Key Difference Between WordPress.com And WordPress.org

Hey, do you know that WordPress.com and WordPress.org are two different platforms? Well, if yes then that’s great but if not then don’t worry you are not the alone who get confuse between them.

We have seen many beginners who get confused between WordPress.com and WordPress.org, which is quite common, because of their identical names. They don’t know that these are two different platforms due to that they pick the wrong blogging platform and suffer.

 This post is especially for those people who are still confuse between WordPress.com and WordPress.org and don’t know what i you. 

We created this post to help all those people who want to learn what is the key difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

We don’t want you to suffer, so to help you all, we write this post in which we explained how these platforms are different and which platform is best for you to start a blog?

To answer all your queries, we have created this comprehensive comparison post. In this comparison, we highlighted all the important points that make WordPress.com and WordPress.org different from each other.

Note-Choosing the right blogging platform is vital for your blog success.

If you are about to start a blog, then you can skip this post and head over to our guide and learn:

• How to Start a Blog WordPress in 2023 (Super Easy – step by step guide)
• How to find a profitable niche for blogging(step by step guide)

Let’s take a look at the main difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

-WordPress.org

Let’s start with WordPress.org which is an open-source platform. It is also known as a self-hosted WordPress platform. The best thing about this platform is that It’s completely free and it offers unlimited customization.

It is super easy to use, even a non-technical person can use it. Beginners love this platform because they can start new blog on this platform even without having any coding skills. To start a blog on WordPress.org all you need a domain name and web hosting.

Let’s see what are the pros and cons of the self-hosted WordPress.org

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WordPress.org Pros & Cons

Pros

It is a highly customizable platform, which gives you the power to control every aspect of your website. Let’s see why choose WordPress.org for blogging?

• 
  It is completely free, yes you read it right. You just need to pay for webhosting and domain. For webhosting, you can trust Bluehost.
  
• You get access to thousands of free Themes and Plugins using that you can easily customize your website as per your choice.
• You can monetize your blogs by adding your own ads or Google ads and earn from them.
• You can install unlimited free/ paid themes and plugins and use them without any restriction on your website.
• You can use analytics tools like Google Analytics and track your website performance.
• WordPress.org gives you the freedom to create an online store using the woo-commerce plugin which is a free plugin. You can sell online products and accept payments directly from your website effortlessly.
• WordPress.org gives you the freedom to create and sell Premium content and courses through Membership sties to your audience.

Cons

Let’s see the cons of WordPress.org.

• You need to pay for web hosting (cost around $6.99/mo) and domain name (cost around $14.99/month) Use our discount link and get Free domain and 66% discount on webhosting.
• No customer support from WordPress.org.
• You need to manage it and update it timely. (Well, you can easily update your WordPress site, its plugins, and themes in just one click, so it’s not too much work.)
• You are responsible for website backup. (WordPress.org has tons of free/paid backup plugins in its library that can easily solve this problem.)

-WordPress.com

Matt Mullenweg was the founder of WordPress.com, which is a hosting service. WordPress.com offer 5 plans:

WordPress.com -Pros & Cons

WordPress.com is a very powerful platform and used by many popular bloggers. The best thing about this platform is it doesn’t require any setup. Just register yourself using your email id and start publishing your blogs.

Its free plan is good for those who want to start a small-scale blog. Let’s see what you will get with the free wordpress.com account.

Pros

• In Its free plan, you will get 3 GB of storage. If you need more space then you have to upgrade the plan.
• The Personal plan will cost you around $48 /year in which you will get 6 GB Storage, and the Premium plan will cost you around $96/year and gives you 13 GB storage. The last plan is the Business plan that will cost around $300/year and gives you up to 200 GB of storage.
• WordPress.com automatically updates/backups your website.
• You will get 24/7 customer support from WordPress.com, which means you can contact them any time you want and ask for help.

Cons

There are few limitations of the free plan; let’s see them one by one

• In WordPress.com free plan they will place their ads on your website and earn from it. To remove these ads, you need to upgrade. (Their cheapest plan start from $4/month).
• In the free plan, you don’t have the option to monetize your blogs and earn from them. In simple words, you cannot add Goggle ads to your website. To get through this you need to upgrade. Note:- only the Premium, Business, and eCommerce plan users can monetize and earn from ads.
• The free plan users cannot upload plugins. Only the Business plan users and the eCommerce plan user can install them.
• The free plan users cannot upload custom themes, which mean they get very limited option to use. They need to use the preinstalled theme only.
• In the free plan, you cannot install Google Analytics or any other performance tracking tools. Only Premium Plan and Business plan users can use that.
• In WordPress.com if you sign up for the free plan, then you will get a free sub-domain from WordPress (like https://yourwebsite.wordpress.com). If you want to add your custom domain name then you need to upgrade.
• WordPress.com is very strict about its policies. They monitor every website on their platform and delete those websites which are violating their policies. (without giving any notice)
• You cannot build an eCommerce website with a free plan. For this, you need to buy the eCommerce plan which is not so cheap.
• You cannot build membership websites with WordPress.com free plan.

So, as you can read, WordPress.com is quite limited even when you are using the personal or premium plan. To unlock all the advanced features, you have to pick the Business plan (which will cost you around $300 per year)

Final Words

After reading this post hope you get a clear view on what is the differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com and which one to best for blogging. If you have any doubts you can comment below.

Like this article, share it with your friends and family, help them learn new and helpful content.

Difference Between WordPress.com And WordPress.org

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org (FAQs)

–Which is better WordPress.com vs WordPress.org?

If you are a blogger who just wants to share his content with people then WordPress.com (free plan) is a good option, but if you want to scale your blog and earn from it, then you should choose WordPress.org. Not only it gives you more flexibility but also gives you access to thousands of free plugins that can be used to grow your website.

–Can i monetize and earn using the Free plan of WordPress.com?

No, you can’t monetize your website while using the free plan. Upgrade and then you can monetize your blogs.

–WordPress.org vs WordPress.com – Which one is best for the eCommerce store?

Well, WordPress.org is best for an eCommerce store. They offer a free eCommerce platform by the name of Woo-commerce. Just install the woo-commerce plugin (free) and start selling products. You can add multiple payment options to your store and receive payments directly on your website.

 WordPress.com also offers an eCommerce plan that starts from $540 per year not so cheap, I know that. Using that you can sell multiple products and receive payment easily, but It is still limited in terms of features. You are monitor by WordPress so you’ll have to follow all the terms of services and privacy policy to keep your store alive.

–How do I start a blog on WordPress.org?

To start a blog on WordPress.org you need a domain name and reliable webhosting.

The domain name is like your website address on the internet, people use this address to reach your website, like ours is illogicaltech.com. Web hosting is the place where your website files are stored.

For webhosting we recommend Bluehost. Not only is it the largest web hosting company in the world, but also the fastest.  They’re also recommended by the official WordPress.org. (Bluehost is offering our users a free domain and a 66% discount on webhosting) 

After you buy the webhosting install WordPress and complete the setup. In next step login to your WordPRess dashboard and start customizing it. Publish helpful content and start promoting it with your audience.

 Read our post on how to start a post in just 6 steps.

–Can I move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org?

Beginners who don’t know the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org end up starting with the free WordPress.com platform. After they see the limitations of the platform, they plan to switch to “the Real WordPress” aka the self-hosted WordPress.org.

The first question that comes to their mind is if they can migrate their blog from WordPress.com to WorePress.org? and the answer is Yes, you can.

We have created a detailed post in which you can learn how to move your blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org, or you can talk to us and we will transfer your blog for free.

–How much time does it take to start a WordPress blog?

Well its depends upon what kind of blog you want to create and which webhosting you are using. Normally webhosting start from $6.99/mo and domain name start from $14.99/mo. Bluehost is offering our users free domain name and 70% discount.

We have a detailed post on our website, in which we walk you through step by step how to start a blog within an hour. If you didn’t get through using this post then you can contact us and our team will help you in set up your WordPress blog for free.