Personal Plan vs. Premium Plan | Which Plan Is Better?

I’ve mentioned a number of times on my blog that going self-hosted should be every blogger’s end goal because there are lot of benefits whether it’s in terms of monetisation or opportunities. You can do so much more with a self-hosted website.

On the other hand, if you decide to go self-hosted without any preparation or at the wrong time, it could also be a waste of money that’s the reason why you should really focus on establishing your blog’s goals and needs first before considering the big move.

But being on a hosting service platform has its own pros as well if you decide to upgrade your plan which is what I would recommend doing if you are thinking about taking your blog to the next level but at the same time aren’t really sure of your blog’s future.

Upgrading your plan would be a much wiser and affordable option than going self-hosted. In today’s post, I wanted to compare both the personal and premium plan from WordPress.com. If you are thinking about upgrading your plan then this post is for you!

J’ai mentionné à plusieurs reprises sur mon blog que l’auto-hébergement devrait être l’objectif final de chaque blogueur, car il y a beaucoup d’avantages, que ce soit en termes de monétisation ou d’opportunités. Vous pouvez faire beaucoup plus avec un site Web auto-hébergé.

D’un autre côté, si vous décidez de vous héberger sans aucune préparation ou au mauvais moment, cela pourrait également être un gaspillage d’argent, c’est la raison pour laquelle vous devriez vraiment vous concentrer sur l’établissement des objectifs et des besoins de votre blog avant de considérer le grand pas.

Mais être sur une plateforme de service d’hébergement a ses propres avantages si vous décidez de mettre à niveau votre plan, ce que je recommanderais de faire si vous envisagez de faire passer votre blog au niveau supérieur, mais en même temps, vous n’êtes pas vraiment sûr de l’avenir de votre blog.

Mettre à niveau votre plan serait une option beaucoup plus sage et abordable que de devenir auto-hébergé. Dans l’article d’aujourd’hui, je voulais comparer à la fois le plan personnel et le plan premium de WordPress.com. Si vous songez à mettre à jour votre plan, cet article est pour vous!

Related: Self-Hosted vs Plan Upgrade | Which One Is Better?

 

WHY THE PERSONAL & PREMIUM PLAN?

One of the main reasons why I chose to compare the personal and premium plan is because those are the only two plans that the majority of the bloggers tend to select when they decide to upgrade their plan. Plus if you were thinking about upgrading your plan, I would recommend to choose either one of them depending on your needs.

 

FEATURES

In general, both of those plans have a number of similar features when it comes to the essential part. They both have a pre-installed SSL certificate which is very important for the safety of your website. In addition, they both offer free domain for a year and your domain will renew at its regular price the year after. However, there are some things that are completely different and are only available for the premium plan.

For example, you are able to use Google Analytics if you upgrade to a premium plan. With GA, you will be able to see in-depth information of your traffic which are way more detailed than your regular stats. This is something that might be important if you are thinking about monetising your blog or turning your blog into a business.

Another thing worth mentioning is your storage space. With the personal plan, you’ll receive 6 GB of storage space whereas with the premium plan, you’ll get 13 GB. If you don’t use a lot of images on your posts nor graphics/templates then 6 GB might seem enough but on the other hand, if you publish blog posts quite regularly and use pictures – take into consideration that 6 GB might not be enough for you.

 

CUSTOMISATION

When it comes to customisation, the premium plan has a lot more to offer compared to the personal plan. Both of those plans have a lot of free themes available which is the same case for the free plan as well so nothing changes from that aspect. But the premium plan offers all the paid themes for free whereas for the personal plan, that isn’t the case. Also, the premium plan has an advanced feature in terms of customisation.

You can use HTML and CSS codes to edit your theme which is something that’s not available for the personal plan. It’s quite obvious that the premium plan is the best when it comes to blog design, if the customisation of your theme is something very important to you – the personal plan isn’t the best option in that aspect. Note that you don’t need to use a paid theme or use HTML or CSS code in order to have a professional website.

Related:

• 5 Tips For Choosing The Best Blog Theme
• The Ultimate Guide: Black & White Branding
• The Ultimate Guide: Pink Branding

 

MONETISATION

There are so many ways you can monetise your website, you can even earn money without buying your domain! The opportunities you receive truly depends on your traffic, number of followers and so many other elements. But with the premium plan, you’ll be able to monetise your blog through ads and using PayPal buttons.

Both the personal and premium plan have the recurring payment feature which allows you to accept monthly or annual payments on your website. This feature will be quite useful if you offer coaching or run a membership service.

If you gain a lot of traffic every month, using ads on your website will obviously be beneficial but note that you will only be able to use WordAds which isn’t the best if you were looking to earn money from ads but that’s the only option you have.

If you sell products or services, a PayPal button is quite handy. It will handle everything safely for both you and your client. As I mentioned previously, the premium plan offers more things in terms of monetisation but I would like to remind you those aren’t the only ways to monetise your blog. You can earn money from sponsored posts, affiliate marketing, etc.

Related: WordAds vs AdSense | Which One Is Better?

 

COST

Compared to a self-hosted website, both the personal and premium plan are much more affordable. With the personal plan, you only pay £3 per month which is £36 per year (without adding the cost of the renewal for the domain) and with the premium plan, you only pay £7 per month which is £84 per year.

Obviously, there is a big difference when you compare both prices but when you look at the features, it’s quite understandable. The personal plan is way cheaper than the premium plan but the premium plan has a lot more to offer so the price is reasonable.

Related: Siteground vs Bluehost | Which Hosting Service Is Better?

 

MY OPINION

As you most probably already know, my website is on WordPress.com and I don’t plan on going self-hosted anytime soon. I’ve been using the premium plan for 3 years now and it’s the plan that suits my needs the best so I opted for it ever since the beginning.

The reason why I didn’t go for the personal plan is because of the limited features for example the storage space, customisation and to a certain extent the monetisation aspect as well. I only upgraded to a plan when I knew I was serious about blogging otherwise it would have been pouring money down the drain.

With that said, there aren’t really huge differences apart from a number of features if you compare both plans together. One has obviously more features than the other but in the grand scheme of things, if you are thinking about upgrading your plan – I would recommend to go for the personal one.

One, it’s affordable. Two, it offers the main and essential functionalities. The premium plan is only necessary if you are going to sell services on your website or want to design your website depending on your preference.

Related: Squarespace vs WordPress | Which One Is Better?

 

CONCLUSION

You should go for the personal plan:

✘ if you are serious about your blog

✘ if you want to try to monetise your blog

 

You should go for the premium plan:

✘ if you want to turn your blog into a business

✘ if your blog design is an important aspect for you

✘ if you sell services or products

✘ if you use a lot of pictures and templates/graphics on your website

✘ if you require Google Analytics for certain opportunities

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!

xo N

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