WordPress.com vs WordPress.org: Which one is best for blogging? (With Infographic)

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So, you have decided to start your blog. That’s great! You have made an excellent decision and I wish you fantastic luck.

WordPress is, without a doubt, the best blogging platform to start a blog. It’s easy to use, has so many features, and is very flexible.

Did you know that there are two different platforms of WordPress? One is called WordPress.com and the other is called WordPress.org

Now, there is a lot of confusion among many people who want to start blogging:

“Which platform should you use to start a blog on? WordPress.com vs WordPress.org?”

“How are these two different from each other?”

“Are these platforms free to use or paid?”

“How do they work?” etc. etc. etc.

Don’t worry, I got you! In this post, I’ll clear every doubt related to WordPress in general and which one should you choose between these two.

Let’s not waste any more time and jump straight to the topic, shall we?

> Related: 15 Best WordPress Plugins every new blogger must install

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WHAT IS WORDPRESS?

To put it in simple words, WordPress helps you to build or create your own site/blog.

It is the most popular platform to build your website without the requirement of any coding skills. It requires some tech know-how but it is pretty simple to understand.

Most of the websites that you visit nowadays are created using WordPress. This website is created using WordPress.

But why is it so popular? Here’s why:

• It’s easy to use. You can build a whole website without much technical knowledge.
• You can customize and design your website however you like because it offers many free plugins and themes.
• This is one of the most secure ways to build a website.

There are many more reasons but these are the main ones.

WordPress started as a blogging platform but has now evolved into a gigantic content management system (CMS).

Now, you may be wondering- why WordPress? There are many more blogging platforms. It’s because:

• It has a user-friendly interface. You can use it easily without any problem even if you are a beginner.
• It is SEO friendly which is great for your blog’s online visibility. You can do SEO easily through WordPress.
• WordPress build websites are responsive on every device.
• It has many free themes and plugins. You can design your site according to your taste.

And the list goes on…..

I think you now have a more clear idea of WordPress in your mind. Let’s move on to the main topic ↓

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WORDPRESS.COM VS WORDPRESS.ORG

Here’s a difference table between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org:

WordPress.com	WordPress.org
Hosting in included	You need to find a hosting service on your own
Free domain [yoursitename.wordpress.com]	Paid Custom domain [yoursitename.com]
No full ownership of your site in free version, need to upgrade the plan to use approved themes and plugins	Full control and ownership of your site, you can use any theme or plugin
WordPress.com branding all over the site in the free version	Can monetize your site however you like
Good choice for anyone, whether you want to start a blog, an e-commerce business or an agency	No branding of WordPress at all
Good choice for personal blogs, small businesses	Good choice for anyone, whether you want to start a blog, an e-commerce business, or an agency
Easy and simple to use, no tech skills required	Easy and simple to use too but requires a tiny bit of tech skills

Now, let’s understand them individually one by one.

Let’s start with WordPress.com:

WORDPRESS.COM

WordPress.com is a free platform where you can create your own site or blog. It is a really easy and simple way to create a site without much hassle.

With WordPress.com, you don’t have to find a third-party hosting service. It hosts your website for you.

All you have to do is create an account → choose a domain name for your site → choose a theme or templates → install some plugins → design your site → launch it!

It’s pretty simple!

Although WordPress.com is a great choice for individuals to start a blog, there are many limitations of it:

• With the free plan, your domain name will look something like this: [yoursitename.wordpress.com] with a wordpress.com branding. You’ll have to choose a paid plan to use a custom domain.
• The WordPress.com branding would be visible on your site’s header and footer in the free plan. You’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan to remove the branding.
• If you want to monetize your blog with ad networks like Google AdSense, you’ll have to buy a premium plan from WordPress.com. You can’t monetize your site with the free plan.
• There is a limited number of themes and plugins in the free plan.
• Users have very little control over their site in the free version.

Since there are so many limitations in the free plan of WordPress.com, it is recommended to get a paid plan if you choose this platform to start a blog.

Here is the pricing plan:

PRICING PLAN WORDPRESS.COM

• WordPress.com is available in a free version. Try it here.
• The starter plan starts from $1.9 per month paid annually.
• The explorer plan starts from $3.3 per month paid annually.
• The creator plan starts from $7.6 per month paid annually.

You can check more details about the pricing plan here.

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WORDPRESS.ORG

For WordPress.org, you’ll need third-party hosting services to host your blog or site. It is a content management system where you can create and manage your website.

To use WordPress.org, you’ll need a separate domain and hosting to start a blog. This is the easiest way to get started with WordPress.org:

• Choose a good hosting service that offers a free domain name. Here is a list of some of the best hosting services which provide free domain names.
• After choosing a suitable hosting service, configure WordPress with that hosting service and repeat the drill of choosing a theme, plugins, etc.

WordPress.org is pretty simple and easy to use but it requires some techy stuff (but don’t worry, I am here to help you out with that) than WordPress.com.

WordPress.org is used by the majority of people and here’s why:

• With WordPress.org, you’ll get the full control and ownership of your site.
• There are more than 50,000 WordPress plugins available to ease your work a little bit. Here is a list of the best plugins.
• There are a lot of free and paid WordPress themes to start designing your blog.
• You can monetize your blog/site however you like. There are no restrictions for that.
• WordPress.org sites are the best for SEO to increase your website’s online visibility.
• Anyone can create a WordPress.org sit, whether you want to start a blog, agency, small business or an e-commerce business, WordPress.org got you!

WordPress.org is an open source which means it is completely free to use. The only expense is the domain and hosting for your site (and probably a theme).

> Related: How to use WordPress – The only guide you’ll ever need

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WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO BLOG?

I will keep it straightforward, without much fluff.

So there are mainly two reasons why you want to start a blog:

• First is because you like to write and share about something you enjoy with the world as a side hobby.
• And second is because you want to be financially free, want to be independent, earn a passive income online, and start an online business.

If you want to start blogging because of the first reason, then I would recommend going with WordPress.com as it’s free and simple to use. You can start blogging on this platform without any hassle.

If you want to start a blog because of the second reason, then investing in the self-hosted WordPress.org is the best choice.

That way you’ll have full ownership of your blog with a custom domain and then you can give a branding to your blog however you like.

My recommendation for a hosting service is Hostinger as it’s affordable and trusted.

Both WordPress.com and WordPress.org are really good platforms. I can assure you that. Why you want to start a blog would be the sole reason for choosing any one of these.

Now the choice is yours!

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