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Wordpress.com is useful for very simple sites, but it's quite limited, and if you have aspirations of a high-traffic or money-earning website, then a self-hosted Wordpress installation is often a better option. Namecheap offers managed Wordpress hosting that can be a much better alternative to shared hosting at a fairly low price, they are a decent option as a starting point for basic sites.
Go with wordpress.com if you want a very simple website with not much customization. Namecheap is far better if you want to build a self-hosted Wordpress site with more control, which is far easier to scale later for higher-traffic when necessary.
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WordPress.com vs Namecheap (2024) – Web Hosting Compared
Verdict - At a Glance
Wordpress.com has a free plan, which can suit to purposes of very simple websites but it's severely limited, doesn't allow you to use a custom domain, doesn't include installation of {separate |]plugins, and it also includes ads on the site.
Namecheap Wordpress hosting uses containers for each site , which makes them less likely to be taken offline if another website on the server goes down. The speed of Namecheap hosting can be pretty decent though it won't compete with higher-end hosts. Their hosting is very affordable and it can tackle up to 500k visitors each month, though keep in mind, their managed hosting prices are based on a per-website basis.
Monthly Pricing Based on Number of Visitors
We always try to quote the monthly fee for each host not including discounts that might apply if you pay yearly. Wordpress.com's plans renew at the same rate (No introductory discounts). Plan pricing for Namecheap renews at the same rate.
Prices listed below is the price of our recommended PLAN based on number of visitors for Wordpress.com and Namecheap. Any time we have included figures in brackets accounts for overages. Sometimes it's cheaper to use a lower plan with overage fees if your host includes this in their pricing structure, but the performance of the lower plan might not be as strong.
Monthly Pricing Based on Number of Websites
The pricing below shows the closest PLAN based on the amount of websites at both Wordpress.com and Namecheap. These plans will also include an allowance of disk space and visitors. Some hosting companies allow additional wordpress installs for an additional fee. This can sometimes work out as more affordable than using a higher plan, if it works out as more affordable then we will list these in brackets below
Remember, hosts often include discounts when you pay on a longer basis such as yearly or over multiple years, so make sure to check these offers out if applicable.
Monthly Pricing Based on Disk Space
This is pricing per gigabyte of disk space for both Wordpress.com and Namecheap. As previously mentioned, if it works out as more affordable to use a cheaper plan and pay overages then we'll list that below in brackets.
Keep in mind that if you have a large amount of disk space usage for your site then you could alternatively host these externally using another service
Comparison Between Main Features
Other Features Compared
Hosting Speed
Some managed wordpress hosting companies have an SLA (service level agreement) where they commit to a certain percentage of uptime on a monthly basis. The uptime listed below is a general figure for Wordpress.com and Namecheap. but it's not necessarily an SLA, see the host's T&Cs for more info. SLAs often include conditions where you get a refund of a portion of monthly fees if the service drops below a certain amount of uptime for that month
Content Delivery Networks are widely distributed networks of servers that can serve your visitors important files such as images and CSS files from a server close to their location, which can significantly increase your site speed.
Security
Website security is extremely important and all websites should be considered to be at risk. It's important to pick a host that takes security seriously. Below are some of the key security features that are offered by Wordpress.com and Namecheap.
Conclusion
To find out more about the specs, pricing, and service limitations each of these hosts, then you can use the following links to check out Wordpress.com and Namecheap.
That's our head to head comparison between Wordpress.com and Namecheap Thank you for reading, we hope this will help you to choose between them!