WordPress is an incredibly ubiquitous content management system (CMS) that powers a vast number of websites today. As such, understanding its cost is crucial for anyone building a website, whether for personal or business purposes.
So, how much does WordPress cost? In this guide, our experts discuss the various expenses associated with using the CMS, as well as the different payment plans available for WordPress.com and WordPress.org sites.
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What Is WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
The main difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org lies in the hosting provider. WordPress.com is a hosted service that allows the use of WordPress software to create a website. It's user-friendly and ideal for beginners but offers limited customization options.
On the other hand, WordPress.org is a self-hosted platform that gives full control over every aspect of your site. It’s designed for advanced users and provides more in-depth customization and monetization options right from the start.
WordPress.com Pricing
WordPress pricing plans are tailored to satisfy different business needs:
- The free plan includes an SSL certificate, 1 GB of storage space, and free themes, making it ideal for personal use. However, it does offer limited customization options.
- The Personal plan costs $4 per month (when billed annually). It includes a free domain for one year, best-in-class hosting services, 6 GB of storage, an SSL certificate, free themes, the ability to accept payments, and unlimited email support. It is also most suitable for personal use.
- The Premium plan costs $8 per month (when billed annually) and is the best option for freelancers. It has all the features of a personal plan but with more customization options. Additionally, it offers Google Analytics integration, the ability to earn ad revenue, premium themes, and live chat support.
- The Business plan costs $25 per month (when billed annually), making it ideal for small businesses. It offers features from the previously mentioned plans, along with access to more than 50,000 plugins, advanced SEO tools, automated backups, SFTP, SSH, WP-CLI, and database access.
- The eCommerce plan costs $45 per month (when billed annually) and offers the most advanced features among all WordPress premium plans, specifically designed for online stores. This plan allows you to accept payments from over 60 countries, integrate seamlessly with leading shipping carriers, and provide premium design solutions tailored for online businesses.
WordPress.org Pricing
WordPress.org is free in theory, but hosting does incur costs. Most hosting providers offer plans ranging from $3 to $100 per month, depending on the security, speed, bandwidth, support availability, and other factors. The WordPress Platform recommends Dream Host and HostGator as complementary providers.
Most hosting companies include a domain name in their pricing, though some may require you to purchase it separately for $12 to $15 per year.
Additionally, while WordPress.org provides free customizable themes, depending on your business needs, you may want to buy a premium theme. Prices for premium themes range from $20 to hundreds of dollars, with customizations increasing costs.
Lastly, WordPress.org comes with built-in SEO tools that meet basic needs initially, but as your requirements grow, you may find the need for more advanced options, which come at an additional cost.
WordPress Cost Breakdown
Knowing the costs involved in building a WordPress website is crucial for effective budgeting. The key factors to consider include the cost of the domain name, web hosting, SSL certificates, themes, plugins, ongoing site maintenance, and design.
Let’s take a closer look at these key cost components:
1. Domain Name: $0.99 to $25/Year
A domain name serves as your site’s address. It should contain your business name so that clients can easily find you. The price of the domain name ranges from $0.99 to $14.99 per year, depending on the top-level domains (TLDs). The most common TLDs, also known as generic (gTLDs), include .com, .net and .org extensions. These three extensions are the most popular and, therefore, expensive.
Other generic extensions such as .online, .live, or .tech are great alternatives at a lower cost while making your domain name unique and memorable.
Another popular extension is country code top-level domains (ccTLD), which are specific codes assigned to countries worldwide (for example, .us for the United States or .uk for the United Kingdom). Their prices typically range from $5.50 to $23.99 per year.
2. Web Hosting: $1.99 to $77.99/Month
WordPress.org is a self-hosted platform, meaning you’ll need to invest in a web hosting plan to make your website operational. While the domain name serves as your website’s address, hosting provides server space and displays all your website content whenever customers visit your website.
Hosting price depends on its type:
- WordPress hosting: Specifically designed for WordPress websites, it offers one-click installations, automatic updates, and a WordPress expert support team. Price varies between $1.99 and $11.59 per month.
- Shared hosting: This is an affordable option costing between $1.99 and $3.99 per month, making it suitable for personal and small business websites.
- Virtual private server (VPS) hosting: This type of hosting splits a server into multiple independent virtual servers. It is an excellent option for websites with moderate to high traffic and costs between $3.49 to $77.99 per month.
- Cloud hosting: This type distributes the load across multiple servers to reduce downtime; if one server goes down, another takes over its responsibility, so your website never stops running. Cloud hosting prices vary between $9.99 and $29.99.
To conclude, depending on the type and provider, hosting costs anywhere between $1.99 and $77.99 monthly.
3. SSL Certificates: $7 to $1,000/Year
SSL (secure socket layer) certificate is a security protocol that encrypts data transmitted between servers and clients, ensuring privacy and data protection. When your website has an SSL certificate, your web address starts with the HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) tag preceded by a small padlock icon.
Hosting providers usually include an SSL certificate in their offer, but you can also use a third-party SSL to get more security. There are three types of SSL certificates available:
- Extended Validation (EV SSL)
- Organization Validated (OV SSL)
- Domain Validated (DV SSL)
All SSL certificates provide the same encryption levels, but the screening and verification procedures required to obtain the certificate can vary.
4. Premium Themes: $2 to $200/License
WordPress offers a wide range of free and premium themes, allowing you to choose depending on the aesthetic you’re aiming for and your business needs. Premium themes range from $2 to $200 per license. Within both categories, you can browse the most popular or latest themes and sort them by specific features, layouts, or the type of website they're designed for.
It is important to note that free WordPress themes are not necessarily inferior to paid ones — both undergo quality assurance from the WordPress team. However, paid themes offer advanced functionality, regular updates, and 24/7 support, which can be crucial for more demanding websites.
5. Premium Plugins: $5 to $1,000 - One-Time or Ongoing Fee
WordPress plugins are software that adds new functionalities or expands existing features of WordPress websites. These come in three categories:
- Free plugins: These come at no cost but have fewer features than paid versions.
- Freemium plugins: These provide basic features for free, but advanced functionalities require a purchase.
- Premium plugins: These offer many features, regular updates, and customer support.
Freemium and premium plugins typically cost between $5 and $1,000. They come with different pricing models, such as one-time charges or yearly memberships.
6. Website Design and Maintenance: $50 to $300 Per Hour
Website design and maintenance are vital expenses to consider when building a WordPress website. Estimated costs include web development, which can be performed by freelancers or agencies. Although website design can be a one-time expense, its price will vary depending on the team who performs it:
- Freelancer: $50 to $100 per hour
- Agency: $150 to $300 per hour
The same goes for WordPress website maintenance:
- Freelancer: $30 to $80 per hour
- Agency: $100 to $200 per hour
The total cost of a WordPress website depends on its size and required functionality. A personal blog or small business website generally costs less than a large eCommerce store or enterprise-level website.
Is WordPress Worth It?
Yes, WordPress is worth its price. It’s versatile, SEO-friendly, and cost-effective. Here are a few more key reasons for its popularity, alongside other WordPress benefits, such as:
- Versatility: The WordPress platform allows you to create simple blogs or complex eCommerce websites. Thanks to its many features and plugins, you can expand and adjust your website according to your business needs.
- SEO-friendliness: WordPress’ structure enhances SEO efforts, and as a result, helps you rank higher in SERPs and drive traffic to your website.
- Cost-effectiveness: For basic needs, creating a WordPress website can be free. However, if your requirements are more demanding, premium options allow you to access advanced features. Moreover, you can add numerous plugins for more functionality and tailor the final price to fit your budget.
However, despite its advantages, WordPress also has a few downsides to consider:
- Each feature typically requires installing a particular plugin. Many plugins are available, but some can slow your website down.
- Although WordPress’ security constantly evolves, the platform remains a target for hacker attacks.
- Although you control all the premium features expenses, WordPress websites require constant maintenance, which can incur additional monthly costs.
WordPress Alternatives
WordPress is the most popular CMS, but even the best solutions may not be suitable for everyone. Some WordPress alternatives can do more for certain types of websites.
When deciding on a platform for your website, consider its intended use and customization needs and your available budget and technical knowledge — or simply ask a professional WordPress development agency for an evaluation.
Regardless, here are our top five picks:
1. Drupal
The Drupal CMS is primarily used to create websites for international businesses, government, and educational institutions. WordPress and Drupal together occupy 60% of CMS marketing share. Drupal is free, but users must pay for the site’s domain registration and hosting.
2. Joomla
Joomla is a self-hosted, open-source CMS suitable for all website types. It provides 70 language translations, more than 8,000 extensions, flexible designs, and advanced security features. Joomla is free, but you’ll have to pay for the domain name and web hosting since it is a self-hosted platform.
3. Wix
This hosted website builder is suitable for beginners since it doesn't require coding knowledge. It provides eCommerce functionalities and is ideal for small online businesses. Personal and professional website plans cost between $4.50 and $26 per month, while Business and eCommerce plans cost from $17 to $35 per month.
4. Squarespace
This website builder is popular for its visually appealing template designs. It combines blogging and eCommerce features with built-in marketing tools and a video studio. Squarespace doesn't have a free plan. It offers four paid versions: Personal at $16, Business at $26, Basic Commerce at $35, and Advanced Commerce at $54 per month.
5. Shopify
This is a website builder tailored for Commerce stores. Besides eCommerce functionalities, it supports drop shipping, allows blogging, and has attractive mobile-responsive themes. Shopify doesn't have a free version. It has three plans: Basic Shopify for $29, Shopify for $79, and Advanced Shopify for $299 per month.
WordPress Cost Final Thoughts
So, how much does WordPress cost? As you’ve seen, it can be free, but it can also cost you thousands of dollars, depending on your business requirements.
When building a WordPress website, start with the basic features and free themes and use as many free plugins as possible. Once your website gains visibility or you end up needing to scale, you can upgrade using premium features and templates.
Now that you have an estimated cost of creating a WordPress website, you can start planning your budget and take action — either alone or with the assistance of a WordPress web design agency.
