All-in-One WP Migration vs Duplicator – My Honest Take
Written By:
Joella Dunn
Joella Dunn
Joella is a writer with years of experience in WordPress. At Duplicator, she specializes in site maintenance — from basic backups to large-scale migrations. Her ultimate goal is to make sure your WordPress website is safe and ready for growth.
Reviewed By:
John Turner
John Turner
John Turner is the President of Duplicator. He has over 20+ years of business and development experience and his plugins have been downloaded over 25 million times.
January 20, 2025
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April 13, 2023
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8:00 am
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The decision to move your WordPress site shouldn’t keep you up at night.
Yet as you look for migration plugins, you’ll find yourself faced with an increasingly common dilemma: All-in-One WP Migration or Duplicator?
These two plugins dominate your WordPress migration research, each promising a seamless way to move your site. But beneath the surface-level features lies a complex choice that could impact your website’s future mobility and security.
Both promise to make your migration painless, but which one should you trust with your website?
I’ve spent countless hours testing both plugins across different scenarios – from simple blog migrations to complex multisite moves. Let’s examine what each one truly offers, so you can make an informed choice for your specific situation.
Quick Summary: All-in-One WP Migration vs Duplicator
Ease of use
All-in-One WP Migration was built to be easy to use. Duplicator may have a learning curve for beginners, but it offers more advanced backup and migration features.
Backup and restore options
Duplicator and All-in-One WP Migration can back up your site. However, Duplicator makes it easy to customize the backup. It can also restore a backup without needing you to log into your WordPress dashboard.
Migrations
With All-in-One WP Migration, you can create a backup and import it into the second site. Duplicator can do this too, but it doesn’t even need WordPress to be installed. Plus, Duplicator offers large site support, while All-in-One WP Migration has a 300MB file upload limit.
Reviews
On WordPress.org, Duplicator has 4.9/5 stars, while All-in-One WP Migration has 4.5/5. Duplicator has good reviews from both beginners and developers. All-in-One WP Migration has some negative reviews that mention import stalls and unnecessary upgrades.
Pricing
Both Duplicator and All-in-One WP Migration have free versions. Duplicator Pro has extra features like cloud storage and starts at $49.50/yr. All-in-One WP Migration has individual premium extensions that each cost a minimum of $69/yr.
What Is a WordPress Migration Plugin?
A WordPress migration plugin is a tool that transfers a WordPress site to a different location. It safely moves your files and database to a new web host, server, or domain name.
Usually, migration plugins will package all of your WordPress files and database information into a moveable zip file. After this package is moved, the plugin updates your URLs and performs any necessary search and replace functions.
A migration plugin can help you avoid manually migrating your entire website. These tools allow even beginners to move their content quickly and easily. Since it doesn’t require a File Manager or FTP/SFTP client, you can handle migrations straight from your WordPress dashboard.
6 Features to Look For In a WordPress Migration Plugin
Once you decide to move your website, you’ll need a migration plugin that can handle the task. Otherwise, you’ll risk downtime and even data loss.
Let’s go over some basic features you should look out for in a WordPress migration plugin!
1. Ease of Use
If you’re a beginner, you’ll want a migration plugin that isn’t too complicated. Rather than dealing with site files or MySQL database exports, find a tool with drag-and-drop migration features.
2. Direct Server Transfers
To quickly move your content, it can be helpful to have a migration plugin with direct server transfers. This allows you to package your live site and quickly move it to a new server.
3. Manual and Automatic Backups
Some migration tools are also WordPress backup plugins. To migrate your site, you’ll first make a copy of your files and database. This copy can be saved as a backup. With the right plugin, you can also create backup schedules to regularly secure your website.
4. Cloud Storage Locations
If you have a limited WordPress hosting account, you might not want to save your backups on your server. In this case, you’ll need to send backups to off-site cloud services with more storage space. The best WordPress migration plugins support a variety of options like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Amazon S3.
5. Backup Restore Options
Whenever your site experiences an error, you’ll need to restore a recent backup. To get your site back online, you won’t want to deal with a complicated restoration process. Look for a migration plugin with quick recovery features.
6. Support for Large Sites and WordPress Multisite Networks
Most migration plugins are built for standard WordPress blogs or other medium-sized sites. If you have a larger website like a WooCommerce store or a Multisite network, you’ll want to install a plugin that is capable of compiling and migrating large backup files.
All-in-One WP Migration vs Duplicator: Compared
Once you know what to look for, you can start comparing WordPress migration plugins to find the right one for your website.
All-in-One WP Migration and Duplicator are both feature-packed plugins that allow you to migrate your website.
In the first part of my review, I’ll give you an overview of each migration plugin.
Duplicator
Duplicator is a WordPress migration and backup plugin with over 45 million downloads. This tool allows you to migrate, clone, and back up your website.
All-in-One WP Migration is another popular choice for WordPress migrations. It was designed to help beginners easily package and move their websites.
Here are some features you’ll get in All-in-One WP Migration:
One-click transfers
Cloud storage
No limitations on hosting providers or operating systems
Auto-replaces website URL
50+ language translations
Premium extensions to support Multisite, third-party cloud services, and more
Ease of Use: All-in-One WP Migration vs Duplicator
Before you install a migration plugin, you’ll want to know that it’ll make it easy to migrate your content to a new location.
Duplicator Ease of Use
With Duplicator, you can create a backup that contains your WordPress files, plugins, themes, media files, and database. Then, this zip file can be moved to another location to migrate your website.
You won’t have to edit files with cPanel or export your database in phpMyAdmin. This makes Duplicator one of the most user-friendly migration plugins.
To start migrating your site, go to Duplicator Pro » Backups » Add New.
At the top of the page, name the backup with dynamic tags. Next, you can choose a storage location.
By default, all of your WordPress files and database tables will be included. This will be a full backup of your entire site.
However, you can select specific site components to customize your backup. If you only need to migrate certain content, this can be a helpful step.
Duplicator also has an installer file. This will unpack the backup when you move it to another server. To continue backing up your site, hit Next.
After this, the Duplicator plugin will scan your website. You’ll see all Good notices if there aren’t any issues.
Once Duplicator creates you backup, you can download it for safekeeping or migrate it to another location. To do this, find Download » Archive.
Then, open the WordPress dashboard for your second site. Here, install and activate Duplicator Pro. Now you’ll need to navigate to Duplicator Pro » Import Backups.
After you import your backup, Duplicator will walk you through the installation process. The step-by-step wizard allows you to easily replace the new WordPress installation with your old site.
To save time, you don’t even need to have WordPress installed! Once you create a backup, download both the archive and installer files. Then, upload them to an empty root directory on the new server.
Now, paste this link into a new browser: https://your-domain/installer.php
This launches the Duplicator installer wizard without having to create a new website first!
This empty site support feature can be extremely helpful for developers or designers who have to quickly get new sites up and running. With Duplicator, simply create a pre-configured package and deploy new sites as often as you need to.
All-in-One WP Migration Ease of Use
Similar to Duplicator, All-in-One WP Migration can export your current website as a zip file. You’ll be able to move this file to another location without any coding knowledge.
First, make sure the All-in-One WP Migration plugin is installed and activated. Then, go to Export and choose File under the Advanced Options.
After your website is compiled into a file, it will be ready for download.
Next, install WordPress on a second site and activate All-in-One WP Migration. Using this new dashboard, find the Import page.
Here, you can upload your downloaded file. The plugin will then ask you to confirm that you want to overwrite the current site.
Once the import finishes, you’ll see a success message.
As you can see, both Duplicator and All-in-One WP Migration have a user-friendly interface. Although All-in-One WP Migration might be easier for beginners to learn, Duplicator offers many more customization options.
Backups: All-in-One WP Migration vs Duplicator
The best migration plugins also work as a daily backup tool. Let’s compare All-in-One WP Migration and Duplicator in terms of their available backup solutions. This way, you can install a plugin that fully secures your site.
Duplicator Backups
Using Duplicator, you can easily create a backup of your site. This is a saved copy of your WordPress database and files just in case anything happens to your live website.
Although it defaults to local storage, Duplicator also easily integrates with all of these external cloud storage locations:
If you connect one of these services, your backup will automatically be uploaded off-site as a cloud backup.
Backups are only useful if you can restore them. Fortunately, Duplicator makes it easy to restore any backup and instantly roll back your site after WordPress errors or hacks.
First, go to the Backups page. Find the backup you want to restore and click on the Restore button.
In the pop-up, accept the terms and notices. Then, hit Restore Backup.
Duplicator will then restore your site to an error-free state. Using one-click restores, you can test out new changes without worrying about creating unfixable errors.
You can even restore remote backups! Duplicator will download them to your local server and immediately start restoring your data.
And that’s not the only way you can restore a backup.
Before an issue happens, consider setting a backup as the disaster recovery point. This will give you a backup to roll back to even if you’re locked out of your dashboard.
Once you enable disaster recovery, you can either copy the recovery link or download the recovery launcher. Either one will open the recovery wizard when you need it.
You can simply follow the steps shown in the recovery wizard. After this, your backup will be fully restored!
All-in-One WP Migration Backups
With All-in-One WP Migration, you can create a backup by visiting the Backups tab. Here, click on Create Backup.
Just like when you migrated your website, you’ll see an option to download a copy of your site files and database. Once you save this to your computer, the backup will be readily available even if your website goes offline.
After creating a backup, it will be listed on the Backups page. To restore it, click on the three-dot icon and hit Restore.
Alternatively, you can import the backup. This process will have the same steps as a migration, except it’ll be on the same site.
When you export your site during the migration process, All-in-One WP Migration will automatically save a copy as a backup. If you’d like your backup stored off-site, there are premium add-ons for cloud storage locations like Google Drive and Dropbox.
All-in-One WP Migration and Duplicator can both back up and restore your website. However, Duplicator can restore your site even if it’s completely offline.
Reviews: All-in-One WP Migration vs Duplicator
The best way to see if a plugin is worth it is to read reviews from other WordPress users like you. Let’s check them out!
On WordPress.org, Duplicator has 4.9/5 stars. It’s been reviewed by over 4,500 users.
Reviewers mention that Duplicator makes it easy to back up, migrate, and restore their websites. The free version is used by everyone from beginners to expert developers.
All-in-One WP Migration has 4.5/5 stars. Recently, it’s gotten a mix of positive and negative reviews.
Some users mention that the plugin is simple and does basic import/export functionality. Other reviewers claim that imports stalled or required an unnecessary upgrade.
Pricing: All-in-One WP Migration vs Duplicator
By now, you’ll know all of the main differences between All-in-One WP Migration and Duplicator. However, you may be wondering about pricing.
Since this is an essential factor in your decision, let’s compare the value of the two plugins.
Duplicator Pricing
Duplicator offers a completely free version of the plugin. This comes with basic features to migrate, clone, and back up WordPress websites.
If you want to use the drag-and-drop migration feature or cloud storage, you can upgrade to Duplicator Pro. This premium version starts at $49.50 per year.
Even with the Basic license, you’ll be able to perform unlimited backups and migrations. You can also schedule backups, set recovery points, and integrate a cloud storage service.
All-in-One WP Migration is also a free plugin. This basic version comes with backup and migration features designed for complete beginners.
All-in-One WP Migration also offers a range of premium extensions to upgrade the plugin.
For example, you can purchase an extension for increasing the WordPress upload limit, adding a cloud storage location, and migrating Multisite networks. These extensions start at $69 per year.
If you know exactly which features you need, this pricing model may work for you. However, it can often be easier and more cost-effective to find a premium migration plugin with bundled features.
All-in-One WP Migration vs Duplicator: Pros and Cons
To make things simpler, let’s round up the advantages and disadvantages of each plugin!
Duplicator
Pros:
Tools to migrate, clone, and back up a WordPress site
Drag-and-drop migrations
Step-by-step migration wizard
Scheduled backups
One-click restores
Remote storage to local server, third-party cloud services, FTP, and SFTP
Recovery points to restore your website without the WordPress dashboard
Email notifications for any time-outs, failed backups, or other issues
The free plugin requires you to upload site archive and installer files to cPanel or an FTP client
All-in-One WP Migration
Pros:
Beginner-friendly interface
No limits on hosting or operating system
Quickly bundles your files, plugins, themes, and database into a single file
Translation-ready for over 50 languages
Automatically replaces site URLs during the import process
Compatible with mobile devices
Cons:
Although the plugin is free, you’ll likely need to purchase many premium extensions to get necessary migration features and cloud storage.
The file import size is limited to 300MB
WordPress has to be installed on the destination server
Expensive compared with other migration plugins
All-in-One WP Migration vs Duplicator: Which Should You Choose?
Ultimately, Duplicator Pro is the best tool for a variety of skill levels. Beginners can migrate their sites using a simple drag-and-drop interface.
Plus, developers can customize backup files to create pre-configured websites. This makes Duplicator much more than a migration plugin.
You should choose Duplicator Pro if you’re looking for a flexible and feature-packed plugin for website migrations, cloning, and backups. Although there can be a bit of a learning curve, Duplicator is an effective tool for migrating any type of website.
All-in-One WP Migration can be a good option if you’re completely new to website migration. This plugin makes it very simple to download your current website and import it to another WordPress installation.
You might favor All-in-One WP Migration because it’s free. However, many important features are limited to expensive premium extensions. For example, the basic plugin won’t be able to import sites larger than 300MB.
Duplicator performs migrations without any downtime, which can reduce the impact on your client’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the best migration plugin for WordPress?
The best migration plugin for WordPress is Duplicator Pro. This premium plugin comes with drag-and-drop migrations, which makes it effective for beginners. Plus, you can schedule backups, save them to the cloud, and set recovery points to easily roll back your website.
Alternatives: UpdraftPlus, BlogVault, Jetpack (VaultPress), WPvivid, and BackupBuddy are similar WordPress migration plugins that also come with backup solutions. If you’re looking for a website migration tool, WP Migrate DB and Migrate Guru are popular options.
What is the easiest way to migrate a WordPress site?
The easiest way to migrate a WordPress site is by using Duplicator Pro’s drag-and-drop migration feature. After you create a backup with your site’s content, drop this zip file into the import box on another site. This will automatically transfer your files and database to a new domain, server, or host.
What size can I import using All-in-One WP Migration?
You can import a site up to 300MB using All-in-One WP Migration. To increase this file size limit, you can purchase a premium extension. However, it may be more beneficial to install a migration plugin like Duplicator Pro that can handle large site migrations.
How can I increase my All-in-One Migration limit?
You can increase the All-in-One WP Migration file upload limit with a premium extension. This removes upload limits for $69 per year. As a more cost-effective alternative, Duplicator Pro is a WordPress migration plugin with zero upload limits. It can migrate your large website for only $49.50 yearly.
What is the best alternative to All-in-One WP Migration?
The best alternative to All-in-One WP Migration is Duplicator Pro. This tool bundles your website into a moveable zip file. Then, you can simply drag and drop this backup into a second site. Plus, it comes with backup solutions and cloud storage integrations without needing to purchase extra extensions.
What is the best duplicator for WordPress?
Duplicator Pro is the best duplicator plugin for WordPress. It allows you to quickly create copies of your site, which you can use for backups, cloning, or migrations. Plus, it supports off-site cloud backup storage, drag-and-drop migrations, and automatic backup schedules.
Conclusion
That’s it! We hope that this comparison guide helped you find the best migration plugin for your needs.
While you’re here, you may also like these WordPress tutorials:
Joella is a writer with years of experience in WordPress. At Duplicator, she specializes in site maintenance — from basic backups to large-scale migrations. Her ultimate goal is to make sure your WordPress website is safe and ready for growth.
Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. We only recommend products that we believe will add value to our readers.
