WordPress.com pricing plans in 2026: what you actually get at each tier

WordPress.com and WordPress.org are two different products built on the same software. That distinction confuses more people than any other question in the WordPress ecosystem. Before discussing pricing, it needs to be clear.

WordPress.org is the free, open-source content management system. You download it, install it on your own hosting, and have full control. You pay for hosting and domain registration. The software itself costs nothing.

WordPress.com is a hosted platform operated by Automattic (the company co-founded by WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg). It runs WordPress software for you, handles hosting, updates, and security, and charges a monthly or annual subscription based on the features you need.

This guide covers the WordPress.com pricing structure in 2026, what each tier actually includes, where the hidden limitations are, and when self-hosted WordPress is the smarter investment.

#WordPress.com pricing plans in 2026

WordPress.com offers five plan tiers. Each unlocks progressively more features, storage, and control.

#Free plan

The free tier is genuinely free — no credit card required. It includes:

• A yoursite.wordpress.com subdomain (no custom domain)
• Limited storage
• WordPress.com branding on your site
• Basic block editor access
• Community support only

Who it suits: Personal blogs, student projects, hobby sites. Anyone testing the WordPress editor before committing to a paid plan.

Limitations: No custom domain, WordPress.com ads displayed on your site, no access to premium themes, no plugin installation, limited customization, no monetization options.

#Personal plan

The entry-level paid tier removes the most obvious free-tier limitations:

• Custom domain (included for the first year, renewal pricing varies)
• WordPress.com branding removed
• Increased storage
• Email support
• Basic design customization

Who it suits: Personal blogs and simple portfolios that need a professional URL.

Limitations: Still no custom plugin or theme installation. No advanced SEO tools. Limited design flexibility. No e-commerce capability.

#Premium plan

The mid-tier plan adds design and monetization features:

• Everything in Personal
• Premium themes access
• Advanced design tools and custom CSS
• Monetization features (WordAds, paid content)
• Social media integration tools
• Video uploads and hosting
• Google Analytics integration

Who it suits: Bloggers, freelancers, and small creators who want design flexibility and basic monetization without managing their own hosting.

Limitations: Still no custom plugin installation. No third-party theme uploads. No WooCommerce. Limited SEO control compared to self-hosted WordPress with a dedicated SEO plugin.

#Business plan

This is the tier where WordPress.com becomes functionally comparable to self-hosted WordPress:

• Everything in Premium
• Custom plugin installation (the key differentiator)
• Custom theme uploads
• SFTP and database access
• Automated site backups with one-click restore
• Increased storage
• Priority support

Who it suits: Small businesses, professional websites, and agencies that need specific plugins (contact forms, SEO tools, security plugins) but want Automattic to handle hosting and infrastructure.

Limitations: While you can install plugins, the hosting environment has restrictions. Some plugins that require server-level access (certain caching plugins, server-side modifications) may not work. Performance is shared infrastructure, not dedicated.

#Commerce plan

The e-commerce tier built for online stores:

• Everything in Business
• WooCommerce pre-installed
• Payment processing integrations
• Shipping and tax calculation tools
• Premium store themes
• Product management tools

Who it suits: Small to mid-size online stores that want WooCommerce without managing their own server infrastructure.

Limitations: For high-volume stores with custom checkout flows, complex product configurations, or heavy API integrations, self-hosted WooCommerce on dedicated hosting typically performs better and costs less at scale.

#How much does WordPress cost in total

The plan subscription is not the only cost. Here is what the real total looks like:

For simple sites (blog, portfolio, brochure), WordPress.com plans are often cost-effective because they bundle hosting, security, and backups into one subscription.

For business sites that need specific plugins, custom functionality, or advanced SEO control, self-hosted WordPress on quality managed hosting (Cloudways, Kinsta, WP Engine) frequently offers better value. The total cost of ownership over three years tends to favor self-hosted for any site that outgrows the Premium tier. For a detailed breakdown of self-hosted WordPress costs by project type, see our WordPress website pricing guide.

#WordPress.com vs self-hosted WordPress: which costs less

The crossover point depends on complexity:

WordPress.com is cheaper when:

• You need a simple site with under 10 pages
• You do not need custom plugins or themes
• You have no developer and no technical interest
• You value zero-maintenance hosting

Self-hosted WordPress is cheaper when:

• You need more than 2-3 premium plugins
• You want full control over caching, CDN, and server configuration
• You plan to scale content (100+ pages, multilingual, SEO-heavy)
• You want to own your data and infrastructure with no platform dependency

For a quantitative comparison of WordPress against other platforms, see our WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace comparison.

#Hidden costs and limitations of WordPress.com

#Domain renewal pricing

WordPress.com includes a free domain for the first year on paid plans. The renewal price after year one varies by TLD and is often higher than purchasing the same domain directly from a registrar like Cloudflare Registrar or Namecheap.

#Plugin restrictions on lower tiers

The Free, Personal, and Premium plans do not allow custom plugin installation. This means no Rank Math, no WooCommerce (except Commerce tier), no custom forms, no advanced analytics. The built-in tools are functional but limited compared to the plugin ecosystem.

#Storage limits

Each tier has a storage cap. For media-heavy sites (photography portfolios, video content), storage limits can become a constraint. Self-hosted WordPress has no inherent storage limit — you pay for what your server provides.

#Migration complexity

Moving away from WordPress.com to self-hosted requires content export, DNS migration, and potentially redesigning templates if you used WordPress.com-specific themes. The migration is doable but not trivial. Choosing self-hosted from the start avoids this tax.

#SEO limitations on lower tiers

Without custom plugins, SEO control on WordPress.com is limited to basic meta tags. No custom schema markup, no advanced sitemap configuration, no structured data beyond what WordPress.com generates automatically. For sites competing in organic search, this is a significant constraint.

#WordPress.com enterprise plan

For large organizations, WordPress.com offers enterprise-level hosting through WordPress VIP. This is a separate product from the standard tiers, designed for high-traffic media companies, Fortune 500 corporate sites, and government agencies.

WordPress VIP provides:

• Dedicated infrastructure with guaranteed uptime SLAs
• FedRAMP authorization for government deployments
• Custom code review and deployment pipelines
• Dedicated account management and technical support
• Advanced security and compliance certifications

Pricing for WordPress VIP is custom and significantly higher than standard WordPress.com plans. It competes with Sitecore and Adobe Experience Manager rather than standard hosting providers.

#When to choose WordPress.com vs self-hosted

#How to migrate from WordPress.com to self-hosted

If you start on WordPress.com and outgrow it, migration follows this process:

1. Export content from WordPress.com (Tools > Export > Export All)
2. Set up self-hosted WordPress on your chosen hosting provider
3. Import content using the WordPress Importer plugin
4. Migrate media (images, uploads) to the new server
5. Update DNS to point your domain to the new host
6. Set up redirects if URL structures change
7. Install and configure plugins (SEO, caching, security, backup)
8. Test thoroughly before cancelling the WordPress.com subscription

The process typically takes a few hours for small sites and a day for larger sites with extensive content. For a detailed migration guide, see our WordPress migration guide.

Learn more about professional WordPress development at WPPoland.