WordPress.com vs Pressable

WordPress.com and Pressable are two hosting solutions Automattic offers designed to meet a range of needs, from just starting out to operating at scale.

WordPress.com offers optimized, hassle-free hosting for business websites, local merchants, and small online retailers. It’s best suited to freelancers and small agencies that manage one or more sites.

Pressable is our premier agency hosting, which serves the same audience, but can also accommodate agencies that host hundreds or thousands of sites. It’s a great match for large-scale businesses, major eCommerce sites, and agencies with mid-market clients.

While both platforms are optimized for WordPress hosting at scale, they offer some distinct features.

Here are the main things they have in common:

• A lightning-fast global CDN with 28+ locations for better accessibility, wherever visitors might be.
• Automated data center failover to keep sites running smoothly.
• Free migrations and staging environments for testing, which make site management easier.
• Access to the most used developer tools, like SFTP/SSH, WP-CLI, and Git.
• Jetpack Protect and VaultPress backups.

Here’s how the features of each platform differ:

Storage

• WordPress.com: Up to 150 GB storage per site.
• Pressable: Up to 200GB storage per site.

Support

• WordPress.com: Fast support on Personal and Premium plans. Priority 24/7 support on Business and Commerce plans.
• Pressable: 24/7 Expert Support via live chat with expanded support options available.

Visitors/traffic and bandwidth

• WordPress.com: Unlimited visitors/traffic and bandwidth.
• Pressable: Plans have visitor limits, but users can upgrade their account to avoid overcharges, and limits can be distributed across hosted sites. Pressable also includes unlimited bandwidth.

Plans and billing

• WordPress.com: A plan is required for each hosted site.
• Pressable: One plan can cover multiple sites. Custom pricing and packaging are available.

PHP and WordPress updates

• WordPress.com: PHP version updates are made on a site-by-site basis. By default, all WordPress.com sites run the latest version of WordPress. WordPress versions can be changed on a staging site.
• Pressable: PHP and WordPress versions are updated across all sites, with the ability to extend the upgrade time following the latest release. All versions can be tested in staging.

Uptime and reliability:

• WordPress.com: Offers excellent performance and reliability with industry-leading 99.999% uptime.
• Pressable: Guarantees 100% uptime with a Service Level Agreement (SLA), ensuring your sites are always available. Learn more.

Customization and control:

• WordPress.com: A complete WordPress solution that includes and expands on the WP-Admin interface. Provides a streamlined hosting experience with fewer customization options, focusing on simplicity and ease of use. Some plugins are pre-installed, giving users extra features out-of-the-box.
• Pressable: A familiar interface for “self-hosted” WordPress hosting users. Offers extensive API access and customizable packages. This gives users full control over the hosting environment to meet specific needs and integrate with their existing tooling, for tasks including site provisioning, viewing reports and logs, and more.

Plugin Management

• WordPress.com: Automated plugin updates
• Pressable: Automated plugin updates included on Automattic for Agencies and High Traffic plans. Available as upgrades on other plans.

User management:

• WordPress.com: Allows for basic user roles and permissions.
• Pressable: Features advanced user management capabilities, including the ability to add collaborators, restrict access, and assign specific permissions to different users, making it ideal for larger teams, resellers, and agencies.

Scalability and flexibility:

• WordPress.com: Great for growing businesses that need reliable hosting with minimal setup. 
• Pressable: Scales sites effortlessly, offering the flexibility to create custom packages and build bespoke client sites via the API.