Title: wordpress.com upgrade vs. externally hosted wordpress.org
Last modified: August 21, 2016

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# wordpress.com upgrade vs. externally hosted wordpress.org

 *  Resolved [allysonokeefe23](https://wordpress.org/support/users/allysonokeefe23/)
 * (@allysonokeefe23)
 * [12 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpresscom-upgrade-vs-externally-hosted-wordpressorg/)
 * I was wondering what the difference was, regarding features and back-end CMS,
   between an externally hosted wp.org site and a wp.com + upgrades site.
 * Currently I’m hosting externally through Media Temple, but using wp.org as my
   CMS. From [WP’s upgrade documentation](http://en.support.wordpress.com/upgrades/),
   it looks like paying for custom design and domain mapping/registration would 
   provide the same exact service as I currently have. Is that correct? Or is there
   a difference between externally hosting and using WP’s upgrades?
 * Thanks for the help.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

 *  [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/)
 * (@esmi)
 * [12 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpresscom-upgrade-vs-externally-hosted-wordpressorg/#post-4772538)
 * Have a look at [http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/](http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/)
 *  Thread Starter [allysonokeefe23](https://wordpress.org/support/users/allysonokeefe23/)
 * (@allysonokeefe23)
 * [12 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpresscom-upgrade-vs-externally-hosted-wordpressorg/#post-4772555)
 * > Have a look at [http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/](http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/)
 * Thanks for the quick response, esmi. That’s comparing the non-upgraded version
   of wp.com, though, right?
 * I was wondering if you pay for the upgrades ($30/year, or whatever) and using
   solely WP as your server and CMS, if it’d essentially be the same as hosting 
   elsewhere (like on Media Temple or Laughing Squid) and using WP for a CMS. …Does
   that make sense?
 * I’m just wondering if I could drop MT as a server host and move to WP upgrade,
   and still have exactly the same functionality and back-end.
 *  [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/)
 * (@esmi)
 * [12 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpresscom-upgrade-vs-externally-hosted-wordpressorg/#post-4772556)
 * > I was wondering if you pay for the upgrades ($30/year, or whatever) and using
   > solely WP as your server and CMS, if it’d essentially be the same as hosting
   > elsewhere (like on Media Temple or Laughing Squid) and using WP for a CMS
 * No – wordpress.com does not work like that. The upgrade you refer to just allows
   you to add custom CSS to your free site/blog. You cannot upload themes or plugins
   and you cannot edit any files on wordpress.com full stop.
 *  Thread Starter [allysonokeefe23](https://wordpress.org/support/users/allysonokeefe23/)
 * (@allysonokeefe23)
 * [12 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpresscom-upgrade-vs-externally-hosted-wordpressorg/#post-4772689)
 * > No – wordpress.com does not work like that. The upgrade you refer to just allows
   > you to add custom CSS to your free site/blog. You cannot upload themes or plugins
   > and you cannot edit any files on wordpress.com full stop.
 * Well, crap.
 * Thanks for the responses, esmi.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

The topic ‘wordpress.com upgrade vs. externally hosted wordpress.org’ is closed 
to new replies.

## Tags

 * [comparison](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/comparison/)
 * [customization](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/customization/)
 * [differences](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/differences/)
 * [upgrades](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/upgrades/)
 * [wordpress.com](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/wordpress-com/)

 * In: [Everything else WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/miscellaneous/)
 * 4 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [allysonokeefe23](https://wordpress.org/support/users/allysonokeefe23/)
 * Last activity: [12 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpresscom-upgrade-vs-externally-hosted-wordpressorg/#post-4772689)
 * Status: resolved

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