s terms and conditions.
• You can’t create an e-commerce or a paid content page here.
• Worse brand building. Powered by WordPress.com is displayed on the web. It can be removed only in the Business package.

WordPress.org vs WordPress.com – which one to choose?

If you decided to create your own WordPress website, you need to choose which platform is more suitable for you. Compare carefully the advantages and disadvantages.

In general, if you only want to have a personal website, you don’t want to make money on it and the basic features are enough for you, WP.com may be appropriate for you.

If you need a professional site or e-commerce and want to have full control over it, then consider using WP.org. It is even used by some well-known global brands.