WooCommerce vs WordPress.com
We give WooCommerce a 2.2 GPA and WordPress.com a 3.4, out of 4.0. WooCommerce grades higher on the free plan. WordPress.com grades higher on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
WooCommerce
Free, open-source store plugin for WordPress that you host yourself
WordPress.com
Hosted WordPress with themes, plugins and a free plan
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAWooCommerceFair | 3.4GPAWordPress.comVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe plugin is free, but a store needs hosting, which Woo puts at $25 to $350 a month, plus paid extensions at $29 to $299 a year each. So call it $25 a month and up, the ordinary middle here. Woo takes no fee on sales, whichever payment provider you use. | 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, which is still only $8. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe whole plugin is free and open source, with unlimited products and orders and no revenue share, so one person could run a shop on it for years. It isn't an A because a live store can't run without paid hosting. | CFree for good 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 | CProducts, carts, checkout and orders are all in the free core, any payment provider works, and the app takes payments in person. But a lot sits in extensions, many of them paid, and shipping labels come through outside services such as ShipStation or Shippo. | AEvery paid plan can install any of more than 60,000 plugins, which no other builder here matches. Add themes, the block editor, WooCommerce on Commerce, and SSH, WP-CLI and GitHub deployments on Business, and it covers the whole job and then some. |
| Ease of use | DYou host it yourself: WordPress, a web host, and updates, backups and security on you or your host. The phone app's 4.75 from about 7,800 App Store ratings is for running orders once the store is up, not for getting it up. | 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 | BWeb, plus a free iPhone and Android app, with Stripe, ShipStation, Shippo, Easyship, Klaviyo, Google, TikTok and Pinterest, and no cap on API use. No desktop app, so B is the ceiling. | AWeb, iPhone and Android, plus WordPress Studio on Mac, Windows and Linux for building sites locally. Plugins connect it to almost anything, alongside WooCommerce, Jetpack, PayPal, Stripe and GitHub. |
| Best for | adding a store to a WordPress site | 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: WooCommerce and WordPress.com. How we grade
Where they differ
- Only WordPress.com lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- WooCommerce is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- WooCommerce also covers online store.
- WordPress.com also covers templates, no-code and email campaigns.
At a glance
| WooCommerce | WordPress.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $4 per site / month, billed yearly ($9 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | The WooCommerce plugin is free and open source, with unlimited products and orders and no revenue share. Hosting, paid extensions and payment processing cost extra. | 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 | WooCommerce, Inc. | Automattic Inc. |
| Price read from | woocommerce.com | wordpress.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
WooCommerce
- WordPress sites that want to add a store
- Sellers who want to own their code and data and pick their own host
- Developers and agencies building custom stores for clients
WordPress.com
- Bloggers and writers who want WordPress without running a server
- Sites that need a specific WordPress plugin or theme
- Developers who want SSH, WP-CLI and Git on managed hosting
Worth knowing
WooCommerce
- You need WordPress and web hosting from a provider you choose; Woo puts hosting for most stores at $25 to $350 a month.
- Many features come as paid extensions, which Woo says cost $29 to $299 a year each.
- Card fees depend on the processor; Woo gives about 2.5% to 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction for its own WooPayments.
- Because the store runs on your own hosting, updates, backups and security fall to you or your host.
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
WooCommerce
- Open-source WordPress plugin
- Adds a store to a WordPress site. The code is open source, so the store can be changed freely, and products, orders and API use are not capped.
- Any payment provider
- Use Woo's own WooPayments or any other gateway or buy-now-pay-later service, run several at once, and pay no extra fee to Woo for using a third-party processor.
- Extensions and themes
- Hundreds of extensions and themes in Woo's marketplace add features such as subscriptions, wholesale pricing and marketing tools, many of them paid.
- Shipping integrations
- Live carrier rates, label printing, tracking and returns come through integrations such as ShipStation, Shippo and Easyship, which are free to download.
- Mobile app and in-person sales
- The free WooCommerce app for iOS and Android manages products and orders and takes payments in person with Tap to Pay or a Woo card reader.
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
WooCommerce
WooCommerce$0
The free, open-source WordPress plugin, which you host yourself on a provider you choose. No monthly subscription, platform fee or revenue share.
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
WooCommerce
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.
