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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →There is no single defensible three-year price for self-hosted WordPress: you must choose a host and account for who will handle upkeep. Of the current US plan figures available, WordPress.com Business is the only option here with a displayed three-year prepaid price: $720 before taxes. WP Engine and Kinsta publish different billing terms, and neither page establishes a fixed 36-month renewal cost. These prices were checked on October 7, 2026, and can change.
What the current prices actually cover
The figures below are provider-published US plan prices, not a complete startup budget. Taxes, overages, add-ons, domain renewal after any included period, paid plugins or themes, email, and labor can change the total.
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| Option | Published price and billing basis | Capacity or inclusions stated | What is not established |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress.com Business | $20 per month when billed every three years: $720 prepaid for that 36-month billing period, before taxes. The plan auto-renews, but the reviewed renewal price was displayed as a placeholder. | 50 GB storage. Annual and multiyear paid plans include a custom domain for the first year. Hosting, SSL, global CDN, DDoS and brute-force protection, managed WordPress updates, developer tools, priority 24/7 support, premium themes, real-time backups, and one-click restores are listed. | A numerical renewal-adjusted three-year total. |
| WP Engine Essential Startup | The page displayed $30 per month and $350 billed today for one site. This is the page’s stated billing context, not a guaranteed three-year rate. | 25,000 estimated visits per month, 10 GB storage, and 75 GB monthly bandwidth. The plan includes managed WordPress, PHP and MySQL; 24/7 technical support; daily and on-demand backups; auto-renewing SSL; security patching and plugin risk scans; one-click staging; and a global CDN. | A fixed 36-month total: taxes and overages may apply, and renewal pricing is subject to change. |
| Kinsta Single 35k | $35 month-to-month, or $30 per month with annual payment; the page shows $350 billed annually. Kinsta says annual billing gives two months free compared with paying monthly. | 35,000 monthly visits. Kinsta defines a visit as a unique IP address visiting within a 24-hour period; plans have stated install and capacity limits. | A three-year total based on today’s annual price or future renewal rates. |
| Self-hosted WordPress | No provider-independent price: WordPress.org distributes the software, but hosting is selected and paid for separately. | The owner chooses the hosting service and decides how to provide maintenance and security. | A meaningful total until the host, service level, add-ons, and responsibility for operating work are specified. |
Sources: WordPress.com pricing, WordPress.com subscription renewal information, WP Engine plans, Kinsta pricing, WordPress.org software, and WordPress.com’s overview of WordPress.com and WordPress.org. Prices and plan details were checked October 7, 2026.
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Why these prices are not a like-for-like ranking
Billing terms do not line up
WordPress.com’s $720 figure is a three-year prepayment at the displayed rate. WP Engine’s page shows an upfront offer and monthly figure, while Kinsta shows both monthly and annual billing. Multiplying a current monthly or annual figure across 36 months would assume that the price, plan, and renewal terms stay unchanged; the cited pages do not establish that assumption.
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Traffic allowances use different definitions
WP Engine describes 25,000 visits per month as an estimate and directs sites with traffic spikes or dynamic sites to contact it. Kinsta counts a visit as a unique IP address within a 24-hour period. Those numbers should not be treated as equivalent measures of traffic. Check each provider’s definition against the startup’s expected usage before comparing capacity.
Included work changes the cash comparison
Managed plans bundle services that founders otherwise need to arrange or perform. WP Engine lists backups, security measures, staging, and a CDN among its features; some items, including automated plugin updates and an extra security layer, appear as paid add-ons. For self-hosting, the software does not itself provide hosting or take responsibility for the site’s operations. Compare only features and add-ons the startup needs.
How to calculate a fair three-year cost
- Set the period. Use the same 36 months for every option. Separate money paid during that period from the price of a prepaid term; for example, WordPress.com’s displayed $720 is paid for its three-year billing period upfront.
- Record the billing schedule. Note whether the provider charges monthly, annually, or for three years at a time, and record the actual amount due under that schedule. Do not extend a current rate into later years unless the provider establishes that price.
- Model renewal separately. Add later billing only when the renewal price and terms are known. WordPress.com’s reviewed renewal page did not show a numeric price, and WP Engine says renewal pricing can change.
- Match capacity to the site. List the required site count, storage, bandwidth, and expected visits, along with how each provider measures usage. Include likely traffic spikes and any overage exposure.
- Account for domains and add-ons. WordPress.com includes a custom domain for the first year on annual and multiyear paid plans; include later domain renewal in the budget if applicable. Add only the plugins, themes, security features, or other services the modeled site actually needs.
- Assign the operating work. For each route, name who handles WordPress and plugin updates, backups, security response, staging, and incident troubleshooting. Keep founder time visible as workload; do not turn it into a dollar figure without an explicit hourly-rate assumption.
- Show cash and workload side by side. Report the documented 36-month cash commitment and the work assigned to the founders or provider. This avoids presenting a low hosting bill as a low total cost when it shifts substantial operational responsibility to the startup.
What this means for a two-person startup
If the founders want a documented three-year payment figure from these listings, WordPress.com Business displays $720 prepaid before taxes, with its renewal amount unresolved on the reviewed page. That makes the initial term easy to budget, but not the cost after it. WP Engine and Kinsta may suit different capacity or service needs, yet their current pages do not support a reliable three-year price projection. Self-hosting can be budgeted only after the founders choose a host and decide how they will cover maintenance and security.
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