How Much a WordPress Website Costs: Year One and Renewal
Short answer, in US dollars, for a self-hosted WordPress site: a hobby blog costs $46.76 to $154.72 in the first year and $130.76 to $226.96 at renewal; a small business site costs $266.56 to $374.52 and $214.76 to $310.96; an online store costs $265.76 to $580.08 and $130.76 to $226.96. Each sum uses only dollar prices from vendor pages read on October 30 and 31, 2026, and a renewal sum counts only items whose page states a renewal price, so it can understate the bill. The tables below show what each scenario includes and what it leaves out.
Alston AntonyUpdated
Price by plan
First year is what you pay in the first 12 months. Renewal is the cost of 12 months at the price the vendor lists for renewal. Every row links to the vendor's own pricing page and shows the date we checked it. All amounts are in USD.
| Product | Plan and billing term | First year or prepaid term | Renewal, per year | Included | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress.comHosted WordPress | FreeNo expiration dateShown as US$0 with the words No expiration date. The page does not state a renewal price for this plan. Prices on the page are in US$ and marked excl. taxes. | $0 | Not stated by the vendor | 1 GB storage. Per the page FAQ, plugin installation is not included and there is no custom domain. | Pricing page | |
| WordPress.comHosted WordPress | Personal12 months, billed every 12 monthsThe yearly toggle shows US$4 a month (save 55%). 12 times US$4 is $48; the page gives per-month figures, so $48 is my arithmetic. The renewal line states $5 a month on the 12-month term, billed every 12 months, excl. taxes, which is 12 times $5, or $60. | $48 | $60 | 6 GB storage, plugin installation, free domain for one year | Pricing page | |
| WordPress.comHosted WordPress | Premium12 months, billed every 12 monthsThe yearly toggle shows US$8 a month (save 55%). 12 times US$8 is $96; the page gives per-month figures, so $96 is my arithmetic. The renewal line states $9 a month on the 12-month term, billed every 12 months, excl. taxes, which is 12 times $9, or $108. | $96 | $108 | 13 GB storage, plugin installation, free domain for one year | Pricing page | |
| WordPress.comHosted WordPress | Business12 months, billed every 12 monthsThe yearly toggle shows US$25 a month (save 37%). 12 times US$25 is $300; the page gives per-month figures, so $300 is my arithmetic. The renewal line states $28 a month on the 12-month term, billed every 12 months, excl. taxes, which is 12 times $28, or $336. | $300 | $336 | 50 GB storage, with add-ons listed up to 50 GB + 350 GB, plugin installation, free domain for one year | Pricing page | |
| WordPress.comHosted WordPress | Commerce12 months, billed every 12 monthsThe yearly toggle shows US$45 a month (save 35%). 12 times US$45 is $540; the page gives per-month figures, so $540 is my arithmetic. The renewal line states $50 a month on the 12-month term, billed every 12 months, excl. taxes, which is 12 times $50, or $600. | $540 | $600 | 50 GB storage, with add-ons listed up to 50 GB + 350 GB, plugin installation, free domain for one year | Pricing page | |
| DynadotDomain | .com registration1 yearThe page table lists Register (Price/1 year) $10.88, Renew $10.88 and Transfer $10.88 in USD. | $10.88 | $10.88 | Domain privacy listed as Yes; the page says: All domains include: Free Domain Privacy | Pricing page | |
| PorkbunDomain | .com registration1 yearThe price table lists registration $11.08, renewal $11.08 and transfer $11.08, in USD, for non-premium single-year terms. The .com page says: The price you see is the price you pay, year after year. | $11.08 | $11.08 | Free WHOIS privacy at no extra charge, per the page | Pricing page | |
| HostingerHosting | Premium, 12-month term12 months, paid upfrontThe page says: Today you pay $47.88 for 12 months. Renews at $10.99/mo for the same term. Twelve months at $10.99 is $131.88. Prices are listed without VAT. The page also carries Black Friday wording (Up to 82% off managed hosting for WordPress this Black Friday) on the same cards and states no end date, so it does not separate a Black Friday price from a regular intro price. | $47.88 | $131.88 | 3 websites, 20 GB SSD storage, free weekly backups, CDN, priority 24/7 expert support, domain free for 1 year | Pricing page | |
| HostingerHosting | Premium, 48-month term48 months, paid upfront$2.49 a month for 48 months is $119.52 paid today, which covers 48 months, not 12. The page says: Renews at $10.99/mo for the same term. Twelve months at $10.99 is $131.88; a renewal for the same 48-month term is 48 times $10.99, or $527.52. Prices are listed without VAT. | $119.52Paid upfront for 48 months, not 12 | $131.88 | 3 websites, 20 GB SSD storage, free weekly backups, CDN, priority 24/7 expert support, domain free for 1 year | Pricing page | |
| BluehostHosting | Starter36-month termUS view with the currency selector on USD: $3.99/mo, Save 60%, For 36 month term, Renews at $9.99/mo, VAT not included, GST not included. $3.99 a month for 36 months works out to $143.64, which covers 36 months, not 12; the page does not state the upfront total. Twelve months at $9.99 is $119.88. The page has Monthly and 1 Year price tabs that I did not read, so only the 36-month price is used here. | $143.64Paid upfront for 36 months, not 12 | $119.88 | 10 websites, 10 GB NVMe SSD storage, weekly website backups, WordPress staging site, 24/7 chat support, phone support not included, 30-day money-back guarantee | Pricing page | |
| SiteGroundHosting | StartUpPrepaid for 12 monthsUS view: $2.99/mo with $17.99 struck through and Save 83%, and the line Renews at $17.99/mo. Prepaid for 12 months. 12 times $2.99 is $35.88 and 12 times $17.99 is $215.88; the page does not state the upfront total in the text read. The renewal is $17.99 a month against the $2.99 first-term price. | $35.88 | $215.88 | From the EU page read October 30, 2026: 1 website, unlimited traffic, 10 GB storage, free SSL, CDN and backups, free site migrations. The US view's limits were not read. | Pricing page | |
| KinstaHosting | Business, Single 20GBAnnual billing, first month $0The page says: Pay $0 today, $350 after the first month, with annual billing described as two months free compared to paying monthly. It does not state a separate renewal price. Prices exclude tax and are in USD. | $350 | Not stated by the vendor | 1 WordPress install, 20GB bandwidth a month, 10GB storage, 125GB CDN bandwidth, 14 days of backups, 24/7 human support | Pricing page | |
| WP EngineHosting | EssentialBilled annuallyUSD view: $28.00 a month, Pay $336.00 today. The page defaulted to pounds in my browser and showed dollars after the currency selector was set to USD. It says: Product renewal pricing subject to change, and does not state a renewal price. | $336 | Not stated by the vendor | Daily automated backups, 1-click staging, global CDN, free SSL and SSH, 24/7 chat support. The 99.99% SLA, priority support and Git-based workflows are not included. The page does not state a site count. | Pricing page | |
| CloudwaysHosting | Flexible, DigitalOcean Standard, MicroPay as you go, hourly, capped at the monthly price$11 a month, billed at $0.0164 an hour and capped at the monthly price, so twelve months is at most $132 (12 times $11). The page states no intro term and no renewal price. Prices exclude applicable taxes. The default view on load was Premium, where Micro is $14 a month; this row is the Standard view. | $132 | Not stated by the vendor | 1GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 25GB SSD storage, 1TB transfer, unlimited websites. Automated backups are mandatory, with offsite storage billed at $0.033/GB. | Pricing page | |
| Astra Pro + AITheme | Astra Pro + AI, annualBilled annuallyThe page shows $99 /year with $149 struck through, and Renews at $149 /yr. The refund and inclusions wording below was read October 30, 2026: the footnote Special introductory pricing, all renewals are at full price, and a 14-day money-back guarantee. Astra is made by Brainstorm Force. | $99 | $149 | Use on up to 3 websites. The page says the plan includes the Astra Pro addon, AI site generation, 1 hosted site and a free domain for the first year. | Pricing page | |
| Kadence themeTheme | Theme on WordPress.orgNo billing term statedThe page says: This theme is free but offers additional paid commercial upgrades or support. It lists version 1.5.2, last updated July 24, 2026, and 500,000+ active installations. The page states no renewal price, and the paid upgrades are not priced here. | $0 | Not stated by the vendor | The theme from the WordPress.org directory. Paid upgrades and support are sold separately and are not in this row. | Pricing page | |
| Gravity FormsForm plugin | Basic LicenseBilled per yearThe page lists $59 /per year, 1 Site, Standard Support. It does not state a renewal price, a currency code or refund terms; it only links a Refund policy. Pro is $159 for 3 sites and Elite is $259 for unlimited sites, each per year. | $59 | Not stated by the vendor | 1 site, standard support. The Basic license lists the HubSpot, Mailchimp, Active Campaign and Campaign Monitor add-ons. | Pricing page | |
| Yoast SEO PremiumSEO plugin | PremiumPer yearThe page says Only $118.80/ year (ex VAT). Extra seats are $5 (excl. VAT) per month each. The page does not state a renewal price. | $118.80 | Not stated by the vendor | The earlier October 30 read said one subscription covers one site or domain. | Pricing page | |
| Jetpack SecuritySecurity and backup plugin | SecurityPer month for the first year, billed yearlyThe page says Now $9.95, regularly $19.95/mo, per month for the first year, billed yearly. 12 times $9.95 is $119.40. The page does not use the word renewal in the text read; I read the regular price as what follows the first year, and 12 times $19.95 is $239.40. | $119.40 | $239.40 | The October 30 read listed Backup, Scan and Akismet under Security, and a refund within 14 days for yearly plans. Each site needs its own paid subscription. | Pricing page | |
| WordfenceSecurity plugin | PremiumPer yearThe page lists Wordfence Premium at $149 USD per year, Wordfence Free as Free and Wordfence Care at $590 USD per year. The page does not state a renewal price. | $149 | Not stated by the vendor | Site limits and features were not read. | Pricing page | |
| UpdraftPlus PremiumBackup plugin | PersonalPer yearThe page lists $70.00 / year for up to 2 sites. The page says subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled and does not state a renewal price. It has a Show prices without VAT control, and the text read does not say whether the amount includes tax. Higher tiers: $95.00 for 10 sites, $145.00 for 35 sites, $195.00 for unlimited sites, $399.00 for unlimited sites with storage and staging. | $70 | Not stated by the vendor | Up to 2 sites. The page lists a 14-day money-back guarantee and a line saying refunds are considered particularly if made within the first 10 days. | Pricing page | |
| Google WorkspaceBusiness email | Business Starter, 1 userPer user per month, intro price for 12 monthsThe page lists $7.00 per user per month and an introductory $3.50 per user per month. Its footnote says: Offer available to new Google Workspace customers only. This introductory price is only available for the first 20 users added, for 12 months. Standard pricing will apply to all users after 12 months. For one user, 12 times $3.50 is $42 and 12 times $7.00 is $84. The page says the price does not include tax. | $42 | $84 | 30 GB pooled storage per user, custom business email per the October 30 read | Pricing page |
Three budget scenarios
Each scenario adds only rows from the price table above. A first-year sum adds firstYear amounts. A renewal sum adds 12 months at each stated renewal price and leaves out any item whose page states none, so a renewal sum can understate the real bill.
The item set for each scenario is a budgeting frame for that kind of site, not a recommendation. Two host rows cover more than 12 months of first-year cash, Hostinger on 48 months and Bluehost on 36 months, and a range that ends on Bluehost includes a 36-month prepayment. Astra Pro + AI is a row in the table for information and is in no scenario.
| Scenario | Included | First-year sum, or upfront payment | Renewal sum | Left out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby blog | One host (SiteGround StartUp, Hostinger Premium on 12 months, or Bluehost Starter on 36 months) and one .com domain (Dynadot or Porkbun) | $46.76 to $154.72 | $130.76 to $226.96 | Theme, SEO, security, backup and email; WordPress software, which the page lists as Free with no number |
| Small business site | Host, domain, the Kadence theme from WordPress.org ($0 as its page words it), Gravity Forms Basic, Yoast SEO Premium and 1 Google Workspace user | $266.56 to $374.52 | $214.76 to $310.96, from the host, domain and email user only. The theme, Gravity Forms and Yoast state no renewal price. | Security, backup, maintenance time and developer fees |
| Online store | Host (SiteGround low, Kinsta high), domain, the Kadence theme from WordPress.org, Wordfence Premium and UpdraftPlus Personal | $265.76 to $580.08 | $130.76 to $226.96, from hosts that state a renewal (Bluehost, SiteGround) and the domain only. Kinsta, the theme, Wordfence and UpdraftPlus state none. | WooCommerce extensions and payment fees, form, SEO and email plugins, maintenance time, developer fees |
How each scenario sum is built
Each cell shows the addends and the total. Hosting is SiteGround 12-month (35.88), Hostinger 12-month (47.88), Bluehost (143.64), Kinsta (350), and for renewal Bluehost (119.88) or SiteGround (215.88). Domains are Dynadot (10.88) and Porkbun (11.08). The Kadence theme is 0. Gravity Forms Basic is 59, Yoast SEO Premium 118.80, Wordfence Premium 149, UpdraftPlus Personal 70, and one Google Workspace user is 42 first year and 84 renewal.
| Scenario | Lowest first year | Highest first year or upfront | Lowest renewal | Highest renewal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby blog | 35.88 + 10.88 = 46.76 | 143.64 + 11.08 = 154.72 | 119.88 + 10.88 = 130.76 | 215.88 + 11.08 = 226.96 |
| Small business site | 35.88 + 10.88 + 0 + 59 + 118.80 + 42 = 266.56 | 143.64 + 11.08 + 0 + 59 + 118.80 + 42 = 374.52 | 119.88 + 10.88 + 84 = 214.76 | 215.88 + 11.08 + 84 = 310.96 |
| Online store | 35.88 + 10.88 + 0 + 149 + 70 = 265.76 | 350 + 11.08 + 0 + 149 + 70 = 580.08 | 119.88 + 10.88 = 130.76 | 215.88 + 11.08 = 226.96 |
WordPress.com or self-hosted WordPress.org
WordPress.com sells hosted plans. WordPress.org offers the software to download, and the buyer arranges hosting and a domain. The first table lists what each page states; the second lists the WordPress.com per-month figures for every billing option the page shows.
The first-year amounts for WordPress.com in the price table are 12 times the stated yearly per-month figure. The page gives per-month figures and no billed-annually total, so those amounts are my arithmetic. The renewal amounts are 12 times the per-month renewal figure on a line that says billed every 12 months. WordPress.com prices are in US$ and marked excl. taxes.
| Question | WordPress.com | WordPress.org software |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan US$0. Paid plans start at US$4 a month on the yearly toggle for the first term, and renew from US$5 a month, billed every 12 months, excl. taxes. | The page lists Free among the software's attributes and shows no number. |
| Hosting and domain | Hosting is part of the plan. Paid plans list a free domain for one year. The Free plan has no custom domain, per its FAQ. | Not included. The page describes self-hosting for people comfortable getting their own hosting and domain, and states no cost for either. |
| Plugins | Not on the Free plan, per its FAQ. The paid plan cards say: Install any of over 60,000 plugins from the WordPress.com marketplace. | Not stated on the download page |
| Renewal | Personal US$5, Premium US$9, Business US$28 and Commerce US$50 a month on the 12-month term, billed every 12 months. | Not applicable to the software. The host and the domain renew on their own terms, in the tables on this page. |
| Version | Not applicable | The page offers Download WordPress 7.1.4 |
WordPress.com per-month prices by billing option
The intro columns are the per-month figures on each billing toggle, read October 30, 2026. The renewal columns are the per-month figures on the auto-renew lines, read October 31, 2026. Both are US dollars, excl. taxes.
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly intro | Yearly renewal | 2-year intro | 2-year renewal | 3-year intro | 3-year renewal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | No expiration date | Not stated | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Personal | $9 | $4 | $5 | $3.25 | $4 | $2.75 | $3.50 |
| Premium | $18 | $8 | $9 | $6.50 | $7.25 | $5.50 | $6.33 |
| Business | $40 | $25 | $28 | $20 | $21 | $17.50 | $19 |
| Commerce | $70 | $45 | $50 | $36 | $40 | $31.50 | $35 |
| Enterprise (WordPress VIP) | No figure shown | No figure shown | No figure shown | No figure shown | No figure shown | No figure shown | No figure shown |
Line items: where each cost is priced
Disclosure: I work at Brainstorm Force, the company that makes Astra.
This page puts no price on your own maintenance time.
- Domain: Dynadot lists .com at $10.88 to register and renew, and Porkbun at $11.08 for both. Cloudflare Registrar's page says prices are 'always at or below what registries and ICANN charge us' and shows no .com figure. Namecheap and GoDaddy returned errors to my fetcher, so I read no price from either.
- Hosting: seven rows in the price table, from $35.88 for SiteGround's prepaid 12-month term to $350 for Kinsta's annual billing. Hostinger, Bluehost and SiteGround state a renewal price; Kinsta, WP Engine and Cloudways do not.
- Theme: the Kadence theme on WordPress.org, which its page words as free with paid upgrades sold separately. Astra Pro + AI is listed at $99 the first year and $149 at renewal, for information. The Liquid Web page for Kadence sells a 1-site bundle for $350 a year and does not say which Kadence product that covers, so the bundle is not a row. Storefront, Automattic's theme on wordpress.org, is listed in the theme directory with a Download button and shows no price text.
- Plugins: Gravity Forms Basic at $59, Yoast SEO Premium at $118.80, Wordfence Premium at $149, UpdraftPlus Personal at $70 and Jetpack Security at $9.95 a month for the first year, each a row in the price table with its own page.
- Email: one Google Workspace Business Starter user at $3.50 a month for 12 months for new customers, then $7.00.
- Free first-year domain: the Hostinger, WordPress.com paid plan and Astra Pro + AI pages each list a free domain for the first year. The scenario sums still add a registrar domain, so they can overstate year one where a free domain applies. I did not check which extensions qualify.
Other tiers and options the pages list
These are tiers and options from the same vendor pages that are not used in a scenario sum. All are US dollars as each page shows them, read October 31, 2026, and the renewal column says what the page states.
| Item | Price as the page states it | Renewal as the page states it |
|---|---|---|
| Wordfence Free and Wordfence Care | Free; $590 USD per year | Not stated on the page |
| UpdraftPlus Premium, larger tiers | $95.00 / year for 10 sites; $145.00 for 35 sites; $195.00 for unlimited sites; $399.00 for unlimited sites with storage and staging | Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled; no renewal price stated |
| Yoast SEO Premium, extra seats | $5 (excl. VAT) per month each | Not stated on the page |
| All in One SEO | Basic $49.50 / year (normally $99.00) for 1 site; Plus $99.50 for 3 sites; Pro $199.50 for 10 sites; Elite $299.50 for 100 sites | The page says: Special introductory pricing, all renewals are at full price |
| Jetpack AI | $4.95 against $9.95/mo, per month for the first year, billed yearly | The page says: Discount is for the first year only; all renewals are at full price. |
Hiring a developer or designer
I found no named, dated public source for developer or designer rates, so this page gives none.
Ways to cut the renewal bill, from the vendors' own pages
- Hostinger: the page shows the same renewal price, $10.99 a month, under its 12, 24 and 48-month terms. A longer first term lowers the intro price shown and the page does not show it lowering the renewal. The page does not describe a way to lower a renewal.
- Porkbun and Dynadot: the first-year and renewal prices for .com are the same on each page, and Porkbun's page says 'The price you see is the price you pay, year after year.'
- Kinsta: the page says annual billing gives two months free compared to paying monthly. It does not describe that as a renewal option.
- WordPress.com: the renewal per-month figure is lower on longer terms. Personal renews at US$5 on the 12-month term, US$4 on 24 months and US$3.50 on 36 months, billed on the term chosen.
- Astra Pro + AI: the page says all renewals are at full price, listed as $149 a year.
- SiteGround: the US view renews at $17.99 a month after a $2.99 first term. Its help page, read October 30, 2026, says that if you renew for a longer period you benefit from a lower average monthly price.
- Google Workspace: the $3.50 introductory price applies to new customers, for the first 20 users, for 12 months, and standard pricing applies after that.
Sources
- WordPress.com pricing, checked October 31, 2026
- WordPress.org download page, checked October 30, 2026
- Dynadot .com page, checked October 30, 2026
- Porkbun domain prices, checked October 30, 2026
- Cloudflare Registrar, checked October 30, 2026
- Hostinger WordPress hosting, checked October 30, 2026
- Bluehost WordPress hosting, checked October 31, 2026
- SiteGround WordPress hosting, checked October 31, 2026
- Kinsta pricing, checked October 30, 2026
- WP Engine plans, checked October 30, 2026
- Cloudways pricing, checked October 30, 2026
- SiteGround renewal help page, checked October 30, 2026
- Astra pricing, checked October 31, 2026
- Kadence theme on WordPress.org, checked October 30, 2026
- Kadence on Liquid Web, checked October 31, 2026
- Gravity Forms pricing, checked October 30, 2026
- Yoast SEO Premium, checked October 31, 2026
- All in One SEO pricing, checked October 31, 2026
- Jetpack pricing, checked October 31, 2026
- Jetpack AI, checked October 31, 2026
- Wordfence pricing, checked October 31, 2026
- UpdraftPlus pricing on TeamUpdraft, checked October 31, 2026
- Google Workspace pricing, checked October 31, 2026
How I checked
Every price comes from the vendor's own page, read on October 30 or October 31, 2026 as each row shows. The October 31 reads used a US-region fetch of the page. Nothing was estimated or converted, and nothing was purchased for this page. Where a page does not state a renewal price, the table says so, and the renewal sums leave that item out.
Questions
How much does a WordPress website cost?
From the vendor prices on this page: $46.76 to $154.72 in year one for a hobby blog, $266.56 to $374.52 for a small business site and $265.76 to $580.08 for an online store, all self-hosted. Renewal sums are $130.76 to $226.96, $214.76 to $310.96 and $130.76 to $226.96, counting only items with a stated renewal price.
Is WordPress free?
The WordPress.org download page lists Free among the software's attributes and states no cost for hosting or a domain. WordPress.com has a Free plan at US$0 with 1 GB of storage and no custom domain, per its FAQ.
Does a .com domain cost more after the first year?
On Dynadot's page .com is $10.88 to register and $10.88 to renew, and on Porkbun's it is $11.08 for both. Cloudflare's page states an at-cost policy and no .com figure.
What does WordPress.com cost after the first year?
On the 12-month term the renewal lines state $5 a month for Personal, $9 for Premium, $28 for Business and $50 for Commerce, billed every 12 months and excluding taxes. Those are $60, $108, $336 and $600 for 12 months.