The Paradox Exposed

WordPress is "Free"
Until You Need Real Estate Features

WordPress core is open source. But the real estate functionality you actually need? That'll be $500-1,000+ per year.

The Hidden Cost Breakdown

Core WordPress is just a blogging platform. Here's what you actually pay to make it work for real estate:

Premium Real Estate Plugins

$30-300+ per plugin

  • Easy Property Listing add-ons: $20-100 each, or $297 for bundle
  • WPL Pro: "Request a quote" (price hidden)
  • Features like sliders, templates, mapping should be included but require paid extensions

Premium Themes

$55-78 each

  • Many plugins only work with specific paid themes
  • Theme updates can break your site
  • Switching themes = rebuild everything

Security & SEO Tools

$99-179/year each

  • Wordfence Premium: $99/year (required for real security)
  • MemberPress: $179/year for agent management
  • Premium SEO, forms, backup plugins add up fast

MLS Integration

Separate service required

  • Most affordable plugins don't include MLS
  • Separate IDX/MLS services charge monthly fees
  • Integration requires custom development

Annual WordPress "Free" Total

$500-1,000+

...and you still don't own the code

The "Open Source" Promise Breaks Down

What They Say: "WordPress is Free & Open Source"

The promise: You get a free platform with community-driven development and no vendor lock-in.

The Reality: You're Locked Into Proprietary Plugins

By the time you have a functional real estate site, you've paid for:

  • Proprietary plugins with their own pricing structures
  • Locked update cycles (stop paying = lose updates)
  • No source code access to premium features
  • Theme vendor lock-in (can't switch without rebuilding)

The Surprise: You're Not Getting Open Source

The real estate features aren't open source. You're paying annual subscriptions for proprietary plugins that you can't modify, can't fork, and don't truly own.

This isn't open source. It's rental software with an open source facade.

PropertyWebBuilder's Advantage

Truly open source. All real estate features included. Transparent pricing. No surprise costs.

All Features Included

Property listings, search, multilingual, themes—everything in one package.

Actually Open Source

MIT license. Fork it, modify it, host it anywhere. True ownership.

Transparent Pricing

No plugin shopping. No compatibility guessing. No surprise annual renewals.

View Source Code Try Live Demo

More Reasons to Switch

How AI is Eroding WordPress's Advantages →

Speed, cost, and simplicity—AI has made WordPress's traditional strengths obsolete.

The Complete Cost Breakdown →

Detailed analysis of what you'll actually spend on WordPress vs PropertyWebBuilder.