there are three VERSIONS of WordPress and each is qualitatively different.
- 1. WordPress.com free site offers users a chance to have a site with a subdomain, some limitations, and an upgrade path.
- 2. WordPress.com (Upgraded): there are different types of upgrades you can have, domain, size, appearance, etc. but you still get the same hosting. There are business & enterprises upgrades, too.
- 3. WordPress (self-hosted): You will need to purchase or have available appropriate hosting for your own. This offers you the most freedom, but you also have to maintain the site. The self hosted software is not paid, though of course, you must pay for hosting.
Please don’t confuse WordPress.com and WordPress.org (the site for the software). Additionally, there is a version of WordPress that used to be multi-site, that is now rolled into #3.
Kenneth