WordPress.org and WordPress.com—Which one is the best choice?

Most of the people still get confused between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. Generally, it happens to beginners while they see the two different WordPress platforms on the search engine. However, both of them serve distinct features within the WordPress ecosystem.

Well, do you want to know the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com?

The root difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com is hosting and the control that is needed for your website.

What is WordPress.org?

WordPress.org is also known as self-hosted WordPress software, where you need to get your domain name and web hosting for your website. It is an open source that allows using plugins and comes with the customization options that help to create a versatile website like what you want.

Benefits:

• It is free, and ease of use comes with fully customization-based options that make it easier to create your website with your concept.
• It is compatible with powerful free or paid plugins; you can install a plugin and use it to make your website functionality super flexible and smooth.
• Because it is self-hosted WordPress, you can start your WordPress blog site/business site and start to make money by running ads, selling products, and so on.
• You have full control over its data and support Google Analytics, which is great.

What is WordPress.com?

WordPress.com is a free hosting service where you can easily create and maintain your website. It is free and doesn’t have to pay for the hosting. It comes with limited 3GB space, and if needed, you can upgrade with premium plans.

Benefits:

• The setup process is easier than WordPress.org.
• The maintenance, security, and backups are handled by WordPress.com.
• To create a basic blog website, you don’t have to deal with hosting and all.

Comparison between WordPress.org and WordPress.com—which one is better? [Major Differences]

Before diving into the comparison, we would like to present an infographic or graphic visual representation of WordPress.com and WordPress.org:

Cost Evaluation:

WordPress.org: Basically, it is open source, which means it is free to use and set up. But you need hosting to create and make your website visible to the public, which will cost money. Once you pay for hosting, it lasts for 6 months to 1 year. In this platform, there are plenty of choices to use free or paid themes or plugins; it depends on you. The total WordPress.org cost estimation comes to around $3/month for hosting and $10/year for the domain name.

WordPress.com: It comes with a free plan with very limited options and can use up to 3 GB of space. If you want to upgrade your website, they have various premium plans & pricing that offer 13 GB storage, customization options, and support that cost $4/month.

Installation Process

WordPress.org: Since it is a self-hosted platform, you need to install it on your own domain name and hosting service. There are several of the best WordPress hosting providers; purchase one of them and enter your domain name, then hosting installs WordPress for you.

Most of the hosting provides the one-click install, which makes the work even easier. After it is installed, you get complete control over the site.

WordPress.com: The setup process is straightforward. In fact, you don’t need to install the WordPress software; just go to the official website, then register the account and log in. That’s how you can access the platform and start your blogging website. Later on, you need to enter your email and site name and set the pre-made themes to design your site.

Maintenance and Support

WordPress.org: When it comes to maintenance, you need to control the whole site by yourself. Every responsibility, such as security, updates, backups, performance, configurations, etc., is handled by yourself. Even you need to manage your website, customize the widgets, plugins, and themes, and be able to design your website.

On the other hand, if you have questions or problems with your website, you can get brilliant ideas from the experts through the WordPress forum.

WordPress.com: This platform is completely different on the matter of maintenance. You don’t have to worry about maintenance, security, or errors because it’s all handled by WordPress.com. If you need any support from them, then you can get the answers from the email and live chat, which is only available on the paid plan.

Customization Options and Design

WordPress.org: As we know, it is open source; that’s why it is super flexible to customize all the options they have without any limitations. You have full control to create your own custom design, install a theme, and also allow the installation of a plugin to extend the website functionality. It allows you to monetize and track your website. It is known as a popular platform to make money from ads. There are a variety of choices to design your website.

WordPress.com: It is like a locked platform with limitations on all options. They have only limited themes, limited storage, do not have any custom options, and even do not allow any custom code. With the limited theme options, the possibility is less to provide a satisfying design on your website.

Security and Backups

WordPress.org: To secure your website, WordPress.org has lots of free or paid WordPress security plugins that help to protect your sites from hackers and malware. You can get the backup WordPress plugins to store your files in a safe place.

WordPress.com: While using WordPress.com, you don’t need a security plugin to secure your website. Here, WordPress.com itself handles the security and backups.

Which one is the best choice?

WordPress.org and WordPress.com work under the WordPress ecosystem. But due to their distinct features, WordPress.org is ideal for those who want full control and customization. Whereas WordPress.com is best for those who want a managed solution with minimal technical effect.

After knowing the comparison between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. Which one do you think is the best? Please let us know in the comment section.