There’s a .COM version and a .ORG version.
WordPress.com is where you can start a blog for free and pay to upgrade your site to have more features like the ability to connect your own domain name and install your own theme and plugins.
WordPress.org is where you can download the free version of WordPress, put it on your own server and do whatever you want with it.
Most people will naturally go to WordPress.com first and sign up for their own blog and start trying to build their own site thinking that’s how you build a site with WordPress.
You’re going to get a limited experience using the WordPress.com version.
Most WordPress hosting will give you a way to create a WordPress site with the click of a button so you don’t have to visit WordPress.org and download the install files.
If you want to start a free blog then go to WordPress.com, but if you want to start a website that you can grow with then go to WordPress.org and check out the list of hosts they recommend to put your first WordPress site on.
I personally like Cloudways and I hear good things about Siteground as well.