WordPress.org vs WordPress.com

As a WordPress beginner, one might have a hard time differentiating between WordPress.com and WordPress.org, which in turn leads to difficulty in picking the right one for themselves. So here we will be briefly discussing the pros and cons of both the earlier mentioned domains so as to make you easy to pick one.

Hosting

WordPress.com
The hosting is done by WordPress.com itself, it provides free hosting up to 3 GB under WordPress.com sub-domain. However you can upgrade to their premium hosting and also switch to a custom domain but remember not everything comes free.

WordPress.org
Since, it supports independent hosting you can get the hosting and domain from any server providers unlike WordPress.com. This means you have lots of options which probably will save you some dough.

Customization

WordPress.com
It provides various free and premium themes in its repository,you can choose among them to build up you site but the theme code and css cannot be modified, however it provides custom design for its premium users.

WordPress.org
This is the area where WordPress.org leaves WordPress.com far behind. Here you can choose among the thousands of themes and plugins and you can also upload your own custom themes and plugin. Customizing the theme codes and css is not a barrier at all.So go out there and get your hands dirty.

Maintenance/Security

WordPress.com
Backups,optimization,security and maintenance all are handled by the WordPress.com, here, I believe the WordPress.com wins the race.
No need of manual update of the themes,plugins or WordPress when new version are released.

WordPress.org
Because of the independent hosting, you alone are responsible for all the maintenance and security of your site.
That means timely backup, optimization, dealing with spams and threats is your problem now.

With great freedom comes great responsibility.

Advertisement

WordPress.com
You cannot add any advertisement on your own site unless your site gets 25k page views per month and WordPress.com takes away half of the revenue from the advertisement. WordAds is the official advertising program and you cannot choose a third party advertising solutions like Google AdSense, OpenX, Lijit, BuySellAds and Vibrant Media.
In the other hand, WordPress.com will display ads on your site so you need to pay $29.97/year for no advertising feature if you want to get rid if them.

WordPress.org
Here you own your website, display as many advertisements you can from any advertising solutions and you don’t need to split the earnings with anyone. Similarly nobody can showcase any ads in your site other than you, paying for not showcasing somebody else’s ad in your site…….well that’s silly!!!!!

Traffic

WordPress.com
Posts from your site may be featured by the WordPress.com in blogs of the day section. WordPress.com as a network is pretty huge so this will get you extra traffic in your site.

WordPress.org
This is independent, so no chance of featuring your posts that means no extra traffic.

Why pick WordPress.com??

• I don’t want my custom domain and I don’t need more space.
• I am happy with whats already there and I don’t need customization.
• I don’t want to do the hard work, instead I would pay for it.

Why pick WordPress.org??

• I need my own domain and I need more space to store more photos and videos.
• I want my site to be unique and willing to customize.
• I am willing to do the hard work if it means freedom and less money.