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WordPress is not owned by one person or company. The open-source publishing software is released under the GPLv2 or later, while the WordPress Foundation holds the WordPress trademark. WordPress.com is a separate, for-profit hosted service operated by Automattic. Its hosting and paid features generate business revenue for Automattic, not royalties collected by the open-source WordPress project.
Who owns WordPress?
“WordPress” usually refers to the open-source software project distributed through WordPress.org. It began in 2003 as a fork of b2/cafelog and is licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2 or later (GPLv2+).
Official WordPress documentation describes the project this way: “WordPress is the free, Open Source web publishing software project, owned by no one individual or company.” The code can be used, studied, modified and redistributed under the GPL’s terms. That legal structure is why no single company can claim exclusive ownership of the WordPress software as a whole.
Does Automattic own WordPress?
No. Automattic is a major contributor and operates WordPress.com, but WordPress is broader than Automattic and is not the company’s proprietary product.
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Matt Mullenweg co-founded WordPress and is Automattic’s CEO. That shared leadership can make the brands appear to be the same, but the project’s open-source governance, contributors and licensing are distinct from Automattic’s corporate ownership of its own services.
Does the WordPress Foundation own WordPress?
The WordPress Foundation owns and protects the WordPress trademark and supports continued access to the project. Automattic transferred the WordPress trademarks to the Foundation in 2010 and received permission to use the name for WordPress.com.
Trademark ownership is not ownership of every line of GPL-licensed code, nor does it make the Foundation the owner of WordPress.com or other commercial services. It gives the nonprofit authority over how the WordPress name and marks are used.
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Is WordPress.org the same as WordPress.com?
| Question | WordPress.org software | WordPress.com service |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | The downloadable, open-source WordPress project | A hosted website service built around WordPress |
| Who provides hosting? | The site owner chooses a hosting provider and manages the installation, or hires someone to do so | Automattic provides the hosting service |
| Who controls the code? | The project is GPLv2+ software that users may run, study, modify and redistribute under the license | Automattic operates the hosted service and sets its service features and terms |
| How does the user pay? | The software itself is free; hosting, domains, maintenance, themes or other services may cost extra | Automattic sells hosting and feature upgrades, with availability and limits determined by the selected plan |
Installing WordPress from WordPress.org on a host you select is therefore different from opening a site on WordPress.com. Both use WordPress, but the provider, maintenance responsibility and available controls can differ.
How does WordPress make money if it’s free?
The open-source software does not need to charge a license fee. Money enters the surrounding ecosystem through optional hosting, upgrades, products and services.
WordPress.com hosting and upgrades
Automattic sells WordPress.com hosting and paid features around the free software. Official WordPress training materials cite custom-domain use and hosting large WordPress installations as examples of these business activities. The exact features, prices and plan limits change, so they should be checked on WordPress.com before purchase.
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When a customer pays for WordPress.com, the payment is for Automattic’s hosted service, infrastructure and related features. It is not a payment to a central company that owns the WordPress open-source project.
Self-hosted services and products
A self-hosted WordPress site can involve separate costs for web hosting, a domain name, backups, security, development, premium themes, plugins or professional support. Those payments go to the businesses or individuals supplying them. The WordPress software remains available under the GPL.
WooCommerce and the wider ecosystem
WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce platform developed and supported by Automattic. Its ecosystem includes optional WooCommerce.com subscriptions, purchased products, updates and support. Those sales illustrate how companies build paid offerings around open-source software; they are not revenue earned by WordPress core itself.
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What is known about WordPress or Automattic’s revenue?
Official sources identify categories of paid activity but do not establish a current total for Automattic’s revenue, the share attributable to WordPress.com, or an audited WordPress-specific revenue split. It would therefore be misleading to attach a precise annual figure to “WordPress” without defining which company or service is being measured.
WordPress.org states that WordPress powers “over 43%” of sites across the web. The cited material does not date that figure, so it should not be presented as a year-specific market-share statistic.
Why the ownership distinction matters
- Licensing: GPLv2+ grants broad freedoms to run, inspect, change and redistribute the software, subject to the license terms.
- Brand use: The Foundation’s trademark rights govern use of the WordPress name and marks; they are separate from copyright and licensing of the code.
- Purchases: A WordPress.com subscription buys Automattic’s hosting service, while a hosting or plugin purchase from another supplier is a separate transaction.
- Governance: Automattic’s contributions are significant, but contributors and organizations across the project mean the open-source project is not simply an Automattic product.
How to tell which “WordPress” someone means
- Look at the address: WordPress.org generally refers to the project, documentation and downloads; WordPress.com refers to Automattic’s hosted service.
- Ask who manages the server: If Automattic supplies the hosting, it is a WordPress.com service. If you select the host and install the software, it is self-hosted WordPress.
- Identify the payment: A plan, domain upgrade or hosted feature is a service charge. The core WordPress download has no license purchase price.
- Separate the name from the code: The Foundation’s trademark role does not mean it owns every WordPress-based business or every contribution to the codebase.
Frequently asked questions
Can anyone use WordPress for a business?
Yes. The GPL permits running WordPress for any purpose, including commercial websites, provided that use and redistribution follow the license and other applicable obligations.
Does free WordPress include free hosting?
No. The software can be downloaded without a license fee, but hosting, a domain, maintenance and optional products or services may cost money. WordPress.com bundles hosting as a commercial service.
Is money paid to WordPress.com donated to the WordPress Foundation?
A WordPress.com payment is revenue from Automattic’s hosted service. The Foundation’s trademark and nonprofit role are separate; the available official material does not establish that WordPress.com subscription revenue is paid to the Foundation.
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