WordPress Migration Plugins

Moving a WordPress website, whether to a new host, a different domain, or a staging server, can feel like a high-stakes operation. A single misplaced file or a database error can lead to broken links, missing content, or the dreaded “white screen of death.” While a manual migration is possible for experts, it’s a risky and time-consuming process for most users.

This is where WordPress migration plugins come in. These powerful tools are designed to package your entire website—themes, plugins, content, users, and the database—into a single, portable unit. They automate the complex steps, dramatically reducing the risk of errors and saving you hours of frustration.

But with so many options available, how do you choose the right one? This guide breaks down the 10 best WordPress migration plugins, highlighting their strengths, features, and ideal use cases to help you make a confident choice.

What to Look for in a Great Migration Plugin

Before we dive into the list, here are the key criteria we used to judge these plugins:

Reliability: Does the plugin consistently create complete, working copies of a site?
Ease of Use: Is the interface intuitive for both beginners and developers?
Comprehensive Backup: Does it migrate everything—database, media files, themes, and plugins?
Find & Replace Functionality: Does it automatically handle changing URLs and file paths in the database? This is a critical feature.
Large Site Support: Can it handle websites with large databases and thousands of media files without timing out?
Support & Documentation: Is help available if you get stuck?

At a Glance: The Top 10 WordPress Migration Plugins

Plugin	Best For	Free Version?	Key Strength	Starting Price (Pro)
1. Duplicator	Developers & Technical Users	Yes	Unmatched control and a robust two-part process.	$49.50/year
2. All-in-One WP Migration	Beginners	Yes (with size limit)	The most straightforward, user-friendly experience.	$79/lifetime (for extensions)
3. UpdraftPlus	All-in-one Backup & Migration	Yes	The world’s most popular backup plugin with a solid migrator.	$30/year (for Migrator Addon)
4. Migrate Guru	Moving Large Websites	100% Free	Handles huge sites (up to 200GB) flawlessly.	Free
5. WP Migrate	Developers & Agencies	Yes (DB only)	Granular control over database and media migration.	$49/year
6. Jetpack Backup	Automated, Real-Time Safety	No (Premium)	“Rewind” and restore to any point with one click.	~$10/month
7. WPvivid Backup & Migration	Staging & Cloud Backups	Yes	Excellent free features, including site staging.	$29/year
8. Solid Backups (BackupBuddy)	Long-Term Reliability	No	A trusted premium tool for backups and migration.	$99/year
9. BlogVault	Managed, High-Security Backups	No (7-day trial)	Incremental backups that don’t overload your server.	$7.40/month
10. Shipper Pro	WPMU DEV Ecosystem Users	No	Seamless migrations for multisite and large sites.	Part of WPMU DEV Membership

The Top 10: A Detailed Breakdown

Here’s a closer look at each plugin.

1. Duplicator

Best for: Developers and technical users who want granular control.

Overview: Duplicator is one of the original and most powerful migration plugins. Its two-step process involves creating a “Package” (a ZIP file and an installer script). You upload these two files to your new location and run the installer via your browser. This method bypasses the need to have WordPress pre-installed on the destination server, giving you maximum control.

Key Features:

Creates a complete site package (content, themes, plugins, database).
Installer script guides you through the migration and database connection.
Pro version adds cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive), scheduled backups, and one-click installer imports.

Pricing: A very capable free version is available. Duplicator Pro starts at $49.50/year.

2. All-in-One WP Migration

Best for: Beginners seeking ultimate simplicity.

Overview: If you want the simplest possible migration experience, this is it. All-in-One WP Migration exports your entire site into a single .wpress file. To import, you install a fresh WordPress site at the destination, install the plugin, and drag-and-drop your export file into the uploader. It’s brilliant in its simplicity.

Key Features:

Extremely user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
Automatically handles the search and replace of database URLs.
Works with a huge number of hosting providers.

Pricing: The free version is excellent but has a file upload limit (often set by the host, typically 512MB). The Unlimited Extension removes this limit for a one-time fee of $69.

3. UpdraftPlus

Best for: Users who want a top-tier backup solution with migration capabilities.

Overview: UpdraftPlus is the world’s most popular scheduled backup plugin, and for good reason. It’s incredibly reliable. While its primary function is backup, its premium Migrator addon transforms it into a powerful migration tool. It allows you to create a clone and easily move it to a new domain or host.

Key Features:

Trusted by millions for reliable backups.
Supports a wide range of cloud storage destinations.
The Migrator addon is a dedicated tool for site-to-site migration.
Incremental backups (Pro) save server resources.

Pricing: The core backup plugin is free. To migrate, you need the Migrator Addon ($30) or the UpdraftPlus Premium bundle (starting at $70/year).

4. Migrate Guru

Best for: Moving very large or complex websites, completely free.

Overview: Migrate Guru is a game-changer for large sites. Instead of processing the migration on your server (which can cause timeouts), it moves your site to its own high-powered servers, handles the entire process there, and then moves the finished site to your destination. This unique approach allows it to migrate sites up to 200GB without putting any strain on your server.

Key Features:

Handles massive websites and databases with ease.
Zero risk of server timeouts.
No plugin or files left on your server after the migration.
Completely and genuinely free.

Pricing: 100% Free. It’s developed by the team behind BlogVault as a way to introduce users to their ecosystem.

5. WP Migrate (formerly WP Migrate DB)

Best for: Developers and agencies needing precise control over what gets moved.

Overview: WP Migrate excels at “pushing” and “pulling” databases and media files between WordPress installs. It’s a favorite among developers for syncing staging and production environments. You can choose to move just the database, specific tables, or sync your entire media library.

Key Features:

Push/pull functionality is perfect for developer workflows.
Fine-grained control over which database tables are migrated.
Excellent search and replace functionality.
Pro version adds media file migration, theme/plugin migration, and command-line support.

Pricing: The free version only handles database migration. WP Migrate Pro starts at $49/year for full-site migration capabilities.

6. Jetpack Backup

Best for: Users who want automated, real-time, one-click restores and migration.

Overview: Formerly known as VaultPress, Jetpack Backup is Automattic’s premium backup and security solution. It offers real-time backups, meaning it saves a copy of your site every time a change is made. Its best feature is the one-click restore. You can clone your site or migrate it to a new server just as easily as you can restore it from a backup.

Key Features:

Real-time, cloud-based backups that don’t slow down your site.
One-click restore and migration functionality.
Includes an activity log to see exactly what changed and when.
Backed by the experts at Automattic (the company behind WordPress.com).

Pricing: Jetpack Backup is a premium service, starting at around $10/month (billed annually).

7. WPvivid Backup & Migration

Best for: Users who want free staging and cloud backup features.

Overview: WPvivid has quickly gained popularity for offering a feature set in its free version that many others charge for. It provides one-click site migration, scheduled backups to a variety of cloud locations (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.), and even a one-click staging site creator.

Key Features:

One-click auto-migration.
Create a staging site to test changes safely.
Supports backups to leading remote storage providers in the free version.
Pro version adds more advanced features like incremental backups.

Pricing: A very generous free version is available. WPvivid Pro starts at $29/year.

8. Solid Backups (formerly BackupBuddy)

Best for: Users who want a long-standing, reliable premium backup and migration tool.

Overview: As one of the original premium backup plugins, Solid Backups (from the team at SolidWP, formerly iThemes) has a reputation for reliability. It provides a comprehensive solution for backups, restores, and migrations. Like Duplicator, it creates a full ZIP of your site and an importbuddy.php script to handle the restoration on the new server.

Key Features:

Complete site backups and easy migration.
Scheduled backups and off-site storage.
Stash Live feature provides real-time, cloud-based backups.
Part of the SolidWP suite, which includes security and management tools.

Pricing: Solid Backups is a premium plugin starting at $99/year.

9. BlogVault

Best for: High-security, managed backups with effortless migration.

Overview: BlogVault is a premium, SaaS-based backup service similar to Jetpack Backup. It specializes in incremental backups that run on its own servers, ensuring your site’s performance is never affected. Its migration feature is built-in, reliable, and supported on over 10,000 web hosts.

Key Features:

Zero-load incremental backups.
Built-in free staging environment.
Guaranteed one-click migration and restore.
High-security, encrypted off-site storage.

Pricing: Starts at $7.40/month (billed annually). A 7-day free trial is available.

10. Shipper Pro

Best for: Users already in the WPMU DEV ecosystem.

Overview: Shipper Pro is WPMU DEV’s dedicated migration plugin. It’s designed to be simple and powerful, using a secure API key to move sites between servers. It’s particularly adept at handling complex migrations, including WordPress Multisite sub-sites.

Key Features:

Simple package-based migration.
Excellent support for Multisite migrations.
API-based transfers are fast and secure.
Integrates perfectly with the rest of the WPMU DEV toolkit.

Pricing: Shipper Pro is not sold separately. It is included in the WPMU DEV Membership, which starts at $32.50/month.

How to Choose the Right Plugin for YOU

For Beginners: Go with All-in-One WP Migration. Its simplicity is unmatched.
For Moving Large Sites: Migrate Guru is the clear winner and it’s free.
For Developers: Duplicator Pro or WP Migrate will give you the power and control you need.
For a Complete Backup & Migration Solution: UpdraftPlus Premium or Solid Backups are fantastic, reliable choices.
For Hands-Off, Real-Time Safety: Jetpack Backup or BlogVault offer premium, managed services that are worth the price for peace of mind.

Ultimately, choosing a quality migration plugin transforms a daunting task into a simple, automated process. By picking the right tool from this list, you can move your website with confidence and get back to what matters most—growing your online presence.