wordpress pricing explained: what it really costs in 2025

Core software vs real-world spend

WordPress itself is free, but the price you actually pay comes from infrastructure and choices. Expect to budget for hosting, a domain, themes, plugins, and occasionally expert help. Costs swing widely because performance needs, traffic, and branding standards differ from one site to another.

Typical budgets

A hobby blog can live on $0–10 per month. A growing site usually lands around $15–40. Serious business builds, especially ecommerce, often sit between $50–200+ monthly, depending on speed, uptime guarantees, and support. Don’t forget backups, security, a CDN, and transactional email.

• Hosting: shared $3–10, managed $20–40, VPS $30–100+ per month
• Domain: $10–20 per year
• Themes: free, or $59–99 one-time/subscription
• Plugins: freemium; premium often $29–199 per year
• Services: maintenance and development vary by scope and expertise

Ways to save

Start lean, prefer reputable managed hosts, bundle email and SSL, use annual billing discounts, avoid plugin sprawl, and test free alternatives. Factor renewals, VAT, and currency exchange. Compare WordPress.com to self-hosted to match support and control.

Budgeting advice

1. Define goals and expected traffic.
2. Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves.
3. Forecast 12-month total cost of ownership.
4. Plan for growth, migrations, and exit costs.
5. Track renewals to prevent surprises.