WordPress.com Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying
The WordPress.com free plan costs $0 forever: a subdomain, 1 GB of storage and unlimited posts, with ads shown and no plugins. Here is what it includes.
By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-10T19:35:18+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-10T19:35:18+00:00
WordPress.com Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying
The WordPress.com free plan costs $0 and never expires. You get a yoursite.wordpress.com address, 1 GB of storage, and unlimited pages and posts. WordPress.com shows its own ads to your visitors. You cannot install plugins or use a custom domain. This guide explains exactly what the free plan includes, what it blocks, and when the $4 a month Personal plan is worth it.
WordPress.com free plan: what you get
The free plan gives you a WordPress.com subdomain, 1 GB of storage, unlimited pages and posts, and basic stats for the last 7 days. Hosting is included. You do not need to buy hosting separately. Every plan, including free, comes with a global CDN, SSL, DDoS protection, brute-force protection, and managed WordPress updates. You also get newsletter tools and paid subscriber features. The free plan suits a hobby blog, a class project, or a test before you buy. It is a real site you can publish on. It is not a time-limited trial. The plan stays free for as long as you use it.
WordPress.com free plan limits that matter
The limits are clear. First, the address. Your site lives at yoursite.wordpress.com. You cannot use a custom domain as your primary address on the free plan. Second, the ads. WordPress.com shows its own ads to your visitors. You cannot remove them without paying. Third, storage. You get 1 GB. That covers text and a modest number of images. It does not cover a media-heavy site. Fourth, plugins. The free plan does not include plugin installation. You use the built-in features only. Fifth, themes. You can use dozens of free themes. Premium themes need a paid plan. Sixth, stats. You see basic traffic stats for the last 7 days only. Seventh, payments. You can take payments and paid subscribers on the free plan. But the transaction fee is 10% plus processing. That fee falls on paid plans.
WordPress.com paid plans compared
| Plan | Price, billed yearly | Storage | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 GB | Subdomain site, WordPress.com ads shown |
| Personal | $4 per month | 6 GB | Custom domain free for year 1, no ads, plugins, premium themes |
| Premium | $8 per month | 13 GB | Premium themes, payments tools, Google Analytics |
| Business | $25 per month | 50 GB | SFTP and SSH, WP-CLI, staging, backups, VideoPress |
| Commerce | $45 per month | 50 GB | Full ecommerce tools, 0% transaction fee |
Prices are the yearly-billing rates in US dollars, before tax. Monthly billing costs more. Personal costs $9 a month on monthly billing. The list prices are $9, $18, $40, and $70 a month, with promotional discounts applied on yearly billing. Renewal rates differ from first-year rates, so check the checkout page. Annual and multi-year paid plans include a free custom domain for the first year. Monthly plans do not.
The plugin change that reshaped the plans
On April 2, 2026, WordPress.com opened plugins and theme uploads to every paid plan. Before that, plugins needed the Business plan. Now Personal includes them. That change makes Personal the real starting line for most people. For $4 a month billed yearly, you get a custom domain, no ads, 6 GB of storage, premium themes, and plugins. The transaction fee on payments drops from 10% on Free to 8% on Personal. It falls further on higher plans: 4% on Premium, 2% on Business, and 0% on Commerce. The free plan is still the only way to try WordPress.com without paying. But the gap between free and Personal is now one clear step, not a ladder.
When to upgrade from the WordPress.com free plan
Upgrade when any one of these is true. Your site needs your own domain name. A wordpress.com subdomain looks unfinished on a business or portfolio site. Your visitors should not see ads you did not choose. The ads also make a site look less professional. You need a plugin. Contact forms with extra features, SEO tools, and backup plugins all need a paid plan. Your storage is nearly full. 1 GB runs out fast with photos. You need stats beyond 7 days. A serious blog needs longer traffic history. You sell anything. A 10% transaction fee on the free plan eats your margin fast. If none of these apply, stay free. A personal blog, a school project, or a draft site works fine on the free plan. There is no pressure to upgrade until the limits bite.
Bottom line
The WordPress.com free plan gives you a real, hosted site for $0: a subdomain, 1 GB of storage, unlimited pages and posts, and 7 days of basic stats. The price is ads on your site, no plugins, and no custom domain. Personal at $4 a month billed yearly removes all three limits and adds plugins. That is the cheapest step up, and for most people it is the right one. Start free, publish a few posts, and upgrade when the limits get in your way.