All-in-One WP Migration vs UpdraftPlus: The Migration Plugin Caught Up on Backups (2026)

UpdraftPlus started as a backup plugin and later added migration. All-in-One WP Migration started as a migration plugin and later added backups. In 2026, both plugins cover both use cases, and the real question is which one does the complete job better.

The short answer: the migration plugin caught up on backups. The backup plugin never caught up on migration.

Full disclosure: we are ServMask, the company behind All-in-One WP Migration. We have our own bias, and we are telling you about it upfront. What we will not do is misrepresent UpdraftPlus or hide our own limitations. UpdraftPlus is a well-maintained product from an independent company, and we respect what they have built. Every claim in this article is sourced so you can verify it yourself.

Pro vs Pro: The Comparison That Matters

Most users evaluating these plugins are deciding between the paid versions. Here is the direct comparison.

The math for agencies and freelancers:

An agency managing 20 client sites pays $99/year with All-in-One WP Migration Pro. That is $4.95 per site per year for migration, scheduled backups, incremental backups, and cloud storage to every supported destination.

The same agency with UpdraftPlus needs the Agency plan at $145/year for 35 sites. That is $7.25 per site – 46% more – and UpdraftPlus still handles migration with multiple zip files instead of a single drag-and-drop import.

For a freelancer with 5 sites, All-in-One WP Migration Pro is $99/year. UpdraftPlus requires the Business plan at $95/year for 10 sites. Similar price, but All-in-One WP Migration covers 50 sites if the freelancer grows, while UpdraftPlus caps at 10.

The Migration Gap

Both plugins now handle backups well. But migration is where the gap remains.

How Migration Works in Each Plugin

All-in-One WP Migration (file-based):

1. Install the plugin on the source site
2. Go to All-in-One WP Migration > Export
3. Click “Export To” and select “File”
4. Download one .wpress file
5. Install WordPress and the plugin on the destination
6. Drag and drop the file into the import screen
7. Done

One file. One action. URL replacement, path replacement, and serialized data fixing happen automatically.

All-in-One WP Migration Pro (direct push/pull):

1. Install Pro on both sites
2. Link the sites together
3. Push or pull the entire site directly between them – no file download, no manual transfer
4. Done

Pro takes this further: you can link multiple sites and push content from one source to all of them simultaneously. For agencies deploying the same base site across client environments, or for teams syncing staging to production across multiple properties, this eliminates repetitive export-import cycles entirely.

UpdraftPlus Free migration:

1. Install UpdraftPlus on the source site
2. Create a backup
3. Download all generated zip files: database.zip, plugins.zip, themes.zip, uploads.zip, uploads2.zip, others.zip – typically 5 to 10 separate files
4. Install WordPress and UpdraftPlus on the destination
5. Upload every zip file to the destination
6. Run the restore process with search-and-replace
7. Done

UpdraftPlus Premium migration (direct):

1. Install UpdraftPlus Premium on both sites
2. Generate a migration key on the destination
3. Enter the key on the source site
4. Select what to transfer
5. Wait for the direct server-to-server transfer
6. Done

UpdraftPlus Premium’s direct migration is a genuine improvement over the manual download-and-upload process. But even then, the underlying architecture splits the transfer into components. If the connection drops mid-transfer, you may need to retry individual components. And direct migration is limited to one-to-one transfers.

All-in-One WP Migration Pro’s direct push/pull uses the same chunked processing (512KB chunks) designed to survive connection interruptions and work on shared hosting with aggressive timeout limits. The key difference: you can link multiple destinations and push to all of them at once, making it a one-to-many migration tool rather than a one-to-one transfer.

The File Management Problem

This is the practical difference most comparison articles overlook.

UpdraftPlus splits backups into separate component files by design. Your database is one zip. Your plugins are another. Themes, uploads, and other files each get their own zip. If any component exceeds 400MB (the default split threshold), it gets further divided: uploads.zip, uploads2.zip, uploads3.zip.

For a typical 2GB WordPress site, you are managing 7 to 10 separate zip files during migration. Every file must be present when the restore runs. Miss one and the restore fails.

All-in-One WP Migration produces a single .wpress file regardless of site size. A 500MB site and a 5GB site both produce one file.

The multi-file approach has a design rationale for backups: it enables selective restoration. You can restore just your database without touching your media files, because each component is a separate archive.

All-in-One WP Migration takes the opposite approach: selectivity happens at export time. Even the free version lets you exclude media library, themes, plugins, spam comments, post revisions, or the entire database before export. Pro adds finer-grained controls: exclude inactive themes, inactive plugins, must-use plugins, cache files, plus interactive pickers for selecting specific files/folders and individual database tables. The export produces a single file containing exactly what you selected. Import restores whatever is in that file.

Both approaches give you control over what gets transferred. The difference is when you make that decision: before export (AIO) or at restore time (UpdraftPlus).

For migration – where the goal is to reproduce the entire site on a new host – managing multiple files adds complexity without adding value. You need everything.

Backup Features: Where UpdraftPlus Started

UpdraftPlus was built for backups, and it shows in the free tier.

Free Tier Comparison

For users who need ongoing automated backups and are not ready to pay for a premium plan, UpdraftPlus Free is the stronger choice for backups. There is no way around this.

But the free tier comparison is not where most users should be making their decision. If your site matters enough to back up, it matters enough to use a paid tool that does the job properly.

Paid Tier: AIO Pro Closes the Gap

All-in-One WP Migration Pro ($99/year for 50 sites) was built to match and exceed dedicated backup plugins on backup features while maintaining its migration advantage.

Scheduling: All-in-One WP Migration Pro supports hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, custom N-hour intervals, custom N-day intervals, and one-time scheduled backups. You can create multiple independent backup schedules, each targeting different cloud destinations with different retention policies. UpdraftPlus Premium supports 2-hourly through monthly intervals and lets you set a specific time of day.

Incremental backups: Both support incremental backups. All-in-One WP Migration Pro runs incremental backups to most cloud storage destinations, only processing files that changed since the last run.

Cloud storage: All-in-One WP Migration Pro bundles every cloud destination into one license: Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, OneDrive, Box, Backblaze B2, Google Cloud Storage, DigitalOcean Spaces, Wasabi, pCloud, WebDAV, and more. UpdraftPlus Premium adds OneDrive, Azure, Google Cloud Storage, Backblaze B2, SFTP, and pCloud. Both offer multiple simultaneous destinations.

Retention policies: All-in-One WP Migration Pro offers retention by count (keep last N backups), by total size (keep backups until they exceed N GB), or by age (delete backups older than N days). UpdraftPlus Premium offers retention by count.

Encryption: All-in-One WP Migration Pro supports password-protected encrypted backups for the entire export. UpdraftPlus Premium supports database encryption.

Email notifications: Both support email notifications on backup completion and failure.

The Import Size Limit – Correcting the Record

As with our Duplicator comparison, we need to address persistent misinformation.

Multiple comparison articles claim All-in-One WP Migration’s free version has a “512MB import limit.” This is incorrect.

The free plugin does not impose an import size limit. The limit users encounter comes from their hosting provider’s PHP configuration (upload_max_filesize and post_max_size). These are server-level restrictions that affect every WordPress plugin that handles file uploads.

The Unlimited Extension ($69/year) overrides the hosting provider’s PHP upload restrictions. It solves a hosting problem, not a plugin problem.

UpdraftPlus sidesteps this issue through its download-and-upload approach. Because you download backup files to your computer and then upload them through the plugin’s chunked upload mechanism, you bypass the hosting PHP upload limit. This is a legitimate architectural advantage of UpdraftPlus’s approach.

However, this advantage comes at the cost of managing multiple files. The Unlimited Extension ($69/year for 50 sites) gives All-in-One WP Migration the same freedom from upload limits while preserving the single-file workflow.

Security Track Record

Security matters for any plugin that handles your complete site data, including database credentials and potentially sensitive customer information.

All-in-One WP Migration has maintained a clean security record throughout its history. The plugin processes data within the WordPress environment and does not expose temporary files or installer scripts to the public web.

UpdraftPlus has had 13 documented security vulnerabilities, including two high-severity issues:

• CVE-2022-0633 (CVSS 8.5): Any logged-in user, including subscribers, could download the most recent site backup. This was severe enough that WordPress.org force-pushed an automatic update to all 3 million sites running the plugin. Patched in v1.22.3.

• CVE-2024-10957 (CVSS 8.8): An unauthenticated PHP Object Injection vulnerability in the recursive_unserialized_replace function. In the presence of another plugin providing a POP chain, this could allow file deletion, data retrieval, or code execution. Patched in v1.24.12.

Additional documented vulnerabilities include multiple reflected XSS issues and a CSRF vulnerability that could allow an attacker to add their own Google Drive account to a site’s backup storage configuration.

UpdraftPlus’s larger feature surface – scheduled backups, cloud storage integrations, remote management, cloning, UpdraftCentral – inherently creates more potential vulnerability vectors than a plugin with a narrower scope. All reported vulnerabilities have been patched, and the current version is actively maintained.

Pricing in Full

All-in-One WP Migration:

Pricing is the same at purchase and renewal.

UpdraftPlus:

Credit where it is due: UpdraftPlus renewal pricing is actually lower than the initial purchase price (roughly 40% off at renewal). This is the opposite of the renewal bait-and-switch that some competitors practice. UpdraftPlus’s pricing is transparent and fair.

Cost Per Site (Year 1)

At 1-2 sites, UpdraftPlus Personal is cheaper. At 5-10, the pricing is nearly identical. Beyond 10 sites, All-in-One WP Migration Pro pulls ahead significantly because one $99 license covers 50 sites while UpdraftPlus requires progressively more expensive tiers.

And at every tier, All-in-One WP Migration Pro includes simpler migration. That is not a separate feature – it is the foundation the product was built on.

WordPress.org Ratings

UpdraftPlus: 4.8/5 stars (8,414 ratings, 94% five-star)

All-in-One WP Migration: 4.5/5 stars (7,623 ratings)

UpdraftPlus has the higher rating. As we discussed in our Duplicator comparison, a significant portion of All-in-One WP Migration’s 1-star reviews come from users who encounter their hosting provider’s PHP upload limit and believe the plugin is artificially restricting them. This misperception is driven by comparison articles that incorrectly state a specific import limit.

On Trustpilot, All-in-One WP Migration has a 4.5/5 TrustScore with 283 reviews (89% five-star). UpdraftPlus has a 4.7/5 TrustScore with 129 reviews (84% five-star).

Who Should Use Which Plugin

Use All-in-One WP Migration if:

• You manage more than 2 sites – one $99 license covers 50 sites with everything included
• You migrate sites regularly and want the simplest possible process (one file, one action)
• You want migration and backup in one tool without paying for two separate products
• Your sites are on shared hosting with limited server resources (512KB chunked processing)
• You want predictable pricing that does not change at renewal
• Security track record matters to you or your clients

Use UpdraftPlus if:

• You manage 1-2 sites and want the lowest entry price ($70/year or free for basic backups)
• Your primary need is ongoing backup and you rarely migrate
• You prefer restore-time selectivity (choose which components to restore after the backup is made)
• You want free scheduled backups before committing to a paid plan
• You need UpdraftClone staging on their infrastructure

The Real Question

If you are choosing between the free versions: UpdraftPlus Free offers more backup features. All-in-One WP Migration Free offers simpler migration. Both are legitimate choices depending on your immediate need.

If you are choosing between the paid versions: All-in-One WP Migration Pro gives you everything UpdraftPlus Premium offers for backups – scheduled, incremental, cloud storage, encryption, notifications – plus dramatically simpler migration, at a better per-site price for anyone managing more than a couple of sites.

The migration plugin caught up on backups. The backup plugin still migrates with multiple zip files.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is All-in-One WP Migration free?

Yes. The free plugin handles complete site migrations with no plugin-imposed size limit. The Unlimited Extension ($69/year) is only needed if your hosting’s PHP settings restrict upload sizes. The Pro version ($99/year) adds scheduled backups, incremental backups, cloud storage, and all premium features.

Is UpdraftPlus free?

Yes. The free version includes scheduled backups, one cloud storage destination, and migration with search-and-replace. Incremental backups, multiple cloud destinations, direct migration, and multisite start at $70/year for 2 sites.

Does UpdraftPlus still require a paid Migrator add-on?

No. As of August 2023 (version 1.23.8), UpdraftPlus added search-and-replace to the free version. Basic migration no longer requires a paid add-on.

Which handles large sites better?

All-in-One WP Migration uses chunked file processing (512KB chunks) designed for shared hosting with limited resources. UpdraftPlus splits large backups into multiple archives at 400MB thresholds. Both handle large sites, but UpdraftPlus’s approach means more files to manage during migration.

Can I use All-in-One WP Migration Pro for daily backups?

Yes. Pro includes a full backup scheduler with hourly to custom intervals, incremental backups, cloud storage to 14+ destinations, retention policies, and email notifications. It competes directly with UpdraftPlus Premium on backup features.

Which plugin is more secure?

All-in-One WP Migration has a cleaner security history with no critical CVEs. UpdraftPlus has had 13 documented vulnerabilities, including CVE-2022-0633 (CVSS 8.5, subscriber backup download) which was severe enough for WordPress to force-push an update to 3 million sites. All issues have been patched.

Can I use both plugins together?

Yes. There is no conflict. Some users run UpdraftPlus for daily backups and All-in-One WP Migration for migration events. But All-in-One WP Migration Pro covers both use cases in a single product, which is simpler and more cost-effective for most users.

Is UpdraftPlus owned by a large WordPress company?

No. Team Updraft is an independent UK company with no ownership ties to major WordPress review sites. This is a point in their favor – their reviews and comparisons from third parties do not carry the conflict-of-interest concerns we documented in our Duplicator comparison.

Our Take

UpdraftPlus built an excellent backup plugin. Their free tier is genuinely generous – scheduled backups with cloud storage at no cost is hard to beat. We respect the product and the independent team behind it.

But in 2026, the comparison is no longer “backup plugin vs migration plugin.” All-in-One WP Migration Pro does both. It matches UpdraftPlus Premium on scheduled backups, incremental backups, cloud storage, encryption, and notifications. And it does what we have always done best: migrate WordPress sites with one file, one action, no FTP, no database credentials, no managing 10 zip files.

For 1-2 sites where backup is the primary need, UpdraftPlus Personal at $70/year (or ~$42 on renewal) is a solid value. For anyone managing more sites, or anyone who needs both migration and backup, All-in-One WP Migration Pro at $99/year for 50 sites is the more complete and more cost-effective choice.

We are ServMask, creators of All-in-One WP Migration. This article represents our perspective. We have attempted to be factually accurate about both products. If you find any errors, email us at support@servmask.com and we will correct them.

Sources

• UpdraftPlus on WordPress.org - 3M+ active installs, 4.8/5 rating, 154M+ downloads
• All-in-One WP Migration on WordPress.org - 5M+ active installs, 4.5/5 rating
• UpdraftPlus pricing - Current plan and renewal pricing
• UpdraftPlus renewal FAQ - 40% renewal discount details
• All-in-One WP Migration pricing - ServMask.com
• UpdraftPlus free migration features - v1.23.8, August 2023
• UpdraftPlus backup splitting - 400MB default split threshold
• UpdraftPlus free vs premium - Feature comparison
• CVE-2022-0633 - CVSS 8.5, WordPress force-pushed update to 3M sites
• CVE-2024-10957 - CVSS 8.8, PHP Object Injection
• Team Updraft about - Independent UK company, acquisitions
• All-in-One WP Migration on Trustpilot - 4.5/5, 283 reviews, 89% five-star
• UpdraftPlus on Trustpilot - 4.7/5, 129 reviews