DocVault is free to download and always will be. But like most freemium plugins, it comes in two tiers — and it’s worth being clear about what that actually means in practice, rather than leaving you to work it out from a feature table.
The short version: the free plugin is a genuine, fully functional document manager. Pro exists for teams and organisations that need accountability — audit trails, approval workflows, and access control that goes beyond “logged in or not”.
What Free Gives You
The free plugin handles the core job well. You can upload documents, manage them from a clean admin interface, and display them on the frontend via a Gutenberg block or shortcode. Version control is built in — every time you replace a file, DocVault keeps the previous versions so you can roll back if needed.
Beyond that, you get:
- Up to 5 stored versions per document
- Drag-and-drop upload with smart filename suggestions
- Document categories and an admin file type filter
- Expiry dates — useful for time-limited documents like policies or offers
- Basic access control: make documents public, or restrict them to logged-in users
- Download tracking
For a small site, a personal portfolio, or a straightforward internal resource library, that’s likely everything you need.
When Free Starts to Feel Limiting
Free works well when you’re the only person managing documents, and when knowing that something was downloaded is enough. It starts to feel limiting when you need to know who downloaded it, who approved it before it went live, or which team members should be able to see it at all.
A few scenarios where people tend to outgrow free:
- HR and compliance documents — policies, contracts, and procedures often need a sign-off process before publishing, plus a record of who accessed what.
- Client portals — if different clients or user groups should see different documents, the free plugin’s logged-in/public split isn’t granular enough.
- Multi-author sites — when more than one person is uploading documents, you want oversight: who changed what, and when.
- Growing document libraries — the 5-version cap and no duplicate detection can make housekeeping awkward once the library gets large.
What Pro Adds
DocVault Pro is an add-on licence that installs alongside the free plugin. It doesn’t change how the core plugin works — it extends it.
The key additions:
- Unlimited version history — no cap on stored versions per document
- Role-based access control — restrict documents by WordPress user role, not just login status
- Document approval workflow — documents go through a review step before they’re published
- Full audit trail with CSV export — a timestamped log of every upload, edit, download, and status change
- Email notifications — alert users when documents are updated or awaiting approval
- Download analytics — go beyond counts to see who downloaded what
- Duplicate detection and storage tools — keep the library clean as it grows
- Smart similarity detection — flags near-duplicate uploads before they clutter the library
- Dashboard widget — a quick-glance summary of document activity from the WordPress admin home screen
Pricing
Pro is priced at $99/year for a single site, or $239/year for up to five sites. Both include the full Pro feature set, priority support, and a 14-day money-back guarantee if it’s not what you needed.
If you’re not ready to commit, start with free — it’s a genuine product, not a trial. You can upgrade at any time without losing anything.