Newcomers are often confused about the difference between wordpress.com vs wordpress.org. I assume that since you spend time reading this article, that means you too want to clear the idea about this topic. So, let’s get to know the matter better and remove all the dilemmas.

WordPress.org:

WordPress.org also known as WP and WordPress developed by WordPress Foundation at first on May 27, 2003. It’s a content management system (CMS) written by PHP and paired with MySQL or MariaDB database. This is a free open-source platform licensed by GPL. It’s owned by no one individual or company. You can download and install its any webhost with one click.
Nowadays 50% websites on the web are powered by wordpress. Katy Perry, TechCrunch, Sony Music, BBC America, The New York Times, The Walt Disney Company and a lot of giants and well-known websites powered by wordpress.org.

WordPress.com:

WordPress.com is a hosting service and SaaS (Software as a Service) platform that lets you build a websites initially free  using WordPress building Blog. This is popular for building blog and other works. It’s owned by Automattic Company and operated by them. It launched November 21, 2005. From starting it’s written by PHP. But since 2015 its used JavaScript also.

However, it is a commercial platform and its CEO is Matt Mullenweg. He is both CEO of Automattic, and co-founder of WordPress. Matt is involved with both WordPress.org and WordPress.com. Some WordPress contributors are also employees of Automattic. There are many more WordPress contributors, most of which have no connection with WordPress.com.

Diffarence between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org:

In WordPress.org-

  1. You can host your own site.
  2. You have full of freedom.
  3. Its free and open source.
  4. No need to worry about change DNS.
  5. You are able to install free, premium, custom or third-party plugins, themes and many more.
  6. Its a content management system (CMS).
  7. WordPress.org coaded by PHP.
  8. You can purchase your own domain name from domain, hosting provider company.
  9. You will able to compare hosting plan from all hosting company and choose as you like.
  10.  If you want to earn money by running your own ads without sharing your profit with anyone.
  11. You are responsible for backup, update, security, maintenance, and any other important point.
  12. You will be use a lots of powerfull tools like google analytics, Yoast SEO, and create membership site and lots of. Don’t worry about tearms and condition of wordpress.org.
  13. You can run your own online store and use your own payment gateways like debit, credit card, and many more. Also possible to sell any kind of product directly and also deliver it directly from you. Tons of advantages you will get on this platform for your starting online store. So, we recommended building your online store using wordpress.org.

In WordPress.com-

  1. Do not need to purchase a hosting plan. Because WordPress.com takes it.
  2. You can get very limited freedom.
  3. It’s initially free but in the free feature, you will get very limited options. There is another five package which costing is 48$-5000$ per month.
  4. You don’t able to change your DNS.
  5. You are not able to add any kind of plugins, themes without their platform.
  6. It’s a hosting and SaaS (Software as a Service) platform.
  7. Since the beginning, WordPress.com was coded by PHP but from 2015 its also used JavaScript.
  8.  Only you can use your domain as a subdomain like yoursite.wordpress.com.
  9. If you want to make money, you can’t use your own ads. If you run a high-traffic website, only you can run their own ads and share the revenue with them.
  10. You will get up to 3GB hosting plan free. After that you need to purchase your own plan for more space.
  11. You do not worry about any kind of update, backup. They will take care of its.
  12. If you break their terms and conditions, then anytime they are able to delete your site. It is still limited in terms of features, and you’ll have to follow WordPress.com’s terms of services for your eCommerce store.

Price comparison between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org:

At WordPress.org you can buy hosting plans and domain names according to your budget preferences and needs. Here you can easily buy domain, hosting from many more famous domains, hosting provider companies like Namecheap, GoDaddy, Bluehost with an average of 45$ per year. You can take any of the shared, dedicated, VPS, Reseller hosting here. They provide also dedicated WordPress hosting for wordpress.org.

However, at wordpress.org, you can only use their hosting plan. Also, you can get a free hosting plan. But in the beginning, we said that there are very limited options. They offer a total of six hosting plans. The plans are-

  • Free
  • Personal – $48 per year
  • Premium – $96 per year
  • Business – $300 per year
  • Ecommerce – $540 per year
  • VIP – starting at $5000 per month

So we see that WordPress.com is is not at all beginner-friendly, like WordPress.org.

Difference between online store building facilities:

WordPress.org offers you to make an online store in the very easiest way. You can start building your eCommerce store by WooCommerce for free. Also, you will get tons of free, freemium and premium plugins for e-commerce, LMS, Membership, Multivendor, and any online store.
Integrate any type of payment gateway compatible with WooCommerce, supported in your region and your online store. WordPress or WooCommerce will not charge for your transactions. You do not have to follow any barbarous terms and conditions with your online store. So finally its very flexible for you (Recommended).

WordPress.Com is still limited to build an online store. They also offer to create an online store. But, you need to spend 540$ yearly for running your online store. So, it is so tough for a beginner.

Conclussion:

Finally, we can say, now you must have understood the main difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. Don’t forget to let us know if you have any other questions.

Click here to ask a question directly.

Do you want to know the difference between Wix Vs WordPress? Please read this article.

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