Is WordPress free?
Yes and no. The WordPress software itself is free and open source: anyone can download it from WordPress.org and use it without a licence fee. What costs money is everything around it: somewhere to host it, a domain name, any premium theme or plugins, the work of designing and building the site, and keeping it updated afterwards.
That is why two WordPress quotes in Bangkok can be thousands of baht apart. One might be a premium theme with your logo dropped in; the other a custom theme with a Thai and English version, booking forms and PDPA consent. Both are "WordPress". For the bigger picture of what a site costs whatever the platform, see our guide to website cost in Thailand.
This article sorts out the confusion in three steps: the two things called WordPress, the costs of running your own WordPress site, and when paying for a custom build makes sense.
What is the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com?
The name covers two different products, and mixing them up is the most common source of wrong budgets.
WordPress.org: the software you host yourself
This is the free software. You install it on hosting you pay for, from a Thai or international provider, and you control everything: themes, plugins, code, backups and where the data lives. Most business sites described as "WordPress" are built this way, including the sites we build. The software is free; the hosting, domain and work are your costs.
WordPress.com: a hosted service
WordPress.com is a commercial service run by Automattic that hosts WordPress for you. You pay a plan fee, and the hosting, security updates and backups are handled on their side. It is closer to a website builder subscription, with the WordPress editor inside.
Which matters for cost
With WordPress.org you pay a mix of small yearly bills plus the build. With WordPress.com you pay a recurring plan, and what you are allowed to install depends on the plan tier. For a business that wants a custom design, a Thai and English version and full control of forms and consent, self-hosted WordPress is the usual choice.
WordPress.com plans
When we checked the WordPress.com pricing page in September 2026, it listed these tiers, from lowest to highest. Names, prices and features change, so confirm before you sign up.
| Plan | What it is aimed at |
|---|---|
| Free | A basic site on a WordPress.com subdomain, with limited storage |
| Personal | A custom domain and no ads |
| Premium | Payment buttons and video hosting |
| Business | Business tools and developer access |
| Commerce | An online store with WooCommerce built in |
At the time of writing, WordPress.com states that plugin installation is available on every paid plan. That is a change from older advice you may still find online, which said plugins needed a higher tier. The free plan does not allow a custom domain, so it is not a realistic option for a business.
WordPress.com prices are shown per month or per year, and a yearly bill is where the real comparison should start. Put that figure next to a year of self-hosting plus your build, and next to what Wix and Squarespace really cost, before choosing. If a store is on your list, the fee structure of a hosted commerce platform is laid out in our note on the Shopify Thailand price.
The self-hosted cost stack
For a self-hosted WordPress site, the running costs come in a handful of lines. We have left out baht figures on purpose: providers change prices often, and a number that was right last year can mislead you now. Use each provider's current page.
- Domain. A yearly renewal. A .com is usually the simplest; a .co.th needs supporting documents, such as a Thai company registration or trademark certificate, and is registered through THNIC's accredited registrars.
- Hosting. The biggest variable. Cheap shared hosting can run a five-page brochure site; a WooCommerce store or a busy bilingual site needs better hosting. A server in or near Southeast Asia keeps pages quick for visitors in Thailand.
- SSL certificate. Most hosts now include a free certificate. Paying extra for one is rarely needed for a normal business site.
- Theme. A free theme, a premium theme bought once with a yearly update licence, or a custom theme built for you. A custom theme costs more up front but carries no licence to renew and no page builder slowing the site.
- Plugins. Many are free. Premium ones usually charge a yearly licence for updates and support.
- Backups. Sometimes included with hosting, sometimes a paid plugin or service. Either way, check that backups are stored off the server.
Free vs paid plugins for Thai sites
Three needs come up on almost every Thai business site. Forms: free form plugins cover most enquiry forms. Multilingual: a Thai and English site can run on a free plugin, but larger bilingual sites often use a paid one for easier translation management. PDPA consent: a cookie consent tool that blocks non-essential cookies until the visitor agrees; free versions exist, and paid tiers add features such as consent logs. Choose by need, not by feature list.
Should you build it yourself or hire a WordPress developer?
The build is where most of the money goes, and where the range is widest.
Doing it yourself
You can install a theme, add pages and plugins and launch a basic site with no developer at all. The cost is your time, and the risks are the usual ones: a slow page builder theme, forms that do not reach anyone, a cookie banner that shows but blocks nothing, and a Thai version that drifts out of sync with the English one.
Hiring a developer
A developer's price depends on the pricing model and how much of the work they take on; our article on how to price website development explains why quotes vary, and our guide on how to choose a web design partner lists the questions to ask. As a reference point, our own packages are indicative, one-time prices:
- Starter, from THB 10,000: up to 5 pages with a custom design on WordPress, built mobile-first, with contact, WhatsApp and LINE buttons, on-page SEO and PDPA cookie consent.
- Business, from THB 30,000: up to 15 pages in English and Thai, two revision rounds, a custom WordPress theme with no page builder, blog, forms, booking or enquiry flows, keyword mapping and schema markup.
The final price is set in a written quote once we know your pages and content. More detail, including what changes the price, is on our WordPress site pricing page.
At the top of the range sits headless WordPress, where WordPress manages content and a separate front end displays it. It costs more to build and maintain and suits few small businesses; our piece on headless WordPress explained covers when it is worth it.
Keeping it running
A WordPress site is not finished at launch. WordPress core, the theme and every plugin release updates, some of them security fixes. Left alone for a year, a site collects outdated plugins, which is how many small business sites get hacked (our guide to fixing a hacked WordPress site covers the clean-up) or break after a hosting change.
The upkeep work is predictable: apply updates, check the site still works afterwards, keep off-server backups, renew licences and the domain, and watch the forms so enquiries do not silently stop. You can do this yourself if someone on your team is comfortable with it, or pay for it. We offer website maintenance after launch, priced per site on request, because a five-page site and a bilingual site with booking flows need different amounts of care.
Fewer plugins means less to update. That is one practical reason we build custom themes without a page builder: the site carries less code that needs looking after.
Which WordPress setup fits you
- A personal site or side project: a WordPress.com paid plan or a DIY self-hosted install is enough.
- A new Bangkok business that needs a credible small site: self-hosted WordPress with a simple custom design, mobile-first, with WhatsApp and LINE buttons and PDPA consent. This is what our Starter package is for.
- An established company serving Thai and foreign customers: self-hosted WordPress with a custom theme, two languages, forms or booking flows and proper schema. That is our Business package.
- A shop selling online: WooCommerce or Shopify, and a separate budget for payments and couriers.
If you know which of these you are, request a quote with your page list and languages, or send it by WhatsApp or call +66 93 004 4098. Payment terms are set out in the written quote.
