{"id":15143,"date":"2024-08-12T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/?p=15143"},"modified":"2026-07-31T17:18:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T00:18:50","slug":"wordpress-differences-beginners-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wordpress-differences-beginners-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Difference Between WordPress.com & WordPress.org Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WordPress.com<\/a> and WordPress.org<\/a> sound like 2 addresses for the same service. They aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the short answer:<\/strong> WordPress.com is a hosted, commercial platform run by Automattic \u2014 it hosts WordPress for you, with free and paid plans. WordPress.org is the free, open-source WordPress software itself, which you download and install on web hosting you choose. Same software underneath; the difference is who hosts it and how much control you keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org: Same software, different offer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WordPress powers 41.2% of all websites<\/a>, per W3Techs (July 2026). The New York Times<\/em> Company, Usain Bolt, and NASA are just some of the well-known brands in the official WordPress showcase<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes it so popular?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike many systems, WordPress is available both as a hosted platform and as free software<\/strong>. This means you can choose the version that best suits your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress.com puts the software on a hosted platform. It offers a limited free plan for bloggers on a budget, and paid upgrades for more demanding site owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress.org is free, but you need to purchase hosting to use it properly. It provides the whole range of features as standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both are built on the same open-source WordPress software, but WordPress.com adds a managed hosting platform around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only difference? The delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is WordPress.com?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\t\n\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/svg>\n\t<\/a>\n\t

WordPress.com<\/h3>\n

WordPress.com is the hosted version of WordPress. Since it provides a completely free plan option, WordPress.com is a popular platform for blogging and personal websites.<\/p>\n \n Read More <\/a>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

WordPress.com is the hosted, commercial version of WordPress, run by Automattic \u2014 it runs the software for you on its own servers. It\u2019s also how most people first encounter the WordPress brand: per WordPress.com\u2019s own published stats, over 409 million people<\/a> view its sites every month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WordPress.com<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The primary benefit of using WordPress.com is that you can build and host your own website on a subdomain<\/a> at no cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who doesn\u2019t like free, right? The 70 million new posts<\/a> added to WordPress.com sites each month are proof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress.com also supplies ever-so-pretty themes (basically, design templates<\/a>) that you can use to customize the look of your blog or website. Many of these templates are free, but you can purchase a premium theme if you fancy something different\u2026or fancier.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All it takes is a few clicks without breaking the bank, and your website is up and running. Et voil\u00e0! (WordPress.com now even offers an AI website builder<\/a> that drafts a complete starter site from a short description.)<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\tRelated Article<\/span>\n\t
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\n\t\t\tHow To Start a Blog (Strategy, Tips, & Content Ideas)\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRead More\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The hidden costs of a free website<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes, we said no cost\u2026upfront. Let us explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To build a functional website, you need a few things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n