# WordPress alternatives with the business tools already installed > Verdict: stay with WordPress.com if you want a content site with full control of its plugins, from US$9 a month on Personal. Pick Vonza if you want courses, community, email, SMS and payments working without plugins. WordPress.com is a superb publishing platform with a plugin for everything. Vonza is the no-plugin route: courses, community, email, SMS, funnels, scheduling, invoicing and a store on every plan, with WordPress.com’s prices read from its own page. WordPress.com is managed hosting for the world’s most-used CMS: unlimited pages, posts, users and visitors on every plan, a free tier, themes and plugins from the Business plan, email marketing through MailPoet on Business, WooCommerce on Commerce and 24/7 expert support. [See how migration works](https://vonza.com/free-migrations). ## WordPress vs Vonza at a glance Prices read from wordpress.com on 2026-10-21; check the vendor’s page for current pricing. | Pricing | Vonza | WordPress | | --- | --- | --- | | Lowest monthly price | See vonza.com/pricing | US$9 (Personal) | | Annual billing | Pay monthly, or save up to 30% with annual billing. | US$4/mo | | Transaction fee | In addition to Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 payment processing fee, Vonza charges an additional platform fee per transaction — 20% during your free trial, 1% on any paid plan. | not stated | | Free trial | Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. | free plan | Source: [wordpress.com](https://wordpress.com/pricing/), read on 2026-10-21; a copy of the page as read that day is kept so the figures can be checked. Platform transaction fee not stated on the page; courses appear in the navigation only. Vonza’s price is its live price on the day you read this page; its billing, fee and trial lines are the pricing page’s own. ## What each platform includes From WordPress’s pricing page as read on 2026-10-21. “Not stated” means the page did not mention it, not that WordPress lacks it; Vonza’s column reflects the products with their own pages on this site. | Capability | Vonza | WordPress | | --- | --- | --- | | Online courses | Yes | Not stated | | Community | Yes | Not stated | | Memberships | Yes | Not stated | | Email marketing | Yes | Yes, Business plan | | SMS marketing | Yes | Not stated | | Website builder | Yes | Yes | | Landing pages | Yes | Not stated | | Sales funnels | Yes | Not stated | | Appointment scheduling | Yes | Not stated | | Invoicing | Yes | Not stated | | CRM | Yes | Not stated | | Online store | Yes | Yes, Commerce plan | | Affiliate program | Yes | Not stated | | Free migration | Yes | Not stated | ## Why creators switch from WordPress to Vonza Grounded in what each pricing page lists, not in opinion. - **One platform instead of a stack**: On WordPress.com, email marketing arrives on the Business plan and the store on Commerce, and courses are a plugin. Vonza ships them as one product on every plan. - **SMS marketing built in**: SMS is not on WordPress.com’s pricing page. Vonza includes SMS marketing with a monthly credit on every plan. - **Appointment scheduling included**: Appointment scheduling is not on WordPress.com’s pricing page. Vonza includes a booking page and calendar sync. - **Free migration on annual plans**: WordPress.com’s navigation lists site migration. Vonza migrates courses, communities and your calendar for free on annual Pro and Business plans. ## When to stay with WordPress WordPress is the right choice for some creators. Here is when, and what its pricing page leaves out. ### Stay with WordPress if - You want a blog or content site first, with full control of a WordPress install and its plugin ecosystem. - You need a free plan or an entry price in single digits and can live with ads on the free tier. - Your site depends on specific WordPress themes or plugins. ### Not listed on WordPress’s pricing page - Online courses - Community - Memberships - SMS marketing ## Move from WordPress to Vonza for free Switch to Vonza effortlessly. We’ll migrate your courses, communities, and calendar for free with any Annual Pro or Business plan. Tell support what you are bringing from WordPress and the team handles the move; anything beyond courses, communities and your calendar can be moved for a fee. 1. **Choose Your Plan**: Sign up for an Annual Pro or Business plan to get started. 2. **Request Migration**: Contact Vonza Support and tell us what you want migrated. 3. **We Handle Everything**: Our team manages your migration and keeps you updated. ## What you add when you switch from WordPress WordPress’s pricing page does not mention these. Vonza has a product page for each, so they sit in the same login as your courses and community rather than in another subscription. - Online courses - Community - Memberships - SMS marketing Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. ## WordPress vs Vonza: your questions ### Is Vonza cheaper than WordPress.com? No. WordPress.com’s Personal plan was US$9 a month billed monthly (US$4 a month billed yearly) when we read its pricing page on 2026-10-21, and there is a free plan with ads. Vonza’s Starter plan costs considerably more per month because it is a full business platform, with courses, community, email, SMS, funnels, scheduling, invoicing and a store included; the live figure is in the table above. ### Does WordPress.com charge transaction fees? Its pricing page does not state one; the Commerce plan says “keep more of what you earn” without a percentage. Vonza’s fee sentence, taken from our own pricing page, is in the table above. ### Can I migrate from WordPress to Vonza? Yes. Switch to Vonza effortlessly. We’ll migrate your courses, communities, and calendar for free with any Annual Pro or Business plan. Ask support once you are on the plan and the team moves your courses, communities and scheduling calendar; anything else can be moved for a fee. Details are on the free migration page. ### Can I sell courses on WordPress.com? Courses appear only in WordPress.com’s navigation, not in its plan table; selling them means a plugin and, for payments, the Commerce plan. Vonza’s course builder is native on every plan. ### Does WordPress.com include email marketing? On the Business plan: its page lists “Email marketing … 500 subscribers” through the MailPoet Business plan. Vonza includes email marketing on every plan. ## See for yourself before you leave WordPress Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. Keep WordPress running while you look around. ## Related pages - [Shopify Alternatives](https://vonza.com/compare/shopify-alternatives): The reference store platform for physical products, with apps for everything else. - [Systeme.io Alternatives](https://vonza.com/compare/systeme-io-alternatives): A very low-cost all-in-one with a free plan that never expires. - [Kajabi Alternatives](https://vonza.com/compare/kajabi-alternatives): Courses, community, email and funnels in one polished, premium-priced platform. - [Compare Vonza](https://vonza.com/compare) - [Vonza pricing](https://vonza.com/pricing) - [Free migration](https://vonza.com/free-migrations)