Website Builders
WordPress.com
Rest of world Report an error0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.
by Aut O'Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd. · wordpress.com
Report an error on this page Is this your product? →
Link to this page
Add ?theme=dark to the image address for dark backgrounds.
The badge shows the category and the month of the latest evaluation, and EU-Made where
that is the product’s provenance. It never shows a score.
WordPress.com at a glance
- Vendor
- Aut O'Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd.
- Headquarters
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026
- Data hosting
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026
- Starting price
- “From €9 €2.75/month on a 3-year Personal plan.” (vendor’s words) source, captured 28 Oct 2026
- Panel verdict
- The AI panel rates WordPress.com 3.5/5, the mean of 6 judges. WordPress.com's bench scores are strongest on hosting and portability, clustering at 8 on a CDN across 28+ data centres, 99.99% uptime since 2005, free Let's Encrypt SSL, unmetered bandwidth and a documented export path, though the standard export leaves theme design and plugins behind. how scores are made
- As of
- Vendor pages captured 28 Oct 2026; evaluated by the panel 29 Oct 2026. all sources
Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.
The panel's verdict
WordPress.com's bench scores are strongest on hosting and portability, clustering at 8 on a CDN across 28+ data centres, 99.99% uptime since 2005, free Let's Encrypt SSL, unmetered bandwidth and a documented export path, though the standard export leaves theme design and plugins behind. Editor and design and forms and business follow at 7 to 8. The weakest area is sovereignty, clustered at 5: EU customers contract with Aut O'Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd. in Dublin, yet the pages state data sits on US and EU servers and cannot be restricted to a single location, Automattic Inc. remains controller for some processing worldwide, and the subprocessor list names only Stripe and Titan. Judges genuinely split on pricing transparency, from 5 to 8: all four plans carry published euro prices, but the promotional term's duration, the payments feature's percentage fee and the mailbox price are not stated, and the captured pages give different statements on refunds. SEO and marketing runs 5 to 7 and legal compliance 5 to 6, with no public information on sitemaps, structured data or consent logging.
Speaks for it
- Hosting and portability scores cluster at 8, on a CDN across 28+ data centres, 99.99% uptime since 2005, free Let's Encrypt SSL, unmetered bandwidth and real-time backups with one-click restores from the Business plan up
- All four plans carry published euro prices with regular and promotional monthly figures — Personal €9 and €4, Premium €18 and €8, Business €40 and €25, Commerce €70 and €45 per month, billed every 12 months, excl. taxes
- A data processing agreement satisfying standard model clauses is available to all site owners and requestable from account settings
- Content export to standard XML plus a separate media library export is documented step by step, with full backup download on Business and Commerce
- Two editing surfaces, reusable patterns, restorable template revisions and staging from the Business plan support real design control; editor and design scores run 7 to 8
Held against it
- Sovereignty scores cluster at 5, with data on US and EU servers that cannot be restricted to a single location, Automattic Inc. as controller for some processing worldwide, and only Stripe and Titan named in the subprocessor list
- Form submissions are transmitted via email and the forms guide warns they are not a secure method for private data, with integrations limited to Business and Commerce plans
- The payments feature fee is stated only as 'a percentage (which depends on your plan)', the mailbox price is not published, and the shown price is an estimate finalised at checkout by billing country
- The captured pages give different statements on refunds — a 14-day money-back guarantee on marketing pages against terms stating payments are final
- We found no public information on sitemaps, structured data, collaborator roles or multilingual pages; SEO and marketing scores run 5 to 7
Best for
- You want a managed WordPress site you can design and export yourself, with two editing surfaces, hundreds of templates and 60,000+ plugins from any paid plan
- You are starting free — signup needs only an email address and no credit card — or on Personal at €4 per month billed every 12 months
- You sell online on Business or Commerce, which carry 0% transaction fees for WooCommerce payments, with a full WooCommerce store on Commerce
- You need a data processing agreement with standard model clauses for your compliance file, requestable from account settings
Avoid if
- You must keep a site's data in a single region — the pages state that restriction is not possible, and Automattic Inc. remains controller for some processing worldwide
- You would collect private data through forms — the guide warns submissions travel by email and are not a secure method for private data
- You need consent handling that blocks scripts until given — the documented banner notifies visitors about cookies used
- You need the full price before committing — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it
The scores
| Criterion | Panel median |
|---|---|
| Editor, templates & design control | 4 of 5 |
| Hosting, domains & portability | 4 of 5 |
| SEO, analytics & visibility | 3 of 5 |
| Forms, bookings & business features | 3.5 of 5 |
| Imprint, privacy & cookie compliance | 3 of 5 |
| European sovereignty | 2.5 of 5 |
| Pricing transparency | 3.5 of 5 |
Editor, templates & design control
Show reasoningHide reasoning
How this is scored
How a site gets built and how far the owner can shape it: the editor (drag and drop, sections, AI drafts), the template range, responsive and mobile editing, fonts and brand styles, multilingual pages, custom code, and roles for collaborators or clients.
0 — Not a website editor; the product hosts files or code that are built elsewhere.
3 — An editor with a small set of templates and fixed layouts, where colours and texts change but structure, mobile view and languages are not described.
5 — A visual editor with a template gallery for several industries, layouts that adapt to mobile, brand colours and fonts, a blog, and the option to add pages in a second language or custom code snippets.
8 — Fine design control documented: free layout or section editing, separate mobile and breakpoint editing, reusable components or global styles, built-in multilingual sites with translated URLs, user roles for collaborators or clients, and site versions or history that can be restored.
10 — Design work at a professional level without leaving the tool: a design system with variables and components, interactions and animations, a CMS with custom collections, staging or branching before publishing, client handover with restricted editing, and the editor documented in depth.
The Small-Business Owner
Two editors are documented in real depth — one for the whole site's templates, headers, footers and styles, one for a single page's content — with hundreds of ready templates, reusable patterns made by their own design team, drag-and-drop blocks, revisions you can restore, a switch between desktop, tablet and mobile views, and an AI assistant that will restyle things for me. We found no public information on built-in multilingual pages or on user roles for staff or clients, which keeps it shy of the top. 7 8 2 1
The Freelance Web Designer
A Site Editor for whole-site design with templates, headers, footers, global styles and restorable template revisions, reusable patterns made by their design team, CSS control, staging on Business plans and 60,000+ plugins is close to professional design work in one tool. That is exactly the reusable-sections workflow I need across client sites; we found no public information on separate mobile breakpoint editing (only viewport preview), multilingual sites, or client handover roles. 2 7 8 9
The Marketing Lead
Two documented editing surfaces — a Site Editor for global design and a block editor for page content — with drag-and-drop blocks, hundreds of templates, reusable patterns, global styles, desktop/tablet/mobile viewports and restorable template revisions mean I can build landing pages without waiting for the agency; staging on Business plans and an AI agent that edits styles directly are documented in depth, while we found no public information on collaborator roles or built-in multilingual pages. 2 7 8 9
The Practice Owner
The block editor with drag-and-drop, two editing surfaces for whole-site versus per-page work, reusable patterns, global styles, restorable template revisions, desktop/tablet/mobile viewports and staging on Business plans give me real design control over a practice site. We found no public information on built-in multilingual pages or on user roles so a colleague or an agency could edit alongside me. 2 7 8 9
The Data Protection Officer
The captured pages document two editing surfaces — a Site Editor for site-wide templates, headers and footers, and a block editor for page content — with drag-and-drop blocks, reusable patterns, a Styles panel for colours and fonts, template revisions that can be restored, and viewport switching across desktop, tablet and mobile; an AI website builder, an in-editor agent that updates styles and adds blocks, and staging sites on the Business plan round this out. We found no public information on built-in multilingual pages or on roles for clients and collaborators, which holds this just below the top level. 7 8 2 9
The Skeptic
Two editing surfaces are documented in real depth — a Site Editor for styles, templates, headers and footers with restoreable template revisions, and a block editor with drag-and-drop, reusable patterns and hundreds of themes — plus a staging site from the Business plan and custom code, SSH and GitHub on top. We found no public information on multilingual sites with translated URLs or on user roles for collaborators and clients, and the viewport switching described reads as previewing content, not editing separate mobile layouts. 2 7 8 9
Hosting, domains & portability
Show reasoningHide reasoning
How this is scored
What runs the site once it is built: included hosting, custom domains and domain registration, SSL, email mailboxes, speed (CDN, image optimisation), backups and restore, availability commitments — and whether pages, content and media can be exported when the owner moves on.
0 — No hosting; the product produces a design or files and the owner finds a host.
3 — Hosting on a subdomain with a custom domain on paid plans, but SSL, backups, storage limits and export are not described.
5 — Hosting included with a custom domain (or one included for a first year), free SSL, stated storage or bandwidth, a CDN or speed optimisation, automatic backups or a restore function, and an export of at least blog posts or content.
8 — Hosting described in depth: data-centre locations named, a stated uptime commitment, versioned backups with self-service restore, email mailboxes on the own domain, performance figures or Core Web Vitals addressed, and a documented export of pages, content and media.
10 — Hosting the owner can rely on and leave: an uptime SLA with credits, the hosting region selectable, DDoS and security measures named, a complete site export (code or standard formats) documented step by step, and domains transferable without fees or lock-in.
The Small-Business Owner
Every plan, even the free one, includes hosting with free HTTPS via Let's Encrypt, a CDN across 28+ data centres on six continents, real-time replication to a second data centre, unmetered bandwidth, daily or real-time backups you can restore or download, 99.99% uptime since 2005, and professional email on the domain. Moving on is documented step by step — posts, pages and comments as an XML file, media via the library export — though the theme design and plugins stay behind unless you download a full backup on Business or Commerce. 3 9 10 5 2
The Freelance Web Designer
Hosting is documented in depth: a global CDN across 28+ data centres on six continents, 99.99% uptime since 2005, real-time replication to a second data centre in a different region, automatic backups with one-click restores (real-time from Business up) and free Let's Encrypt SSL. Content export is documented step by step including the media library, though it excludes theme design and customizations, and the pages state data cannot be restricted to a single region. 2 9 10 15
The Marketing Lead
Hosting is included on every plan with a global CDN across 28+ data centers on six continents, 99.99% uptime since 2005, real-time replication to a second data center, free Let's Encrypt SSL and malware protection; daily or real-time backups with one-click restore and a documented export in the standard WordPress XML format plus a separate media export answer the leave-with-your-content question, though the export excludes theme design. Professional email on the own domain is offered separately through Titan, and the pages state that data cannot be restricted to a single geographic location. 3 5 9 10
The Practice Owner
Hosting sits on every plan with free HTTPS, a global CDN across 28+ data centers, a stated 99.99% uptime figure since 2005, automatic backups with restore from a specific moment, and a step-by-step export of content and media plus a full backup download on Business and Commerce. The pages also state that site data is stored on servers in the US and the EU and cannot be restricted to a single location, and we found no uptime commitment with credits. 3 5 9 10 15
The Data Protection Officer
Hosting is included on every plan with free HTTPS via Let's Encrypt, a stated uptime of 99.99 percent since 2005, a CDN across 28+ data centres on six continents, unmetered bandwidth, and real-time backups with one-click restores on Business plans and above (daily on Personal and Premium); domains sell from €13 per year with the first year free on annual plans, and export of posts, pages, comments and the media library is documented step by step, with full backup download on Business and Commerce. As an officer I must note the pages state data sits on servers in both the US and the EU and cannot be restricted to a single location, and the standard export excludes theme design, which needs a migration plugin. 9 3 5 10 1 15
The Skeptic
Hosting is documented unusually far: EU and US server locations named, a CDN across 28+ data centres, real-time backups with one-click restores from the Business plan up, free Let's Encrypt SSL, per-plan storage, unmetered bandwidth, and a step-by-step export guide covering XML content and the media library. What leaving costs is stated plainly — the standard export drops theme design, customisations and plugins, and a complete backup is a Business or Commerce feature — and the 99.99% figure is a track record since 2005 rather than a commitment with credits. 2 3 5 9 10 15
SEO, analytics & visibility
Show reasoningHide reasoning
How this is scored
How the site is found and measured: page titles and descriptions, clean URLs and redirects, sitemaps and indexing, structured data, local SEO, page speed for search, built-in or connectable analytics, newsletter or social sharing, and guidance for the owner who is not an SEO.
0 — No search settings at all; pages cannot be given titles or descriptions.
3 — Page titles and descriptions can be edited, but sitemaps, redirects, analytics and indexing control are not described.
5 — Editable titles, descriptions and URLs, an automatic sitemap, 301 redirects, social sharing previews, built-in visitor statistics or a documented connection to an analytics tool, and SEO guidance or a checklist inside the product.
8 — SEO documented in depth: structured data, canonical and noindex control, robots.txt editing, image alt texts and compression, local business listings or a Google Business connection, multilingual SEO with hreflang, and privacy-friendly analytics without third-party cookies.
10 — Visibility as a strength: full technical SEO control including server-side rendering and speed figures, AI search or answer-engine readiness addressed, search data shown inside the editor, marketing tools (newsletter, campaigns, A/B tests) built in, and every setting explained in the help centre.
The Small-Business Owner
Meta descriptions, built-in smart redirects to catch broken links (manual ones via a plugin), Open Graph previews for sharing, traffic stats from day one, Google Analytics, premium Yoast and Rank Math plugins, and support guides on indexing, Search Console verification and staging sites. We found no public information on automatic sitemaps, structured data, or local listings and a Google Business connection — exactly what puts a joinery in front of someone searching nearby. 11 12 2 3
The Freelance Web Designer
Smart redirects plus manual redirects via plugins, search console verification, indexing controls including staging sites kept out of indexes, built-in Jetpack stats, a Google Analytics connection and Open Graph sharing are all documented, with newsletter and advertising tools on top. We found no public information on sitemaps, structured data or canonical control in the captured pages. 2 11 12
The Marketing Lead
Redirects are documented in depth — smart redirects matching slug prefixes plus manual redirect rules via plugins on plugin-enabled plans — alongside Jetpack Stats, a Google Analytics connection, Open Graph tags, automatic social sharing, Search Console verification and indexing controls. We found no public information on automatic sitemaps or structured data, and the advanced SEO tools start at the Premium plan. 2 11 12
The Practice Owner
Default search optimisation, an indexing switch, meta description control, smart redirects plus manual redirects through a plugin, Open Graph social previews, built-in Jetpack stats, Google Analytics and Search Console verification are all documented, with an SEO guide behind them. We found no public information on sitemaps, robots.txt editing, structured data or local business listings — the local visibility a practice like mine lives on. 2 11 12
The Data Protection Officer
Sites are optimised for search by default with indexing control, Google Search Console verification, staging sites kept out of the index, built-in Jetpack statistics, a documented Google Analytics connection, automatic sharing to social networks with Open Graph tags, and both automatic smart redirects and manual redirects on plugin-enabled plans. We found no public information on an automatic sitemap, structured data, robots.txt editing or multilingual hreflang on the vendor's own pages, so this sits below the deeper level. 11 12 2
The Skeptic
Default optimisation, meta description control, smart redirects, search-engine verification, Jetpack stats, a Google Analytics connection and Open Graph tags are documented, with an SEO support guide behind them. We found no public information on automatic sitemaps, structured data, canonical or robots.txt control; manual redirects need a plugin on plugin-enabled plans, and the deeper toolkit arrives by installing Yoast or Rank Math — which replace the built-in tools — on Premium plans and up. 2 11 12
Forms, bookings & business features
Show reasoningHide reasoning
How this is scored
What the site does for the business beyond showing pages: contact and custom forms with spam protection and notifications, where form entries are stored, appointment bookings, member areas, events, integrations with CRM or calendar, payments and a small shop as an add-on — judged as features of a website, not as a shop system.
0 — No forms and no interactive features; the site shows pages only.
3 — A contact form that sends an email, with spam protection, storage of entries and further business features not described.
5 — Custom forms with several field types, spam protection and email notifications, entries stored or exportable, and at least one further business feature (bookings, member area, events or a small shop) described.
8 — Business features documented in depth: forms with conditional fields, file uploads and confirmation emails, appointment booking with calendar sync, member areas or gated pages, payments, integrations with named CRM, newsletter or automation tools, and an app or extension marketplace.
10 — The site runs a small business: forms, bookings, payments, invoices or memberships work together with consent and data retention settings per form, an API or webhooks for form data, and a documented integration ecosystem — while the shop stays one feature among several.
The Small-Business Owner
The enquiry form is covered well: a form block and a dedicated editor, multistep forms, file uploads, Akismet spam protection switched on automatically, a dashboard to view and export responses, and responses sent to Google Sheets; payments, paid subscriber content, WooCommerce and 60,000+ plugins sit around it, with named integrations to Jetpack CRM, Salesforce, Mailchimp and MailPoet. We found no public information on appointment booking with calendar sync, conditional fields or confirmation emails, and the form integrations only arrive with the Business or Commerce plans. 13 2 3 1
The Freelance Web Designer
The forms guide documents a dedicated form editor, a dashboard with response export, multistep forms, file uploads, Akismet spam protection and named integrations with Salesforce, Jetpack CRM, Mailchimp and Google Sheets, alongside a payments block, memberships, gated premium content and a WooCommerce shop on the Commerce plan. That is deep business documentation with a huge plugin marketplace behind it; we found no public information on appointment bookings or conditional form fields. 2 3 13 14
The Marketing Lead
Entries can actually reach the CRM: the forms guide documents a dedicated form editor, a dashboard for managing forms and exporting responses, file uploads, multistep forms, Akismet spam protection, exports to Google Sheets and Salesforce, and a Jetpack CRM path — though those integrations require Business or Commerce plans. Payments, memberships, donations and a full WooCommerce shop with 0% transaction fees on Business and Commerce are described, while we found no public information on bookings or conditional form fields, and submissions are transmitted via email so private data needs care. 2 3 13 14
The Practice Owner
Forms come with file uploads, multistep layouts, Akismet spam protection, a dashboard where responses are stored and exported, Google Sheets and named CRM integrations such as Salesforce, Mailchimp and Jetpack CRM, alongside payments, memberships, a newsletter and a 60,000-plugin marketplace. We found no public information on appointment booking or calendar sync, and the pages state that forms send submissions via email and are not a secure method for private data — for patient details that is disqualifying as it stands. 2 3 13 14
The Data Protection Officer
A form block and a dedicated form editor are documented, with a dashboard to view and export responses, multistep forms, file uploads, surveys, Akismet spam protection enabled automatically, and connections to Google Sheets, Salesforce, Jetpack CRM, Mailchimp and MailPoet; payments, memberships, paid content and a full WooCommerce store on the Commerce plan complete a broad business layer. Two caveats from my desk: form integrations require the Business or Commerce plan, and the forms guide itself warns that forms are not a secure method for collecting private data because submissions travel by email; we found no public information on bookings or on a retention period per form. 13 3 2 14
The Skeptic
A form block plus a dedicated form editor and dashboard, multistep forms, file uploads, Akismet enabled by default, responses exportable to Google Sheets, payments, gated paid content and named CRM and newsletter integrations on the Business and Commerce plans are documented, alongside a 60,000-plugin marketplace. We found no public information on conditional fields, confirmation emails, appointment booking with calendar sync or an API for form data — and the vendor's own guide warns that submissions travel by email and are not secure for private data. 2 3 13 14
Imprint, privacy & cookie compliance
Show reasoningHide reasoning
How this is scored
What the product does so that the owner's site is legal in Germany and the EU: an imprint page, privacy-policy and legal-text generators or partners, a cookie consent banner that blocks scripts until consent, GDPR-compliant forms, a data processing agreement for visitor data, fonts and media served without third-country transfers, and accessibility under the European Accessibility Act.
0 — Nothing for the site's legal obligations; the owner is left to add every legal page and banner from outside.
3 — Pages for an imprint and privacy policy can be added by hand, and a simple cookie notice exists, but consent blocking, a data processing agreement and form data handling are not described.
5 — A cookie consent banner, a data processing agreement offered to customers, documented GDPR handling of form entries, and help for imprint and privacy pages (templates, a generator, a named legal-text partner or a help article).
8 — Compliance worked out for EU sites: a consent banner that blocks scripts and embeds until consent and logs it, legal texts kept current by a named provider or a warranty against cease-and-desist letters, fonts and maps served without US transfer, and accessibility features or an accessibility statement.
10 — Compliance as part of the product: consent management with granular categories and records, legal texts maintained for several EU countries, every embed and script assessed for consent, accessibility to WCAG 2.1 AA documented with tooling, and the vendor's share of liability stated in its terms.
The Small-Business Owner
The cookie banner exists — a widget or block that links the privacy policy and notifies visitors about tracking cookies, automatically enabled on free sites and toggleable on paid ones — the privacy policy is shared under a licence that lets me copy it as a template, Google Fonts are served from the company's own servers, and a data processing agreement with standard model clauses can be requested in account settings. The GDPR guide itself says it is not legal counsel, and we found no public information on the banner blocking scripts until consent, an imprint generator, or a named legal-text partner. 15 16 4
The Freelance Web Designer
A cookie consent block and a banner widget (automatic on the free plan, toggleable on paid plans), a GDPR guide, a reusable privacy policy template and a data processing agreement satisfying model clauses are documented, and Google Fonts are served through WordPress.com's own servers rather than Google's. We found no public information on consent blocking before scripts load, an imprint or legal-text generator, or accessibility features. 4 15 16
The Marketing Lead
There is real help here: a GDPR guide, a copyable privacy policy template, a data processing agreement with standard model clauses obtainable from account settings, a cookie consent banner that is automatic on free plans and toggleable on paid, and Google Fonts served from WordPress.com's own servers since December 2022. We found no public information on an imprint generator, on consent that blocks scripts until given, or on accessibility features. 15 16
The Practice Owner
A cookie consent block and a banner widget exist, automatically enabled on free plans and toggleable on paid ones, a data processing agreement can be requested from the account and satisfies the standard model clauses requirement, and the vendor's privacy policy is licensed for reuse as a template. The captured pages do not describe the banner blocking or logging consent, and we found no public information on imprint help, a legal-text partner, accessibility features, or how form entries are handled under the GDPR. 15 16
The Data Protection Officer
A GDPR guide, a privacy policy released under a Creative Commons licence that owners may adapt, a data processing agreement obtainable through account settings and satisfying the standard model clauses, and a cookie consent block — auto-enabled on free sites and toggleable on paid ones — are all documented, and I welcome the fact that Google Fonts have been served through WordPress.com's own servers rather than Google's CDN since December 2022. However, we found no public information on the banner actually blocking scripts and embeds until consent or logging it, on imprint or legal-text generators, on accessibility under the European Accessibility Act, or on how long form entries are kept, so the compliance story stops short of the worked-out level. 15 16 13
The Skeptic
A cookie consent block and banner widget (automatic on free sites, toggleable on paid), a requestable data processing agreement satisfying model clauses, GDPR guides, a Creative-Commons privacy policy to reuse, and Google Fonts served locally since December 2022 are documented. The pages describe the banner as notifying visitors about cookies rather than blocking scripts until consent; we found no public information on consent logging, on imprint or legal-text help beyond the general guide, or on accessibility under the European Accessibility Act. 13 15 16
European sovereignty
panel opinion
Show reasoningHide reasoning
How this is scored
Who the contracting entity and the parent company are, where the sites, the form entries and the visitor data are hosted, and who the subprocessors are (hosting, CDN, email delivery, analytics, payments, AI features). Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline; the data subjects here are the owner's own visitors and customers, so the whole chain counts, not only the editor.
0 — Non-EU vendor and contracting entity, hosting unstated, subprocessors unnamed, and no data processing agreement offered.
3 — A privacy policy and a data processing agreement exist, but hosting location is unstated or non-EU and the subprocessors are not listed.
5 — EU hosting available or an EU contracting entity, a data processing agreement offered, but parts of the chain (CDN, email, analytics, AI features, support) run through non-EU providers or the subprocessors are listed without locations.
8 — EU hosting on named infrastructure, EU contracting entity, subprocessors listed with their locations, a data processing agreement published, and security certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2) stated.
10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, entity, hosting and every subprocessor, data export and deletion documented, and certifications published with their scope rather than implied.
The Small-Business Owner
As a customer in Europe I would contract with Aut O'Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd. in Dublin and can request a data processing agreement, but the privacy policy keeps San Francisco-based Automattic Inc. as controller for some processing across all services, and the servers hold data in the US and the EU with no way to keep one site in a single region. Subprocessors appear as categories — Stripe is named, and Titan (Flock FZLLC) for professional email — without processing locations. 4 5 15 16
The Freelance Web Designer
Customers in Europe contract with the Dublin entity Aut O'Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd. and a data processing agreement is offered, but the pages state data is stored in both the US and EU and cannot be restricted to a single location, Automattic Inc. stays controller for some processing worldwide, and subprocessors are listed by category with Stripe named but without locations. We found no public information on ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certifications. 4 5 15 16
The Marketing Lead
European customers contract with Aut O'Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd. in Dublin and a data processing agreement is offered, but the pages state that sites store data on servers in both the US and the EU and that restricting the data to a single location is not possible. Most subprocessors (cloud storage, email delivery, support) are listed without company names or locations, and the parent of the platform is Automattic Inc. of San Francisco. 4 5 15
The Practice Owner
European customers contract with the Dublin entity, Aut O'Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd., and a data processing agreement with model clauses is offered — but the same pages state that site data sits on servers in the US and the EU and cannot be restricted to one location, the US parent remains controller for some processing worldwide, and subprocessors appear only as unnamed categories except Stripe for payments and Titan for email. For keeping my patients' data in Europe, that mixture is not something I can rely on. 4 5 15 16
The Data Protection Officer
Customers in Europe contract with Aut O'Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd. in Dublin and a data processing agreement is available to all site owners, but the pages state that personal data is stored on servers in both the US and the EU and cannot be restricted to one location, and Automattic Inc., the US parent, remains the controller for some processing worldwide. The subprocessor list names only Stripe and Titan among categories such as cloud storage, email delivery and support, without processing locations, and transfers rely on standard contractual clauses; we found no public information on ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certifications. 4 5 15 16 9
The Skeptic
EU customers contract with Aut O'Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd. in Dublin and a data processing agreement is offered, but personal data sits on US and EU servers with no way to restrict a site to a single region, and Automattic Inc. remains controller for some processing worldwide. The subprocessor list names only Stripe and Titan while cloud storage, email delivery and support appear as unnamed categories without locations; the stated certification is the Secure Hosting Alliance, and we found no public information on ISO 27001 or SOC 2. 4 5 9 15 16
Pricing transparency
panel disagrees
Show reasoningHide reasoning
How this is scored
Whether a buyer can compute the real cost over two or three years from public pages alone: the monthly price per plan, the introductory price and how long it lasts, the renewal price after it, setup fees, minimum term and notice, domain and mailbox renewals, transaction fees on sales, and which features (ad removal, extra languages, bookings, more storage) cost extra.
0 — No public prices at all; every customer is a sales call.
3 — A starting price or a free plan is shown, but what the plans include, what they cost after the first term or how the cost scales is unclear.
5 — Plans are public with prices and their main inclusions, but at least one commonly needed piece (the price after an introductory offer, domain renewal, a mailbox, transaction fees, an add-on) is unpriced or hard to find.
8 — Every plan priced publicly with the introductory price, its duration and the regular price after it, setup fee, minimum term and notice period, domain and add-on prices listed, and VAT treatment stated.
10 — Complete price computability: the cost of a given site over several years derivable from public pages, with every add-on, renewal, transaction and support fee, the cancellation terms and what happens to the site and domain after cancellation published.
The Small-Business Owner
All four plans are public with both figures — Personal €4, Premium €8, Business €25, Commerce €45 per month billed every 12 months against regular prices of €9, €18, €40 and €70, or €2.75/month on a 3-year Personal plan — with taxes stated as excluded, one month's notice on annual renewals, a 14-day refund, a free domain year on annual plans and domains from €13 per year. The payments feature fee is only described as "a percentage (which depends on your plan)" and we found no public information on the professional email price, so a couple of second-year costs still need checking. 3 5 9 1 2
The Freelance Web Designer
All four plans are public with regular and discounted prices, storage, VAT treatment stated as excluded, cancellation notice of one month on annual terms, domains from €13 per year with the first year free on annual plans, and a 14-day money-back guarantee. A mailbox price and the exact payments fee percentage are not shown, the captured pages give different statements on refunds, and enterprise pricing is contact-sales only. 1 3 5 9
The Marketing Lead
All four plans carry published euro prices with a discounted annual rate and a regular rate, taxes shown as excluded, one-month notice on annual subscriptions, domains from €13 a year with the first year free on annual plans, and storage per tier. We found no public information on how long the promotional rates last, on a mailbox price, or on the exact percentage fee for the Payments feature; the captured pages also give different figures on refunds — a 14-day money-back guarantee on marketing pages, and terms stating that otherwise there are no refunds and payments are final. 1 2 3 5 9
The Practice Owner
All four plans are public in euros with struck-through regular and promotional monthly figures ("€40 €25 per month, billed every 12 months, excl. taxes"), stated storage per plan, a free plan, domains starting at €13 per year, a 14-day money-back guarantee and one month's cancellation notice for annual subscriptions. What the promotional prices renew at after the first term, the Payments feature's percentage fee and the mailbox price are not stated on the captured pages, and the terms say prices vary by billing country with the final price confirmed only at checkout. 1 3 5 9
The Data Protection Officer
All four consumer plans are priced publicly with both the monthly figure and the per-month annual figure (Personal €9 and €4, Premium €18 and €8, Business €40 and €25, Commerce €70 and €45, each billed every 12 months excluding taxes), three billing intervals are named, cancellation needs one month's notice on annual subscriptions, domains start at €13 per year with the first year free on annual plans, and transaction fees are 0% on Business and Commerce. The gaps: the payments fee is described only as a percentage that depends on the plan, the professional email add-on carries no price, the enterprise plan is a sales contact, and the captured pages give different pictures on refunds — a no-questions-asked refund policy on the pricing page against terms stating payments are final except where required by law. 3 5 1 9 11 13
The Skeptic
Plan prices with storage inclusions, domains from €13 per year with the first year free on annual plans, VAT treatment stated, cancellation notice and upgrade credit are public, plus a 14-day money-back guarantee. But the pages do not state how long the discounted monthly rates last or what a plan renews at, the Payments feature fee is "a percentage (which depends on your plan)" with no number published, the shown price is an estimate finalised at checkout by billing country, and we found no public information on the mailbox price. 1 2 3 5 9
European sovereignty — proven facts
0 of 6 dimensions provenBuilt only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting location | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
| Hosting options | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
| Open source | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
Questions about WordPress.com
Is WordPress.com European?
No. whats-best.ai classifies WordPress.com as Rest of world.
Where does WordPress.com store data?
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026.
Does WordPress.com have a free plan?
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026.
What are the best alternatives to WordPress.com?
As of 4 Nov 2026, the panel rates Duda (3.5/5), Wix (3.5/5) and Framer (3.5/5) highest among the other 17 Website Builders products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is Framer (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: WordPress.com alternatives.
Where this could be wrong
- Evidence ages. The oldest capture behind this page is from 28 Oct 2026. Vendors change pricing and policies without notice; every fact reflects its source as of the capture date shown in the registry.
- Weak sourcing — Data processing agreement, Open source, Hosting location, Hosting options. Not confirmed on the vendor’s own pages as captured.
- AI can misread a source. Extraction and judgement are automated; a citation guarantees traceability, not infallibility. If something here is wrong, say so — no account needed, every report is decided within 5 business days, and accepted corrections are published.
What we left out
A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.
- 25 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 6 pricing facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 5 compliance facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 1 data fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 1 support fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 4 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown. Know more? Tell us
- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement. Know more? Tell us
Sources (16)
The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.
- 1 Vendor homepage wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 2 Features page wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 3 Pricing page wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 4 Privacy policy automattic.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 5 Terms naming the legal entity wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 6 Security page automattic.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 7 Editor, templates & design control — found from sitemap wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 8 Editor, templates & design control — found from sitemap wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 9 Hosting, domains & portability — found from sitemap wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 10 Hosting, domains & portability — found from sitemap wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 11 SEO, analytics & visibility — found from sitemap wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 12 SEO, analytics & visibility — found from sitemap wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 13 Forms, bookings & business features — found from sitemap wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 14 Forms, bookings & business features — found from sitemap wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 15 Imprint, privacy & cookie compliance — found from sitemap wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 16 Imprint, privacy & cookie compliance — found from sitemap wordpress.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →