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Reviews
Is WordPress.com actually free?
How free50/100
Value5/10
How these scores work
Free Score (0–100) follows a fixed rubric: cards up front, auto-billing, hard time cutoffs, withheld core features, and paying with your data or attention all deduct points. 90–100 truly free · 70–89 free forever · 45–69 squeezed · 15–44 trial mechanics · under 15 fake or gone. Value (0–10) is editorial: real-world worth of the free offering measured against its paid equivalent. Full rubric on the methodology page.
Sort of — and the name is doing a lot of work. WordPress.com is Automattic's hosted service, not the free WordPress software. Its free plan plants WordPress ads on your pages, gives you a .wordpress.com address, and blocks plugins and custom themes.
Use this instead — actually free
WordPress.org (self-hosted)The actual free software — no ads, no subdomain, no plugin limits
What it’s worth
Paid WordPress.com plans start at $4–8/month; self-hosted WordPress.org on cheap hosting costs about the same and gives full control.
What you get free
- A hosted blog or website with basic themes
- A .wordpress.com subdomain
- Limited storage
- Basic customization
In practice: enough to start a personal blog and learn WordPress — not enough to run a business or look professional.
Drawbacks
- WordPress.com ads appear on your free site
- The .wordpress.com address looks amateur
- Very limited theme and plugin access
- Confusingly similar name to WordPress.org (which is truly free software)
Also paywalled
- Your own domain name
- Removing WordPress ads
- Plugin and theme installation
- Monetization and e-commerce
Free facts
| Verdict | Free-ish |
| Card required | No |
| Auto-bills | — |
| Account | Required |
| Limits | WordPress ads on your site; no custom domain; 1GB storage; no plugins |
| The real cost | An account. Your site advertises WordPress until you pay. |
The catch
The free tier is a live demo of the WordPress experience, built to make its limits visible enough that you upgrade — and free storage was quietly cut from 3GB to 1GB. Worth knowing before you judge WordPress by it: the self-hosted WordPress.org software is a different product, genuinely free, with none of these restrictions.
The smart play
- For a real free website, Netlify hosting with a static site or self-hosted WordPress.org on free-tier hosting gives you more control
- Don't confuse WordPress.com (hosted, limited free) with WordPress.org (the free open-source software you host yourself)
- If you stay free here, treat it as a writing sandbox, not a public brand
Common questions
Does WordPress.com require a credit card?
No — WordPress.com does not ask for a card to use the free version. Auto-billing: —.
What are the limits of WordPress.com's free plan?
WordPress ads on your site; no custom domain; 1GB storage; no plugins. The free tier is a live demo of the WordPress experience, built to make its limits visible enough that you upgrade — and free storage was quietly cut from 3GB to 1GB. Worth knowing before you judge WordPress by it: the self-hosted WordPress.org software is a different product, genuinely free, with none of these restrictions.
What is a free alternative to WordPress.com?
WordPress.org (self-hosted). WordPress.org (self-hosted): The actual free software — no ads, no subdomain, no plugin limits
How do I use WordPress.com without paying?
For a real free website, Netlify hosting with a static site or self-hosted WordPress.org on free-tier hosting gives you more control Don't confuse WordPress.com (hosted, limited free) with WordPress.org (the free open-source software you host yourself) If you stay free here, treat it as a writing sandbox, not a public brand
What does WordPress.com really cost?
An account. Your site advertises WordPress until you pay.
Why is WordPress.com free?
An account. Your site advertises WordPress until you pay. Paid WordPress.com plans start at $4–8/month; self-hosted WordPress.org on cheap hosting costs about the same and gives full control.
Is WordPress.com still free?
As of our August 2026 check, partly — and the free tier is squeezed. Sort of — and the name is doing a lot of work. WordPress.com is Automattic's hosted service, not the free WordPress software. Its free plan plants WordPress ads on your pages, gives you a .wordpress.com address, and blocks plugins and custom themes. Free tiers change without notice, which is why every page here carries the date it was checked.
More info — tap to expand
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org — the confusion that costs money
WordPress.org is free, open-source software you download and host yourself — full control, any theme, any plugin. WordPress.com is a hosted service run by Automattic that uses that software but adds its own tiers and restrictions. The .com version trades control for convenience; the .org version is genuinely free but requires you to find hosting. Most 'is WordPress free' searches land on .com and never learn about .org.
Checked: August 2026 · Verdict: Free-ish — a free tier exists, but it's shaped to squeeze you toward paying.
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