DreamHost vs WordPress.com: Self-Hosted vs Managed WordPress in 2025
If you're committed to WordPress (a wise choice), you face an important decision: should you use WordPress.com's managed platform or host WordPress yourself with a provider like DreamHost?
This isn't just a hosting decision—it's a fundamental choice between convenience and control, between a managed experience and complete flexibility, between paying for simplicity and owning your entire website infrastructure.
Both approaches power your site with WordPress, but the experience, capabilities, and long-term implications differ dramatically. Understanding these differences will save you from costly migrations and frustrating limitations down the road.
In this comprehensive guide, we'll compare DreamHost's WordPress hosting (including their managed DreamPress service) with WordPress.com's offerings, examining pricing, features, control, and helping you choose the right path for your WordPress journey.
Understanding the Fundamental Difference
Before comparing specific features, you need to understand what makes these options fundamentally different.
WordPress.com: Managed WordPress Platform
What It Is: WordPress.com is a hosting service created by Automattic (the company founded by WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg). It's a managed platform where WordPress is provided as a service.
How It Works:
- Sign up at WordPress.com
- Choose a plan
- Create your site within their platform
- Everything managed for you
- Customization limited by plan level
- Proprietary hosting environment
Who Controls Your Site: WordPress.com controls the infrastructure, hosting environment, and (depending on your plan) significant aspects of your website's functionality.
DreamHost: Self-Hosted WordPress Provider
What It Is: DreamHost is a web hosting company that provides the infrastructure for you to install and run WordPress yourself. You get the WordPress software and complete control.
How It Works:
- Sign up for hosting at DreamHost
- Install WordPress (1-click installation)
- Your site runs on standard WordPress
- Complete access to all WordPress features
- Standard WordPress hosting environment
- Full control and ownership
Who Controls Your Site: You control everything. DreamHost provides the infrastructure; you own and manage your WordPress installation.
DreamPress: DreamHost's Managed WordPress
To compete with WordPress.com, DreamHost offers DreamPress—managed WordPress hosting that combines the control of self-hosted WordPress with the convenience of managed services.
What It Is: Fully managed WordPress hosting with WordPress pre-installed, automatic updates, caching, staging, and specialized support.
How It Differs:
- Still standard WordPress (not proprietary)
- Still full control and access
- Additional management and optimization
- WordPress-specific infrastructure
Now let's compare these options across every dimension that matters.
Pricing Comparison: Total Cost Analysis
Understanding the true cost requires looking beyond promotional prices to renewal rates, required add-ons, and feature restrictions.
WordPress.com Pricing (2025)
Free Plan: $0/month
- yoursite.wordpress.com subdomain
- WordPress.com branding
- 1GB storage
- No custom domain
- Limited design customization
- No plugins
- No monetization
- Ad-supported
Starter Plan: $4/month (billed annually: $48/year)
- Custom domain included (1 year)
- yoursite.com domain
- Remove WordPress.com branding
- 6GB storage
- Email support
- No plugins
- No custom themes
- No monetization
Explorer Plan: $7/month (billed annually: $84/year)
- Everything in Starter
- Install plugins and themes
- 13GB storage
- Live chat support
- Ad-free
- Monetization allowed
- 100+ premium themes
Creator Plan: $25/month (billed annually: $300/year)
- Everything in Explorer
- Accept payments
- Premium design tools
- 50GB storage
- Priority support
- Remove WordPress branding from emails
Entrepreneur Plan: $45/month (billed annually: $540/year)
- Everything in Creator
- Install e-commerce extensions
- Accept payments in 60+ countries
- 50GB storage
- Unlimited premium themes
Business Plan: $25/month (billed monthly: $300/year)
- Full plugin access (most important feature)
- SFTP and database access
- 50GB storage
- Remove WordPress.com branding
- Google Analytics integration
- Custom themes
- Live chat support
- SEO tools
Commerce Plan: $45/month (billed monthly: $540/year)
- Everything in Business
- WooCommerce integration
- Premium commerce extensions
- Accept payments in 60+ countries
- Shipping integrations
- 200GB storage
eCommerce Plan: $70/month (billed annually: $840/year)
- Everything in Commerce
- Unlimited products
- eCommerce marketing tools
- Advanced shipping options
- 200GB storage
Important Notes:
- Must pay annually for best rates
- Monthly billing costs more
- Email hosting separate ($3.50/mailbox/month)
- Domain privacy separate ($8/year)
DreamHost Pricing (2025)
Web Hosting:
Starter Plan: $2.59/month (renews at $10.99/month)
- 1 website
- 50GB SSD storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Free domain (1 year)
- Free SSL certificate
- Unlimited email
- Daily automatic backups
- Full WordPress access
- All plugins and themes
- Complete customization
Unlimited Plan: $3.95/month (renews at $13.99/month)
- Unlimited websites
- Unlimited SSD storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Free domain (1 year)
- Free SSL certificate
- Unlimited email addresses
- Daily automatic backups
- Full WordPress access
- Complete control
DreamPress (Managed WordPress):
DreamPress: $16.95/month (renews at $19.95/month)
- 1 WordPress site
- 30GB storage
- 100,000 visitors/month
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free domain (1 year)
- Free SSL certificate
- Unlimited email
- Built-in caching
- Staging site
- WordPress pre-installed
- Automatic WordPress updates
- 24/7 WordPress support
- Daily backups
- On-demand backups
- Free site migration
DreamPress Plus: $24.95/month (renews at $34.95/month)
- 60GB storage
- 300,000 visitors/month
- Everything in DreamPress
- Unlimited email
- Jetpack Premium included
DreamPress Pro: $71.95/month (renews at $79.95/month)
- 120GB storage
- 1,000,000 visitors/month
- Everything in DreamPress Plus
- Unlimited email
- Jetpack Professional included
Included Free:
- Unlimited email addresses
- Daily backups
- SSL certificates
- Domain privacy (WHOIS protection)
Money-Back Guarantee:
- Entry-level web hosting: 97 days
- DreamPress: 30 days
True Cost Comparison
Let's compare what you actually pay for a real-world website.
Personal Blog (Low Traffic):
WordPress.com:
- Explorer Plan: $84/year
- Email (1 address): $42/year
- Domain privacy: $8/year
- Total Year 1: $134
- Total Year 2+: $134/year
DreamHost:
- Web Hosting Starter: $31.08/year
- Email: Included (unlimited)
- Domain privacy: Included
- Total Year 1: $31.08
- Total Year 2: $131.88
- Savings: $102.92 first year
Small Business Website:
WordPress.com:
- Creator Plan: $300/year
- Email (3 addresses): $126/year
- Domain privacy: $8/year
- Total Year 1: $434
- Total Year 2+: $434/year
DreamHost:
- DreamPress: $203.40/year
- Email: Included (unlimited)
- Domain privacy: Included
- Total Year 1: $203.40
- Total Year 2: $239.40
- Savings: $230.60 first year
E-Commerce Store:
WordPress.com:
- Commerce Plan: $540/year
- Email (5 addresses): $210/year
- Domain privacy: $8/year
- Total Year 1: $758
- Total Year 2+: $758/year
DreamHost:
- DreamPress Plus: $299.40/year
- WooCommerce: Free
- Email: Included (unlimited)
- Domain privacy: Included
- Total Year 1: $299.40
- Total Year 2: $419.40
- Savings: $458.60 first year
Winner: DreamHost offers significantly better value across all use cases.
Features and Functionality
Plugin Access
This is arguably the most important difference.
WordPress.com:
- Free/Starter Plans: ZERO plugins allowed
- Explorer Plan: Access to plugins
- Creator/Business/Commerce Plans: Full plugin access
- Restriction: Platform may block certain plugins for security/performance
DreamHost:
- All Plans: Complete access to 60,000+ WordPress plugins
- No restrictions on which plugins you can install
- Can upload custom plugins
- Complete freedom
Impact: Plugins extend WordPress functionality. Without plugin access, you cannot:
- Use most popular SEO tools (Yoast, Rank Math)
- Add advanced contact forms
- Implement marketing automation
- Install most security plugins
- Use custom page builders
- Add advanced analytics
- Implement caching solutions
- Use advanced backup solutions
Winner: DreamHost provides unlimited plugin access on all plans.
Theme Access
WordPress.com:
- Free/Starter Plans: Limited free themes only
- Explorer Plan: Access to 100+ premium themes
- Creator+ Plans: Unlimited premium themes
- Business+ Plans: Can upload custom themes
- Cannot modify theme code on lower plans
DreamHost:
- All Plans: Access to thousands of free themes
- Can purchase/install any premium theme
- Can upload custom themes
- Complete access to theme code (PHP, CSS, JavaScript)
- Can create child themes
- Use any page builder
Winner: DreamHost offers unrestricted theme access and customization.
Code Access and Customization
WordPress.com:
- Free through Explorer: No code access
- Creator Plan: Limited CSS customization
- Business+ Plans: Full code access (SFTP, database)
- Cannot modify core files on any plan
DreamHost:
- All Plans: Complete code access
- SFTP/SSH access included
- Database access (phpMyAdmin)
- Can modify any file
- Can create custom functionality
- Developer-friendly environment
Winner: DreamHost for developers and custom requirements.
Performance and Speed
WordPress.com:
- Global CDN included on all plans
- Automatic image optimization
- Server-level caching
- Optimized infrastructure
- Limited control over optimization
- Average load time: 1.5-2.5 seconds
- Performance varies by plan level
DreamHost Web Hosting:
- No built-in CDN (can add Cloudflare)
- Manual optimization required
- Caching plugins available
- Shared server resources
- Average load time: 2-4 seconds
- Performance depends on optimization
DreamHost DreamPress:
- Built-in server caching
- Optimized for WordPress
- SSD storage
- PHP 8+ performance
- OPcache enabled
- Object caching available
- Average load time: 1-2 seconds
- Can add CDN (Cloudflare recommended)
Winner: WordPress.com for hands-off performance; DreamPress for optimized WordPress performance.
Security Features
WordPress.com:
- Automatic WordPress updates
- Automatic plugin updates
- Platform-level security
- DDoS protection
- Malware scanning
- Automatic backups
- Real-time security monitoring
- Limited security customization
- No security plugins needed (or allowed on lower plans)
DreamHost:
- Free SSL certificates
- Optional automatic WordPress updates
- DDoS protection
- Malware scanning available
- Daily automatic backups
- Security plugins available (Wordfence, Sucuri, iThemes Security)
- Two-factor authentication
- ModSecurity firewall
- Advanced security customization possible
Winner: WordPress.com for automatic security; DreamHost for customizable security.
Backup and Restore
WordPress.com:
- Free/Starter: No backup access
- Explorer+: Automatic daily backups
- Creator+: On-demand backups
- Business+: Full backup access and restore
- 30-day backup retention
- One-click restore
- Integrated backup management
DreamHost:
- Web Hosting: Daily automatic backups included
- DreamPress: Daily automatic backups + on-demand backups
- Backup restoration available
- Can also use backup plugins (UpdraftPlus, BackupBuddy, etc.)
- Store backups off-site
- Complete backup control
Winner: Tie—both offer solid backup solutions.
Email Hosting
WordPress.com:
- Professional email separate service
- $3.50/mailbox/month (through Titan)
- Google Workspace integration ($6/user/month)
- Must purchase separately
- Limited to paid plans
DreamHost:
- Unlimited email addresses included free
- Webmail access included
- IMAP/POP3/SMTP access
- Anti-spam filtering
- Email forwarding
- Autoresponders
- Mailing lists
- No per-mailbox fees
Winner: DreamHost with unlimited free email.
Analytics and Tracking
WordPress.com:
- Built-in WordPress.com Stats (basic)
- Google Analytics on Business+ plans
- Jetpack Stats integration
- Traffic insights dashboard
- Subscriber metrics
- Limited customization
DreamHost:
- Google Analytics integration (all plans)
- Any analytics platform
- Complete tracking code access
- Tag Manager support
- Advanced conversion tracking
- Unlimited analytics plugins
Winner: DreamHost for analytics flexibility.
E-Commerce Capabilities
WordPress.com:
- Free through Explorer: No e-commerce
- Creator Plan: Payment buttons, simple payments
- Entrepreneur Plan: Full e-commerce features
- Commerce/eCommerce Plans: Advanced e-commerce
- WooCommerce pre-configured
- Limited extension access on lower e-commerce plans
- Payment processing fees vary
- Shipping integrations on higher plans
DreamHost:
- WooCommerce installation on all plans
- Complete WooCommerce extension access
- No DreamHost transaction fees (only payment processor fees)
- Any payment gateway
- Unlimited products
- Advanced shipping options
- Marketplace integrations
- Custom e-commerce development possible
Winner: DreamHost for e-commerce flexibility and cost-effectiveness.
Control and Ownership
Data Ownership
WordPress.com:
- You own your content
- Export functionality available
- Platform controls hosting environment
- Proprietary features not portable
- Must follow platform terms of service
- Account suspension risk
DreamHost:
- You own everything
- Complete database access
- Full file system access
- Standard WordPress installation
- Can export entire site easily
- Complete data portability
Winner: DreamHost for true ownership.
Platform Lock-In
WordPress.com:
- Proprietary platform features
- Custom features don't transfer
- Migration to self-hosted requires effort
- Some data/features may not export
- Design may need recreation
DreamHost:
- Standard WordPress installation
- Move to any host anytime
- Export complete site easily
- Standard migration process
- No proprietary lock-in
Winner: DreamHost for platform independence.
Monetization Freedom
WordPress.com:
- Free/Starter Plans: No monetization allowed
- Explorer+: Monetization allowed
- Must follow WordPress.com monetization rules
- Some ad networks restricted
- Affiliate link restrictions on lower plans
DreamHost:
- Complete monetization freedom
- Any ad network
- Unlimited affiliate links
- No platform restrictions
- Complete control
Winner: DreamHost for monetization flexibility.
Ease of Use and Management
Initial Setup
WordPress.com:
- Create account: 2 minutes
- Choose template: 5 minutes
- Basic customization: 15-30 minutes
- Add content: varies
- Time to launch: 1-2 hours
DreamHost:
- Purchase hosting: 5 minutes
- WordPress auto-install: 1 minute
- Choose theme: 10-15 minutes
- Basic configuration: 15-30 minutes
- Add content: varies
- Time to launch: 2-4 hours
Winner: WordPress.com for faster initial setup.
Day-to-Day Management
WordPress.com:
- Unified dashboard for everything
- Automatic updates (no management needed)
- Simplified WordPress admin
- Less to manage
- Limited customization options
- Streamlined experience
DreamHost:
- Standard WordPress dashboard
- Update management (can be automated)
- Plugin management required
- More configuration options
- Complete customization access
- Standard WordPress experience
Winner: WordPress.com for simplicity; DreamHost for flexibility.
Learning Curve
WordPress.com:
- Beginner-friendly interface
- Simplified WordPress dashboard
- Less to learn
- Platform-specific documentation
- Smaller learning curve
- Limitations become apparent over time
DreamHost:
- Standard WordPress learning curve
- More features to master
- Global WordPress community support
- Extensive documentation available
- Steeper initial learning curve
- Skills applicable anywhere
Winner: WordPress.com for beginners; DreamHost for long-term learning.
Support Quality
WordPress.com Support
Availability:
- Free Plan: Community forums only
- Starter Plan: Email support
- Explorer+: Email + live chat
- Business+: Priority support
- No phone support on any plan
- Limited to WordPress.com platform questions
Quality:
- Platform experts
- Quick response times on paid plans
- Limited help with custom code/plugins
- Standard answers for common questions
- Cannot help with third-party plugins/themes
DreamHost Support
Availability:
- 24/7 ticket support (all plans)
- Live chat support (all plans)
- DreamPress: Priority support
- Knowledge base and documentation
- Community forum
- Callback option available
- No phone support
Quality:
- WordPress expertise
- Technical depth
- Help with server-level issues
- Plugin/theme assistance
- Custom code support available
- Access to global WordPress community
Additional DreamHost Support:
- WordPress community (millions of users)
- Plugin developer support
- Theme developer support
- Thousands of tutorials and guides
Winner: WordPress.com for platform support; DreamHost for comprehensive WordPress support.
Scaling and Growth
Traffic Handling
WordPress.com:
- Automatic scaling
- No traffic limits
- CDN handles traffic spikes
- Performance consistent
- May suggest upgrade for sustained high traffic
DreamHost Web Hosting:
- Shared resources
- May need upgrade for high traffic
- Can cause slowdowns during spikes
- Upgrade path available
DreamHost DreamPress:
- Optimized for specific visitor levels
- 100K-1M visitors/month depending on plan
- Automatic caching
- Consistent performance
- Easy upgrade path
Winner: WordPress.com for automatic scaling; DreamPress for defined capacity.
Storage Growth
WordPress.com:
- Fixed storage by plan
- 1GB (Free) to 200GB (eCommerce)
- Must upgrade plan for more storage
- Media library limits
DreamHost Web Hosting:
- Web Hosting Starter: 50GB
- Web Hosting Unlimited: Unlimited storage
- No media limits
- Room to grow
DreamHost DreamPress:
- 30GB to 120GB depending on plan
- Sufficient for most sites
- Upgrade available if needed
Winner: DreamHost Unlimited for unlimited storage.
Feature Growth
WordPress.com:
- Must upgrade plan for new features
- Plugin access requires Business plan
- Custom development requires Business plan
- Hitting feature limits requires expensive upgrades
DreamHost:
- All features available from start
- Add plugins as needed
- No plan upgrade for features
- Pay only for hosting resources
Winner: DreamHost for feature flexibility.
Migration Considerations
Migrating TO WordPress.com
From DreamHost:
- Export WordPress site
- Import to WordPress.com (limited)
- Recreate design to match platform
- Reconfigure settings
- Some plugins won't work
- Features may be lost
- Potentially expensive (higher plans needed)
- Time: Several hours to days
- Difficulty: Moderate to High
Migrating TO DreamHost
From WordPress.com:
- Export content from WordPress.com
- DreamHost offers free migration service
- Import to WordPress installation
- Install similar themes/plugins
- Recreate WordPress.com-specific features
- Generally smooth transition
- Often improves capabilities
- Time: 1-3 hours (or free migration service)
- Difficulty: Low to Moderate
Between DreamHost Plans
- Upgrade from Shared to DreamPress: Seamless
- Downgrade from DreamPress to Shared: Easy
- No data loss
- Minimal downtime
Winner: DreamHost for migration flexibility.
Use Case Recommendations
Choose WordPress.com If You:
Want Maximum Simplicity
- Zero technical knowledge
- Don't want to manage anything
- Prefer everything automatic
- Don't need customization
Run a Simple Personal Blog
- Basic blogging features sufficient
- Don't need plugins
- Simple design requirements
- Low monetization needs
Want Hands-Off Maintenance
- Don't want to think about updates
- Don't want security responsibility
- Prefer managed experience
- Trust platform decisions
Have Platform-Specific Needs
- VIP WordPress.com features
- WordPress.com Reader integration
- Specific platform features
Choose DreamHost If You:
Need Complete Control
- Want plugin freedom
- Need custom functionality
- Require code access
- Want development flexibility
Value Long-Term Cost Savings
- Multiple websites planned
- Need unlimited email
- Want better renewal rates
- Budget-conscious long-term
Plan to Scale
- Growing business
- Expanding features over time
- Increasing customization needs
- Want room to grow
Run Multiple Sites
- Manage several WordPress sites
- Build client websites
- Test different projects
- Want consolidated hosting
Need Advanced Features
- Custom e-commerce requirements
- Advanced SEO capabilities
- Marketing automation
- Third-party integrations
Want True Ownership
- Complete data portability
- Platform independence
- Monetization freedom
- Full customization rights
Choose DreamPress If You:
Want Both Control and Convenience
- Self-hosted WordPress flexibility
- Managed convenience
- WordPress-optimized performance
- Specialized support
Run a Serious WordPress Site
- Business-critical website
- High traffic expectations
- Performance requirements
- Professional support needs
Real-World Scenarios
Scenario 1: Personal Travel Blog
WordPress.com Choice (Explorer Plan - $84/year): Jennifer started a travel blog documenting her adventures. WordPress.com's Explorer plan gives her a clean blog, basic plugins, and automatic management. She publishes weekly, uses basic features, and doesn't need advanced customization.
DreamHost Choice (Web Hosting Starter - $31/year first year): Mark started a travel blog planning to grow it into a business. DreamHost's Web Hosting Starter gives him complete control, unlimited plugins for SEO/monetization, and room to add booking features later. He invested time learning WordPress but now has no limitations.
Better Choice: WordPress.com for pure hobby bloggers; DreamHost for growth-oriented bloggers.
Scenario 2: Small Business Website
WordPress.com Choice (Creator Plan - $300/year): A local bakery needs a simple website with menu, location, and contact form. WordPress.com Creator plan provides professional appearance, contact forms, and payment acceptance for online orders.
DreamHost Choice (DreamPress - $203/year first year): A consulting firm needs a professional site with contact forms, newsletter signups, appointment booking, client portal, and blog. DreamPress provides managed WordPress with complete plugin access for all required functionality.
Better Choice: WordPress.com for ultra-simple sites; DreamHost for business sites with multiple features.
Scenario 3: Growing E-Commerce Store
WordPress.com Choice (Commerce Plan - $540/year + email): Starting a jewelry store with 30 products. WordPress.com Commerce plan includes WooCommerce, payment processing, and basic e-commerce features in one package.
DreamHost Choice (DreamPress Plus - $299/year + WooCommerce free): Launching a WooCommerce store planning to add wholesale functionality, subscription products, and multi-currency support. DreamPress Plus provides WooCommerce, unlimited extensions, and complete customization freedom.
Better Choice: WordPress.com for simple stores under 100 products; DreamHost for complex or scaling e-commerce.
Making Your Final Decision
Use this decision tree:
Question 1: Do you need plugins?
- YES → DreamHost (or WordPress.com Business+ plan)
- NO → Continue to Question 2
Question 2: Do you need custom code/themes?
- YES → DreamHost
- NO → Continue to Question 3
Question 3: Will you run multiple websites?
- YES → DreamHost (much cheaper)
- NO → Continue to Question 4
Question 4: How many email addresses do you need?
- More than 3 → DreamHost (unlimited included)
- 1-3 → Continue to Question 5
Question 5: Do you value simplicity over control?
- Simplicity → WordPress.com
- Control → DreamHost
Question 6: Is budget a major concern?
- YES → DreamHost (significantly cheaper)
- NO → Either works based on preferences
Getting Started
Starting with WordPress.com
- Visit WordPress.com
- Click "Start Your Site"
- Choose your plan
- Select domain name
- Pick a template
- Customize and launch
Starting with DreamHost
- Visit DreamHost WordPress hosting
- Choose your plan:
- Web Hosting Starter/Unlimited for basic sites
- DreamPress for managed WordPress
- Register your domain (or transfer existing)
- Complete signup
- WordPress automatically installed
- Choose theme and customize
- Install necessary plugins
- Launch your site
Use Namr to find the perfect domain name for your WordPress site.
Final Verdict
For most WordPress users, DreamHost offers superior value, flexibility, and long-term potential:
DreamHost Advantages:
- Significantly lower cost (especially with multiple sites or email addresses)
- Complete plugin and theme access
- True ownership and portability
- Unlimited customization
- Better scaling options
- No platform lock-in
WordPress.com Advantages:
- Simpler initial setup
- Completely hands-off management
- Automatic everything
- No technical knowledge required
The Bottom Line:
Choose WordPress.com if you want the absolute simplest experience and are willing to pay premium prices for limited functionality.
Choose DreamHost if you want complete control, better value, unlimited customization, and true WordPress freedom.
For serious websites, growing businesses, or anyone planning long-term, DreamHost's WordPress hosting (especially DreamPress) provides the best combination of performance, flexibility, and value.
Start your WordPress journey right with DreamHost's managed WordPress hosting from $16.95/month, or DreamHost's Web Hosting from $2.59/month.
Your WordPress site deserves the freedom to grow without limits.