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Prime Mover – Migrate WordPress Website & Backups

By Codexonics

Site Administration & Utilities / Site Migration & Cloning

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Prime Mover – Migrate WordPress Website & Backups Review - In-Depth Analysis

Prime Mover is a versatile WordPress migration and backup tool. It supports multisite and single-site migrations, making it easy to transfer sites between servers or domains. The plugin also offers scheduled backups and encryption features.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.83/10

User Rating

5/5 (based on 140+ reviews)

Active Installations

10,000+

Update Frequency

Very Good It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

5.77 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

Prime Mover is the simplest all-around WordPress migration tool and backup plugin. It allows you to easily transfer your WordPress site to a new host, server, or domain. You can move single-site installations to another server or migrate multisite subsites seamlessly.

This plugin supports multisite backup and migration, enabling you to clone your WordPress site or subsite effortlessly. It is cross-platform compatible with various server types, including Nginx, Apache, and Microsoft IIS.

With Prime Mover, you can back up your WordPress database before making changes and restore it with just one click. The PRO version includes features like scheduled backups, direct site-to-site package transfers, and enhanced security options for your backups.

Comparing to Alternatives

Prime Mover is a highly rated WordPress migration and backup plugin with several viable alternatives available in the market.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Extremely high user satisfaction with 98.6% five-star ratings.
Supports multisite network migrations effectively.
Simple and intuitive interface requiring minimal setup.
Reliable and stable performance with very few reported failures.
Prompt and helpful customer support.

Weaknesses

Has known security vulnerabilities that have been fixed in recent updates.
Some users may encounter minor issues with large multisite subsite exports.
Security risk score is moderately high compared to some competitors.
Requires manual FTP upload workaround in rare cases during import.

User Sentiment Analysis

User reviews overwhelmingly praise the plugin's reliability and ease of use, reflected in the near-perfect rating distribution with only one low rating out of 139.

Positive highlights

"Amazing plugin for subsite migration" - constant1ne
"This plugin just works!" - Clicknathan
"Most stable migration plugin I’ve used" - Igor Radovanov
"It actually works. Thank you." - icze4r
"Prompt support and perfect plugin" - aecord

Common complaints

Weaknesses

Known security vulnerabilities fixed in recent versions.
Minor issues with large multisite subsite exports requiring manual FTP upload.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users seeking a reliable and easy-to-use WordPress migration plugin, especially those managing multisite networks, will find Prime Mover highly effective.

Not ideal for

Users who prioritize zero security risks or require a plugin with no history of vulnerabilities may want to consider alternatives or ensure they keep the plugin updated to the latest secure version.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers essential migration and backup features suitable for most users, including multisite support and straightforward operation.

Pro version

The premium version typically includes advanced features such as scheduled backups, cloud storage integrations, and priority support.

Final Verdict

Prime Mover stands out as a top-tier WordPress migration plugin with exceptional user satisfaction and robust multisite support. Its ease of use and reliable performance make it a strong choice for website administrators needing dependable migration and backup solutions.

However, users should be aware of past security vulnerabilities and ensure they maintain updated versions to mitigate risks. Considering its competitive features and pricing, Prime Mover is highly recommended for most users, especially those managing complex multisite environments.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Prime Mover – Migrate WordPress Website & Backups plugin.

Backup

Clone

Migrate WordPress

Multisite Migration

Screenshots

FAQ

The free version has no restrictions on package size, number of websites, or migration mode (single-site or multisite will work). (Note: Exporting/Restoring a multisite main site is a PRO feature)
The free version supports WordPress multisite migration on any number of subsites, except that exporting/restoring the multisite main site is a PRO feature.
It can back up WordPress multisite sub-sites or migrate multisite.
No need to delete your WordPress installation, create/delete the database, and all other technical stuff. It will save you a lot of time.
This is not hosting-dependent. Prime Mover is designed to work with any hosting company you choose.
The free version has full multisite migration functionality, usually missing in most migration plugins’ free versions.
Full versatility—migrate from your local host dev site or from a live site to another live site.
The entire migration will be done inside the WordPress admin. Anyone with administrator access can do it. Hiring a freelancer to do the job is unnecessary and will save you money.
You won’t have to mess with complicated migration settings; the free version has built-in settings. You can choose only a few options to export and migrate—that’s it.
You can save, download, delete, and migrate packages using the management page.
No need to worry about PHP configuration and server settings. Compatible with most default PHP server settings, even in limited shared hosting.
Prime Mover works with modern PHP versions 5.6 to 8.5+ (Google Drive feature requires at least PHP 7.4).
The code follows PHP-fig coding standards (standard PHP coding guidelines).
The free version supports backup and restoration of non-UTF8 sites. However, you need the PRO version to migrate non-UTF8 to the UTF8 (utf8mb4) database charset and vice versa.
After migration, you don’t need to worry about setting up users or changing passwords. It does not overwrite existing site users.