WordPress.com

wordpress.com
Website Builder
Weekend Project

WordPress, done right

How to Replace WordPress.com

Overview

WordPress.com is a managed WordPress hosting platform that combines the power of WordPress with lightning-fast, secure hosting. It provides website builders, blogging tools, ecommerce capabilities, and professional email services all in one platform, with expert support and enterprise-grade security.

Features

55 features across 24 categories

Analytics(2)

Google Analytics IntegrationPremium

Access in-depth data on how and why people come to site without writing code

Jetpack Stats

Monitor site traffic and engagement from the moment of publish

Also in: Hugging Face, Notion, Smartsheet

Appearance(1)

Ad-Free BrowsingPremium

Unlock clean ad-free browsing experience for visitors

Also in: Zoom, GitBook, Things

Backup(1)

Jetpack Backups and RestoresPremium

Easily restore or download a backup of site from a specific moment in time

Builder(1)

AI Website BuilderAIPremium

AI-powered website builder tool

Also in: Swipe Pages, Softr, WordPress.com

Collaboration(1)

Unlimited Users

Invite unlimited others to contribute to site and assign access permissions

Also in: Notion, Airtable, Obsidian

Community(1)

WordPress.com Reader

Connect with other likeminded bloggers through community hub

Also in: Squarespace, Hugging Face, Obsidian

Content(3)

Post Revision History

Time machine for post edits - roll back posts to earlier edits with built-in revision history

Related Posts

Provide automated content recommendations to visitors based on what they've already read

Unlimited Pages and Posts

Add unlimited pages and posts to site

Also in: Squarespace, Hunter, Notion

Design & Editing(5)

Advanced Design ToolsPremium

Customize blog design with extended color schemes, typography, borders, and website CSS control

Beautiful Themes

Hundreds of pre-made, professionally-designed, customizable templates

Block Editor

Intuitive drag-and-drop tools to easily arrange, rearrange, and organize content and media

Font and Color CustomizationPremium

Customize fonts and colors sitewide with full control over every font, color, and design detail

Pre-Built Block Patterns

Create great-looking layouts by inserting elegant pre-built block patterns into pages and posts

Also in: Adobe

Development(4)

Git Commands and GitHub DeploymentsPremium

Use Git commands and GitHub Deployments for site management

SFTP/SSH AccessPremium

Use familiar developer tools like SFTP/SSH for site management and deployment

Staging SitesPremium

Test changes on a staging site first to identify and fix vulnerabilities before impacting live site

WP-CLI SupportPremium

Use WP-CLI commands to manage site

Domain(1)

Custom Domain Name

Personalized online address with first year free when choosing a paid annual plan

Ecommerce(1)

WooCommerce IntegrationPremium

Make online store a reality with power of WooCommerce for ecommerce

Extensibility(2)

Bundled Plugin Auto-Updates

Automatic plugin updates without time-consuming manual updates and nags

Plugin Library

Extend functionality with over 50,000 plugins available

Forms(2)

Advanced Form FeaturesPremium

Build smarter forms with file uploads, multi-step logic, and seamless integrations

Form Block

Easily insert a contact, appointment, event registration, or feedback form to site

Hosting(2)

Managed WordPress HostingPremium

Lightning-fast, secure managed WordPress hosting with zero downtime

Unmetered BandwidthPremium

Unlimited bandwidth and traffic with no overage charges

Marketing(3)

Email Marketing Integration

Integrate site with leading email marketing tools, grow list, and send campaigns

SEO Tools

Built-in SEO tools to get found faster with access to premium plugins including Yoast and Rank Math

Social Media Tools

Automatically send new posts to Facebook, Tumblr, LinkedIn and create shortlinks, social icons, and open graph tags

Media(3)

Media Upload

Create designer-worthy photo galleries, embed audio, video, documents with ample storage space

Superior Image ManagementPremium

Automatic image thumbnail creation on the fly with transparent data compression

VideoPressPremium

Showcase beautiful videos with 4K resolution, picture-in-picture, chapters, subtitles, and different playback speeds

Monetization(4)

Collect PaymentsPremium

Accept payments for goods, services, memberships, and donations

Paid Content BlockPremium

Create additional premium content exclusive to paying subscribers

Paid NewslettersPremium

Email premium content to paying subscribers

WordAdsPremium

Earn ad revenue by connecting site with major ad publishers including Google AdSense

Newsletter(1)

WordPress.com Newsletter

Automatically send new posts out as an email newsletter

Performance(4)

Advanced DNS FeaturesPremium

Among the fastest and most secure DNS in the world for fast customer arrival to site

Automated Burst ScalingPremium

Custom resource management system automatically scales to over 100 PHP workers

Global CDNPremium

28+ data centers across 6 continents for lightning-fast content delivery

High Frequency CPUsPremium

Highly performant CPUs to generate pages at incredible speeds

Publishing(2)

Post by Email

Publish blog posts on-the-go with quick email send

Post Scheduling

Schedule posts in advance

Security(7)

Brute Force ProtectionPremium

Protection against brute force attacks

Compromised Password ScanningPremium

Keep user accounts secure by scanning for compromised passwords

DDoS and WAF ProtectionPremium

Blocks millions of malicious requests daily to protect against takeover and hacking attempts

EncryptionPremium

Data encryption for enhanced security

Firewall ProtectionPremium

Advanced firewalls to protect against security threats

Malware Scanning and RemovalPremium

Automated malware scanning with one-click fixes to stay ahead of security threats

Two-Factor AuthenticationPremium

Account security with built-in two-factor authentication

Spam Protection(1)

Spam Protection with Akismet

Prevent unwanted comments to ensure site remains professional and trustworthy

Support(2)

24/7 Priority SupportPremium

The fastest 24/7 support from expert Happiness team

Expert Support

Support from expert Happiness Engineers available to answer questions and help with any issues

Pricing

Free

Free
  • Unlimited pages, posts, users, and visitors
  • Free domain for one year
  • Visitor stats (last 7 days)
  • Support from expert team
  • Time machine for post edits
  • Online forever
  • Install plugins & themes
  • Bundled plugin auto-updates
  • Forms
  • Advanced form features
  • Jetpack Search

Personal

$9/mo or $4/mo billed annually
  • 6 GB storage
  • Unlimited pages, posts, users, and visitors
  • Free domain for one year
  • Ad-free browsing experience for visitors
  • Dozens of premium themes
  • Support from expert team
  • Stats with full history and filters
  • Install plugins
  • Customize fonts and colors sitewide

Premium

Popular
$18/mo or $8/mo billed annually
  • 13 GB storage
  • Unlimited pages, posts, users, and visitors
  • Free domain for one year
  • Ad-free browsing experience for visitors
  • All premium themes
  • Fast support from expert team
  • Premium stats with UTM tracking and device insights
  • Install plugins
  • Customize fonts and colors sitewide
  • Connect Google Analytics
  • Upload videos in 4K resolution

Business

$40/mo or $25/mo billed annually
  • 50 GB storage
  • Unlimited pages, posts, users, and visitors
  • Free domain for one year
  • Ad-free browsing experience for visitors
  • All premium themes
  • Priority 24/7 support from expert team
  • Premium stats with UTM tracking and device insights
  • Install plugins
  • Customize fonts and colors sitewide
  • Connect Google Analytics
  • Upload videos in 4K resolution
  • SFTP/SSH, WP-CLI, Git commands, and GitHub Deployments

Commerce

$70/mo or $45/mo billed annually
  • 50 GB storage
  • Unlimited pages, posts, users, and visitors
  • Free domain for one year
  • Ad-free browsing experience for visitors
  • All premium and store themes
  • Priority 24/7 support from expert team
  • Premium stats with UTM tracking and device insights
  • Install plugins
  • Customize fonts and colors sitewide
  • Connect Google Analytics
  • Upload videos in 4K resolution
  • SFTP/SSH, WP-CLI, Git commands, and GitHub Deployments
  • eCommerce tools and optimized WooCommerce experience

Enterprise

Starting at $25,000/year
  • Unmatched scalability
  • Security and data-driven capabilities
  • Custom solutions

Cost Calculator

Keep Paying WordPress.com

Monthly$9/mo
Yearly$108/yr
5-Year Total$540

Build It Yourself

Est. Build Time~4 hrs
Hosting$20/mo
DifficultyVery Easy

Total Cost Comparison

1 Year
SaaS
$108
DIY
$240
3 Years
SaaS
$324
DIY
$720
5 Years
SaaS
$540
DIY
$1.2k

DIY hosting estimate based on Vercel + Supabase free/pro tiers (~$20/mo). Build time estimated from 55 features at very easy complexity.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a WordPress.com alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 55 features.

Buy WordPress.com

Better Value
Monthly cost$90/mo
3-year total$3,240
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$36,000
Maintenance$540/mo
3-year total$55,440
Dev time~3 months

Buying WordPress.com saves ~$52,200 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 55 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.

Integrations

11 known integrations

AkismetFacebookGitHubGoogle AdSenseGoogle AnalyticsJetpackLinkedInRank MathTumblrWooCommerceYoast