BookSparker vs WordPress.com for author websites
WordPress.com puts a full website on your own domain from $4/month billed yearly, with plugins, a blog and a built-in newsletter. BookSparker is the better fit if you want your author website ready today: it is built from your books, free on every plan with no ads, and needs no themes or plugins.
Last reviewed
BookSparker vs WordPress.com at a glance
A side-by-side look at the features that matter most for scaling your sales and growing your readership.
Free plan
BookSparker
WordPress.com
Your own domain
BookSparker
WordPress.com
Book and series pages built from your catalog
WordPress.com has author themes and a Goodreads block, but you create each book page yourself or with a plugin.
BookSparker
WordPress.com
Newsletter signups to your email provider
BookSparker
WordPress.com
A website for each pen name
BookSparker
WordPress.com
Blog
BookSparker
WordPress.com
Sell e-books directly
WordPress.com payment buttons take 4% on Premium, 2% on Business and nothing on Commerce, plus Stripe’s processing fee.
BookSparker
WordPress.com
Free domain for the first year
BookSparker connects a domain you buy from any registrar.
BookSparker
WordPress.com
Themes and design
BookSparker
WordPress.com
SEO settings
BookSparker
WordPress.com
Visitor stats
BookSparker
WordPress.com
Free book for newsletter signups
BookSparker
WordPress.com
Book swaps, group promos and landing pages
BookSparker
WordPress.com
WordPress.com pricing vs BookSparker
WordPress.com has a free plan with ads on a wordpress.com address. Personal is $4/month billed yearly ($48 for the first year, renewing at a higher price) or $9 month to month, and adds your own domain, no ads and plugins. Premium, $8/month billed yearly, adds the SEO tools and payment buttons for selling e-books. Prices exclude tax, a free domain covers the first year on yearly plans, and each site needs its own plan.
BookSparker
Free Forever, then scale as you grow
- Free ForeverFree
1 Author Website · Free booksparker.com Address · 20 Books · 1 Mailing List Integration · 3 Swaps/mo
- Growing Author$15/mo or $150/yr
4 Author Websites · 4 Custom Domains · No BookSparker Footer Note · Unlimited Books · 100 Swaps/mo
- Pro Author$25/mo or $240/yr
8 Author Websites · 8 Custom Domains · No BookSparker Footer Note · 8 Mailing List Integrations · Unlimited Swaps
WordPress.com
Hosted WordPress, with themes, plugins and a built-in newsletter
- FreeFree
A yoursite.wordpress.com address with WordPress.com ads, 1 GB of storage and 7 days of stats.
- Personal$4/mo yearly or $9/mo
Your own domain (free for the first year on yearly billing), no ads, plugins and theme uploads.
- Premium$8/mo yearly or $18/mo
Adds SEO tools, Google Analytics and payment buttons for selling e-books, with a 4% fee.
- Business$25/mo yearly or $40/mo
Adds advanced hosting tools and lowers the payment fee to 2%.
- Commerce$45/mo yearly or $70/mo
Built for online stores, with no WordPress.com payment fee.
WordPress.com pricing as reviewed October 2026. Pricing can change, so confirm the latest on WordPress.com.
The honest pros and cons
Where BookSparker pulls ahead, and where WordPress.com is genuinely the stronger pick.
Why authors choose BookSparker
- Free on every plan with no ads, where the WordPress.com free plan shows its own
- Built from your books: covers, series pages in reading order and buy buttons, with no plugins to find
- A newsletter signup that sends readers straight to your email provider, with a free book to offer
- One paid plan covers up to 4 author websites on your own domains; WordPress.com needs a plan per site
- Ready in minutes in a live preview, with no theme to configure
- Book swaps, group promos and landing pages in the same account
Where WordPress.com wins
- Your own domain from $4/month billed yearly, with a free domain for the first year
- Thousands of themes, and plugins on every paid plan
- A blog and a built-in newsletter on every plan, the free one included
- Sell e-books and take payments from the Premium plan
- It is WordPress, so your site can grow into almost anything
WordPress.com trade-offs
- The free plan shows WordPress.com ads and keeps only 7 days of stats
- No book catalog: each book page and series list is built by hand or with a plugin
- Your own domain needs a paid plan, and each extra site, such as another pen name, needs its own
- The SEO tools need Premium, and payments carry a fee below the Commerce plan
Which should you choose?
Choose BookSparker if
Authors who want a professional website for their books live today, free and without ads, with a newsletter signup that feeds their list and a site for every pen name.
Choose WordPress.com if
Authors who blog regularly, want the WordPress world of themes and plugins, or want a low-cost single site on their own domain.
Switching from WordPress.com?
You do not need to export pages or move a theme. Add your books to BookSparker and your site is built from them, then keep your WordPress.com site live while you polish the new one. If you blog, you can keep blogging on WordPress.com and add a link to your blog on your author website. When you are ready, point your domain’s www address at BookSparker on a paid plan.
Create your free author websiteFrequently asked questions
Common questions about choosing between BookSparker and WordPress.com.
Ready to grow your readership?
Start using BookSparker to connect with more readers.
Start for free today, no credit card required.