WordPress.com Free Plan: Features and Limits

WordPress.com presents the Free plan as a way to start with a free, one-of-a-kind website and then move to a paid plan to grow, sell or add features. The plan carries no expiration date and is described on the comparison page as free forever. It includes unlimited pages, posts, users and visitors, so there are no caps on content or traffic. An account is created with an email address, and no coding or design experience is required.

• Free to start, no expiration date
• Unlimited pages, posts, users and visitors
• Account created with an email address only
• Positioned as the starting point below the Personal plan

The Free plan starts with 1 GB of storage space, which WordPress.com describes as enough to upload almost any kind of media to share with an audience or customers. Storage can be increased by upgrading: the Personal plan includes 6 GB, Premium 13 GB and Business 50 GB. Media of different types, including photos and audio, can be managed within the site.

• 1 GB storage on the Free plan
• 6 GB with Personal, 13 GB with Premium, 50 GB with Business

The Free plan comes with Jetpack essential features, including basic SEO, site statistics and social media sharing. It also includes dozens of designs and drag-and-drop layouts for customising a site. Monetisation is available from the start through paid subscriptions and gated content, with processing fees that fall on paid plans. Jetpack Newsletter is included on all plans with unlimited organic subscribers and unlimited sends, though importing subscribers is limited to 100 on the free plan.

• Jetpack essentials: basic SEO, site statistics, social sharing
• Dozens of designs and drag-and-drop layouts
• Paid subscriptions and gated content
• Jetpack Newsletter with unlimited organic subscribers and sends
• Subscriber import limited to 100 on the free plan

Sites on the Free plan run on WordPress.com hosting spread across more than 28 data centres worldwide, with automatic updates and spam protection. Support on the Free plan comes from the user forums, while paid plans add support from the WordPress.com Happiness team. Free sites display WordPress.com ads to visitors; these are turned off by upgrading to the Personal plan or higher. Content can be imported or exported from WordPress.com sites.

• Hosting across 28+ data centres
• Automatic updates and spam protection
• User forum support on the Free plan
• WordPress.com ads shown to visitors of free sites
• Import and export of content supported

WordPress.com lists the Free plan alongside its paid tiers so users can move up as their needs change. The Personal plan adds a free domain for one year, an ad-free site, dozens of premium themes and support from the Happiness team. Premium adds all premium themes, premium stats and analytics, payment buttons and video uploads, while Business adds 50 GB of storage and 24/7 priority expert support. Paid plans can be billed monthly or over 12, 24 or 36 months.

• Personal: free domain for one year, no visitor ads, free support
• Premium: all premium themes, premium stats, payment buttons, video uploads
• Business: 50 GB storage, 24/7 priority support
• Yearly, two-year and three-year billing options available