Publii vs WordPress.com (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick WordPress.com: it is first in our ranking of website and landing page builders, and it grades higher too, 3.4 against 2.8.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Publii grades higher on the free plan. WordPress.com grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
WordPress.com
Hosted WordPress with themes, plugins and a free plan
Which one is for you
Pick Publii if
- Fits if you want a free site editor and already have or will pick a host
- Works for people who like keeping site files on their own computer
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: you must arrange and pay for your own hosting
- Watch out: premium themes and plugins are paid extras
- Not for you if you need shop, login or database features, as the output is static
- Tight if several people edit one site, as content lives on one computer
Pick WordPress.com if
- Fits if you blog a lot and want WordPress without looking after a server
- Works for developers who want SSH, WP-CLI and Git on managed hosting, on Business at $25
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you pay monthly, since Personal is $9 a month against $4 billed yearly, with no free domain
- Pricey if you want real-time backups and developer access, which start on Business at $25 a month
- Tight if you're staying free, as visitors see ads, plugins are locked and storage is 1 GB
- Watch out: payment buttons need Premium at $8, and a full store needs Commerce at $45 a month billed yearly
- Watch out: the desktop app, WordPress Studio, only builds sites locally; managing on the go means the separate Jetpack app
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAPubliiGood | 3.4GPAWordPress.comVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe app is free and open source, with unlimited sites and no account, against a category where the cheaper quarter pays $6.75 a month; hosting is extra. | APersonal is $4 a month for one site on yearly billing ($9 monthly), with your own domain, no ads and plugin installs. That's under 60% of this category's cheapest quarter ($5.40). Payment buttons need Premium at $8. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with no cap on sites and no sign-up. | CFree with no time limit, with unlimited pages and posts, but it's on a wordpress.com address with 1 GB of storage, WordPress.com ads shown to your visitors and no plugins. Fine for a hobby blog, not a business. |
| Features | COffline editing, several editors, many publishing targets and a WordPress importer, but static output only, with no database or hosted multi-user editor. | AEvery paid plan can install any of more than 60,000 plugins, which no other builder here offers. Add themes, the block editor, WooCommerce on Commerce, and SSH, WP-CLI and GitHub deployments on Business, and it covers the whole job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you pick a theme, build the site and set up your own host. | B4.62 from about 22,300 App Store ratings. The AI builder gets a site going through a chat, but with plugins and themes in the mix there's more to choose and set than in a closed builder. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWindows, Mac and Linux desktop only, with publishing links to GitHub Pages, Netlify and S3. | AWeb, iPhone and Android, plus WordPress Studio on Mac, Windows and Linux for building sites locally. Plugins add more connections, alongside WooCommerce, Jetpack, PayPal, Stripe and GitHub. |
| Best for | a free desktop app that makes static sites | WordPress without running your own server |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Publii and WordPress.com. How we grade
Price against what you get
Publii has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. WordPress.com starts at $4 a month and scores 3.7.
WordPress.com scores higher, and starts $4 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other website and landing page builders on the chart, none scores higher than Publii for less, and none scores higher than WordPress.com for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Publii is open source, according to its own site.
- Publii also covers Markdown.
- WordPress.com also covers email campaigns.
At a glance
| Publii | WordPress.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $4 per site / month, billed yearly ($9 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | a wordpress.com subdomain, 1 GB of storage, unlimited pages and posts and 7 days of basic stats. Visitors see WordPress.com ads, and plugins need a paid plan. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | TidyCustoms | Automattic Inc. |
| Price read from | getpublii.com | wordpress.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Publii
- You must arrange and pay for your own hosting; the app only generates the files.
- Premium themes and plugins on the Publii marketplace are paid extras.
- The published site is static, with no database or PHP behind it, so dynamic features need outside services.
- Content is edited on one computer; there is no hosted multi-user editor.
WordPress.com
- The free plan shows WordPress.com ads to visitors and cannot use a custom domain or plugins.
- Monthly billing costs more than double the yearly rate on Personal and Premium and does not include the free first-year domain.
- Backups, developer tools and priority support start on Business at $25 a month billed yearly.
- The desktop app, WordPress Studio, is for building sites locally; site management on the go uses the Jetpack mobile app.
Key features
Publii
- Offline desktop editing
- Write and change settings without a connection or cloud account; files stay on your computer until you publish.
- Three editors
- Compose posts with a block editor, a WYSIWYG toolbar or a Markdown editor, depending on how you prefer to write.
- Many publishing targets
- Publish to GitHub Pages, GitLab Pages, Netlify, Amazon S3, Google Cloud, FTP or SFTP, or export a folder of files.
- WordPress importer
- Brings in posts, pages, images, authors and menus from a WordPress export file, with a report listing unresolved links.
- SEO, privacy and AI-crawler tools
- Sitemaps, feeds, JSON-LD data and cookie controls are built in; plugins add an llms.txt file and AI crawler rules.
- Unlimited sites per app
- Each site has its own content, settings and publishing destination, with no per-site fee for the application.
WordPress.com
- Themes and the block editor
- Sites are built from free and premium themes in the WordPress block editor, with unlimited pages, posts and users on every plan.
- Plugins on every paid plan
- Personal and above can install any of more than 60,000 plugins from the marketplace or upload one directly. The free plan cannot.
- AI site builder and assistant
- A guided builder creates a site through a chat, within usage limits. Business and Commerce add the WordPress AI Assistant for content, design and site management.
- Managed hosting and security
- Every plan includes a global CDN, SSL, a firewall, malware removal and managed updates. Real-time backups and one-click restores start on Business.
- Developer access
- Business and Commerce add SFTP and SSH, WP-CLI, Git commands and GitHub deployments. WordPress Studio, a free desktop app, runs WordPress sites locally.
- WooCommerce store
- Commerce bundles WooCommerce extensions for unlimited products, upsells, bulk discounts and inventory, and accepts 135+ currencies.
Plans
Publii
Publii app$0
Free, open-source desktop app; unlimited sites with no per-site fee and no account needed.
WordPress.com
Free$0
A wordpress.com subdomain, 1 GB of storage and basic stats, with WordPress.com ads shown to visitors.
Personal$4
per site / month, billed yearly ($9 billed monthly)
6 GB of storage, no ads, all premium themes, plugin installs and the AI site builder. $2.75 a month if paid every 3 years.
Premium$8
per site / month, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly)
13 GB of storage, premium stats with UTM tracking, PayPal and Stripe payment buttons and video uploads. $5.50 a month if paid every 3 years.
Business$25
per site / month, billed yearly ($40 billed monthly)
50 GB, priority support, SFTP/SSH, WP-CLI and GitHub deployments, real-time backups, VideoPress and email marketing to 500 subscribers.
Commerce$45
per site / month, billed yearly ($70 billed monthly)
Everything in Business plus WooCommerce store extensions, abandoned-cart emails and selling in 60+ countries with no transaction fee.
EnterpriseCustom
WordPress VIP hosting for large organizations, priced through sales.
Ways to pay less
Publii
No public discounts listed.
WordPress.com
- Annual discount
Pay yearly to save 35% to 55% over monthly
Personal is $4 a month billed yearly against $9 monthly; Premium $8 against $18; Business $25 against $40; Commerce $45 against $70.
- Other savings
Pay every 2 or 3 years for a lower monthly rate
Paying every 3 years brings Personal to $2.75 a month ($99), Premium to $5.50 ($198), Business to $17.50 ($630) and Commerce to $31.50 ($1,134).
- Other savings
Free domain for the first year
Yearly and multi-year paid plans include a custom domain such as .com, .net or .org free for the first year. Monthly plans do not.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Publii or WordPress.com?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Publii is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $4 a month for WordPress.com. Publii is free, and WordPress.com starts at $4 per site / month, billed yearly ($9 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Publii or WordPress.com?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Publii and WordPress.com have a free plan.
Which platforms do Publii and WordPress.com run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only WordPress.com lists a web app and iOS and Android apps. Both list macOS, Windows and Linux apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.