WordPress vs Universe Website Builder
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WordPress
Create and manage your WordPress blog or website directly from your iOS device. Easily edit posts and pages, upload media, track site statistics, and engage with your audience by replying to comments.
- Create and edit posts and pages
- Upload photos and videos
- View website statistics
- Reply to comments
- Manage WordPress.com and self-hosted sites
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Manage or create your WordPress blog or website right from your iOS device: create and edit posts and pages, upload your favorite photos and videos, view stats and reply to comments. With WordPress for iOS, you have the power to publish in the palm of your hand. Draft a spontaneous haiku from the couch. Snap and post a photo on your lunch break. Respond to your latest comments, or check your stats to see what new countries today’s visitors are coming from. WordPress for iOS is an Open Source project, which means you too can contribute to its development. Learn more at https://apps.wordpress.com/contribute/. WordPress for iOS supports WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress.org sites running WordPress 4.0 or higher. Need help with the app? Visit the forums at https://wordpress.org/support/forum/mobile/ or tweet us @WordPressiOS. View the Privacy Notice for California Users at https://automattic.com/privacy/#california-consumer-privacy-act-ccpa.
Universe Website Builder
Build a professional website or online store quickly and easily with a drag-and-drop interface. Publish to a custom domain and accept payments in minutes. Includes tools for design, commerce, audience management, and AI-powered content creation.
- Drag-and-drop Grid Editor
- 100+ customizable templates
- Integrated e-commerce tools
- AI copy and image generation
- Audience management and email marketing
- Custom domain publishing
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Universe is the fastest and easiest way to build a custom website for you, your brand, or business with everything you need built in. In minutes publish a custom domain and accept your first sale on your own website. Design your own professional website with no code in minutes from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Our Grid Editor is a drag and drop playground with unlimited customization for every page of your website. Whether you want an online store, portfolio, personal website, link in bio, blog, or digital journal the Grid Editor is easy to learn. There are blocks every everything you want on your website including images, videos, payments, galleries, downloads, mailing lists, and more. Set up shop and start taking payments instantly with built in commerce tools. Universe integrates with Stripe or Paypal allowing you to sell products, digital downloads, or services directly. Track orders, print shipping labels, manage inventory, and more. We believe everyone should create their mark on the internet. You can make a website! SITE DESIGN Universe is like a web designer in your pocket. You can design a polished and professional website, a tribute to 1996 GeoCities, or anything in between. - Start from over 100+ professionally designed templates that are fully customizable or start from a blank canvas. - Drag and drop content to create original compositions using the Grid Editor - Built in Blocks for everything you need. Text, images, streaming Video, galleries, payments, downloads, mailing lists, and more - Edit your website anywhere. Works on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Safari. - Use AI to write copy or generate original images for your website. COMMERCE Everything you need to start a store on your website is included. Selling on the internet has never been easier. - Sell products and services or collect donations and tips - Quickly + easily manage orders, inventory, and sell on-the-go - Set custom shipping rates or boost sales with free shipping - Print shipping labels directly from your order list - Sell downloadable content like exclusive streams, recipes, patterns, and PDFs - Collect international payments with PayPal - Accept Apple Pay directly on your website - Create discount codes to increase sales - Automatic fraud protection is built into every Universe website AUDIENCE Websites are the best way to communicate with your audience on your own terms. Universe includes everything you need to grow and manage your audience. - See how many views your pages get or how many email subscribers your collect. - Send custom emails and newsletters to your mailing list. - Custom email forwarding address for your domain. - Connect to Google Workspace, Fastmail, or any third party email provider. - Connect to Simple Analytics for more data without cookies. - Connect to Google Analytics for advanced analytics WEB HOSTING You do not need to be a web master to own a website. Universe automatically publishes your website securely and keeps it online with industry best practices. - Build name recognition with a custom domain for your website - Automatically appear in search engines with built in SEO - Ready to scale to millions of visitors. - Secure by default. Every site includes a TLS certificate to encrypt your data. - Includes protection from scripts, service attacks, and bot spam. - Connect your third party domain. - Works on all modern browsers so you can focus on your design. For inspiration on your next online store, link in bio, portfolio, landing page, restaurant menu, appointment sign up, service business, fundraiser site, resume, personal bio, creative showcase, about me, digital zine, fan page, newsletter signup, blog, podcast, community resource, tribute, event, course preview, digital business card, teaser page, wedding, band page, author spotlight, fitness guide, nonprofit, startup, museum exhibit, fashion directory, or publix tendies sale tracker site check out https://explore.univer.se https://univer.se/legal/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: WordPress at none against Universe Website Builder's 11. WordPress also leads on ads (none vs shown). Universe Website Builder's advantage is review sentiment (55% vs 37%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, ratings volume and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Universe Website Builder sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. WordPress asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for WordPress against 4.5 for Universe Website Builder. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22K and 9.8K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 37% of WordPress's written reviews are positive against 55% of Universe Website Builder's.
WordPress ships an update every 3 weeks, Universe Website Builder every 10 days. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.
| Parameter | WordPress | Universe Website Builder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (22K ratings) — better | 4.5 (9.8K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 36.8% of reviews | 54.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 22K — better | 9.8K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 248 MB | 291 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Automattic | Universe Exploration Company |
Customer experience
WordPress
Universe Website Builder
User reviews
WordPress
From 22K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🚀 Convenient for blogging on the go
- 🚀 Great for sharing content and experiences
- 🚀 Useful stats and analytics
- 🚀 Customizable and flexible
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
- 🐛 Unreliable syncing between devices
- 🐛 Limited functionality compared to desktop version
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🤔 Confusing or unintuitive user interface
Universe Website Builder
From 9.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🚀 Intuitive interface
- 🚀 Convenient mobile-first design
- 👍 Affordable pricing
- 👍 Responsive customer support
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Concerns over domain ownership
- 💰 Expensive pro features
- 🔒 Limited customization options
- 🔒 Restricted free version
Bugs and requests
WordPress
Reported bugs
5 issues- Inability to upload photos properly
- Drafts disappearing without warning
- Formatting issues with text, lists, and media
- Inconsistent behavior across devices
- Login and authentication problems
Requested features
5 requests- Integrate Gutenberg editor
- Add option to adjust uploaded photo sizes
- Improve offline editing capabilities
- Enhance integration with other apps and services
- Provide more customization options
Universe Website Builder
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to save progress
- Glitches with image/video embedding
- Inconsistent performance across devices
- Issues with domain registration and transfer
Requested features
5 requests- Improved desktop responsiveness
- More design flexibility
- Ability to use own domain
- Expanded e-commerce features
- Better analytics and reporting
In-app purchases
WordPress
No in-app purchases
Universe Website Builder
- .COM Domain$2.991 Month
- Universe Pro for 1 Site$5.991 Month
- Universe Pro for 1 Site7 Days trial$9.991 Month
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- Universe Pro for 1 Site3 variants$9.991 Month
- Universe Pro for 1 Site$24.991 Month
- Universe Pro for 1 site$24.991 Month
- Universe Pro for 1 Site3 Days trial$119.991 Year
- Universe Pro for 1 site7 Days trial$199.991 Year
- Universe Pro for 1 Site7 Days trial$199.991 Year







