WordPress Pricing, Actually Explained
The advertised price, the fine print, and the hours nobody counts.
WordPress spans from $4/mo hosted to thousands per year self-hosted with help. The software is free; the total cost lives in hosting tiers, premium plugins and the maintenance hours that never stop. It buys you the web's best ownership story, if you pay the upkeep.
WordPress plans in 2026
Prices move; these are the published numbers as of July 2026, worth re-checking on WordPress's own pricing page before you buy.
| Plan | Advertised price | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress.com Personal | $4/mo annual | No plugins pre-April 2026 era is over; still entry-level |
| WordPress.com Business | $25/mo annual | The realistic .com tier for businesses |
| Self-hosted lean | ~$150/yr | Shared hosting + free theme; you are the webmaster |
| Self-hosted realistic | $500-2,000+/yr | Managed hosting, premium plugins, maintenance help |
The fine print that changes the math: As of July 2026 WordPress.com runs $4 (Personal) to $45/mo (Commerce) with plugins now on all paid plans since April 2026, while self-hosted WordPress realistically runs $150/yr lean to $2,000+/yr with premium themes, plugins and maintenance, plus your time.
The cost nobody puts on the pricing page: your hours
WordPress is priced like software, but it consumes your time like a job. Budget the hours honestly: learning the editor, fighting layouts, writing every word of copy, sourcing images, making it work on mobile. For most owners that is 20 to 60 hours for a first site. At even $50 an hour of your time, the "cheap" plan costs $1,000 to $3,000 in labor you paid yourself, before the subscription.
That is the actual comparison with PISCES: Starter at $99/mo or Pro at $399/mo is more than WordPress's entry plans on the sticker, but the AI does the design, the copywriting and the structure in about 90 seconds, and you edit by typing instructions. You are not buying software; you are replacing the labor.
Side by side
| Feature | PISCES | WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free preview; paid from $99/mo | Software free; WordPress.com $4 to $45/mo; self-hosted $150 to $2,000+/yr realistic |
| Who does the work | The AI builds the whole site; you approve and edit in plain English | You build with themes and plugins, then maintain forever |
| Time to a finished site | About 90 seconds to a full preview | Days to months, skill dependent |
| Blog / CMS | Yes (Pro) | The best there is |
| E-commerce | Yes, Stripe checkout (Pro) | WooCommerce, powerful and heavy |
| Booking / scheduling | Yes, built in | Via plugins |
| AI edits in plain English | Yes, core feature | Add-on AI builders and assistants |
| Own your code (export) | Yes, full Next.js project zip on Pro | Total: the gold standard of portability |
| Best for | Business owners who want the site done for them, with code they own | Technical owners and content-heavy sites |
See your site rebuilt by AI, free
Paste your current website's URL and PISCES rebuilds it, 10x better, in about 90 seconds. Keep it only if you love it.
Get my free rebuild →Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to use WordPress?
WordPress.com Personal at $4/mo annual, or bare shared hosting near $5/mo self-hosted. Both leave you as the webmaster.
What does WordPress really cost per year?
A realistic self-hosted business site runs $500 to $2,000 per year across managed hosting, premium theme and plugins, and occasional professional help, before your own hours.
Is PISCES really free to try?
Yes. The free preview rebuilds your site (or builds one from scratch) with no credit card. You only pay if you keep it: Starter is $99/mo for a 5 page site with a custom domain, Pro is $399/mo with blog, CMS, lead forms with Stripe checkout and full code export.
Am I locked into PISCES the way I would be with a site builder?
No. On Pro and up you can download your entire site as a Next.js project zip and host it anywhere. Most website builders, including WordPress, never let you take working code with you. PISCES treats your site as code you own.