This is how much a WordPress website costs – hosting included

Are you toying with the idea of starting your own WordPress website? That’s a great idea! But before you get started, you’re probably wondering: How much will it actually cost me? Don’t worry, in this article we’ll take a look at the various expenses you may incur – from WordPress hosting costs to themes and plugins. This will give you an overview right from the start and help you plan better.

Is a WordPress website free of charge?

A WordPress website can be operated both free of charge and for a fee. To answer this question, you should first ask yourself how much customisation you need – for example in terms of design or functions. And how much control you want to have over the technical infrastructure of your site. Depending on your requirements, either the hosted solution from WordPress (WordPress.com) or the self-hosted version (WordPress.org) may be more suitable for you. First things first: With the hosted solution from WordPress.com – especially the free plan – you have to reckon with considerable restrictions. For example, you can’t have your own domain. This means that the URL of your website would be [wunschname].wordpress.com.

Digression: What is the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?

The difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org lies in the hosting of the website and significantly influences how you can create, customise and manage your website. This has a corresponding effect on the costs you incur.

WordPress.com (hosted)

WordPress.com is ideal for beginners who are looking for a simple, low-administration solution and don’t need any complex customisations. This is a ready-made WordPress website including hosting on the WordPress.com servers.

With the free plan , you can run your site on a subdomain such as “mypage.wordpress.com”. However, there are considerable restrictions, such as third-party advertising on your site, limited customisation options and a limited selection of themes and plugins. This option is therefore not suitable for companies, but rather for private individuals with small blogs or websites.

WordPress.com also offers paid plans, ranging from €4 per month for a personal plan to €45 for an e-commerce plan (as of August 2024). These plans include an ad-free custom domain (e.g. “mypage.com”), more storage space, advanced customisation options and a larger selection of plugins and themes.

Advantages and disadvantages of WordPress.com

• Website management (updates, security, backups) is outsourced
• Advertising on your own website (in the free tariff)
• No control over the source code
• No control over the technical infrastructure (e.g. server management, security, backups)
• Limited customisation options for free and low-cost plans (e.g. scaling/connection of a shop)

WordPress.org (self-hosted)

If you want to run a professional website, blog or shop, we recommend WordPress.org. Here you can download the “WordPress” software for free , but you are responsible for hosting and domain registration yourself, both of which are usually subject to a fee .

Advantages and disadvantages of WordPress.org

• Full control over the technical infrastructure (e.g. server management, security, backups)
• Full control over the source code and extensive customisation options
• Great flexibility in the customisation and installation of themes and plugins
• Personal responsibility with regard to security, updates, backups and maintenance of the site

In the following, we will take a closer look at the costs for WordPress.org.

The cost components: What does a WordPress website cost?

If you opt for WordPress.org, you can download WordPress for free, but you host your website yourself or with a hosting provider and have to register a domain. You also have optional costs for premium themes, plugins and other services (e.g. security, maintenance, development, design, text, etc.).

Mandatory costs

Premium tariffs, which are well suited to large websites, shops or websites with high traffic, can cost between €70 and €1,000 per month. These offer maximum performance, extended security functions, CDN integration, extended staging environments and optimised server environments.

How expensive is a domain?

The costs for a WordPress domain are between 10 and 20 euros per year for common endings such as .com, .net or .de. However, specialised or new TLDs such as .blog, .online or .shop can be more expensive. Particularly sought-after premium domains can cost considerably more. It may also be the case that your desired domain is already taken and you have to buy it from the current domain holder. In addition to the domain itself, there may be costs for registration or renewal.

Optional costs

What does a professional WordPress theme cost?

A theme determines the general design of your website and offers functions and elements with which you can customise the appearance to your liking. In the WordPress library, you will find a variety of free themes that you can install and try out with just one click. In addition to these free options, there are also paid themes that often cost between €20 and €200, depending on their complexity. You can expect to pay significantly more for customised themes.

How much do WordPress plugins cost?

Many WordPress themes already include a number of basic functions as standard. However, plugins are often required for additional functions such as contact forms, SEO optimisation or cookie banners. Plugins are available both free of charge and for a fee. In the case of paid offers, either one-off costs or ongoing subscription fees may apply.

What are the prices for external service providers (e.g. development, design, text, marketing)?

Depending on which additional services you would like to utilise, further costs may arise. For example, many website owners need support with topics such as WordPress setup including plugins and themes, GDPR, SEO and marketing or maintenance. My research shows that hourly rates for freelancers in the field of software development are often around €100-150. For areas such as design, copywriting and marketing, you can expect slightly lower costs.

Conclusion

To calculate the WordPress costs per year, you first need to decide whether you want to use WordPress.com (hosted) or WordPress.org (self-hosted). WordPress.com is the preferred choice for beginners who are looking for a simple, low-administration solution and don’t have any major customisation requirements. For professional websites, blogs or shops, however, we recommend WordPress.org (self-hosted).