Concepts
Free Core and Pro compared
Free Core is the review. Pro is the evidence and the tooling around it. This page goes through each capability and says what each edition does.
| Free Core | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Review links | Secure link per post, page or custom post type; expiry; revoke and regenerate | Adds passwords, IP allow-lists, view-once links and fine-grained expiry per link |
| Reviewer identity | Name, or name and email, required per link | Adds anonymous links |
| Comments | Threaded, against the post | Anchored to a block or a text range, highlighted in the content |
| Suggestions | Not available | Tracked-changes proposals the author accepts or rejects |
| Decisions | Approve or Request changes per reviewer, timestamped | Signed against a content snapshot with the site’s private key |
| Re-review | Request emails reviewers when the draft changes | Adds a comparison view of what changed since the last approval |
| Multiple reviewers | Any number may review; the author decides when to publish | Quorum gates the Publish button until enough have approved |
| Deadlines | Not available | Per-post deadline with reminder emails |
| Reviewer invitations | Share the link yourself | Invite by email from the editor; reviewer directory |
| Audit trail | Comments and decisions stored with history | Hash-chained, append-only log with one-click verification |
| External attestation | Not available | Email digests and HMAC-signed webhooks of the chain head |
| Retention | Manual | Per-bucket windows with automatic purge; log and signatures never purged |
| Exports | Not available | Signed approvals as PDF certificates or JSON; audit log as JSON |
| Branding | Neutral reviewer page and emails | White-labelled reviewer page; branded, editable notification emails |
| AI assistant | Not available | Comment to edit, thread summary, contradiction check, change summary, article audit, on your own provider key |
| GDPR | Export and erasure through WordPress core tools | Same |
| Multisite, RTL, translation | Yes | Yes |
| Support | WordPress.org forum | Email support; priority on Studio and Network |
| Price | Free, GPL | From €79 a year for one site |
When Free Core is enough
A solo author or a small team who need a reviewer without a login to read a draft, comment and approve, and who are content with the dashboard as the record. Free Core is complete for that; it is not a trial.
When Pro is the answer
You need to prove the review, not just say it happened. Signed approvals, the chain and attestation exist for this.
More than one person must approve before publishing. Quorum enforces it at the Publish button.
The content is regulated, or the reviewers are external and numerous. Access controls, deadlines, invitations and white-labelling make a formal process workable.