As part of our mission to create the best experience for WordPress professionals, we took a significant first step with the launch of InstaWP v3 Dashboard in March 2025. This update brings a redesigned dashboard that improves navigation, boosts user experience, and offers faster access to key features.
And our users loved it.
While this launch is just the beginning, we’re continuing our efforts to bring even more flexibility, control, and transparency to our users. Here’s a glimpse of what the full-fledged InstaWP v3 will look like, with new pricing structures and features that will add real value to your WordPress journey.
Table of Contents
TL;DR
To sum up what’s changing:
- We’ve moved to Pay-As-You-Go billing—no more rigid pricing tiers.
- Each site now has its own plan, giving you fine-grained control.
- A new dashboard improves site and team management.
- Free users still get access, but need to add a credit card.
- Paid users will retain access until their plans expire, then transition.
- InstaWP Live will be wp.cloud in the coming weeks
- New data center in Australia (Sydney)
The Game-Changer: Pay-As-You-Go (PPU) Pricing
After offering our legacy subscription-based pricing for over three years, we’re now switching to a Pay-As-You-Go (PPU) system. This means no more rigid monthly plans or overpaying for unused resources.
With PPU pricing, you only pay for the features and resources you use. Want to spin up a few short-term testing sites? That’s free. Need to push a staging site to live? That costs a small amount. This new model gives you complete control over your spending, whether you’re running one project or managing hundreds.
No more overpaying for features you rarely use. Just pay for what you need, when you need it.
You can now select the site plans from the dashboard before starting your site-building journey with InstaWP.
Here’s How It Works:
- Free Sites: Get up to 3 free sandbox sites with limited validity (48 hours each). You can experiment, test plugins, or try out themes—all for free.
- No Subscription Needed: Unlike traditional plans, there’s no need for an ongoing subscription. Upgrade individual sites only when you need more resources.
- Full Control: Pay only for CDN, backups, and advanced tools when your projects require them.
New Site Plans: Tailored to Your Project Needs
InstaWP v3 introduces site-level pricing plans, allowing you to pick the right plan for each site based on its specific requirements. Whether you’re testing, developing, or managing a live site, there’s a plan that fits.
Here’s a breakdown of the new pricing:
A Fully Revamped Dashboard: Smarter, Faster, Simpler
When we first made major changes to our dashboard in March 2025, our users loved it as the navigation was much easier. But it was just the beginning.
We went the extra mile to make it extra sorted so that you manage your sites, track your usage, and control your resources more efficiently.
You’ll now see:
- Intuitive Layout: Clear separation of sandbox sites, connected sites, and permanent sites for better organization.
- Easier Site Management: Quickly manage site configurations, templates, and migrations from one central dashboard.
- Advanced Tools: Now, you can run WP-CLI commands, manage PHP configurations, and integrate Git directly from the dashboard.
Whether you’re managing 3 sites or 300, the revamped dashboard makes managing multiple WordPress projects faster and easier.
What Happens to Your Free Tier?
The Free Tier remains, but there’s a small change: free users now need to add a credit card to access the Free Tier. Don’t worry—you won’t be charged unless you exceed the free usage limits.
Why the change?
This isn’t about charging you — in fact, you won’t be billed unless you exceed the free usage limits. The credit card requirement is simply about verifying real users and protecting the platform from abuse.
In the past, completely free access led to spam, bots, and system overloads. By verifying identity through a credit card, we can:
- Ensure you’re a genuine user (not an automated script or throwaway account)
- Maintain site performance and reliability for everyone
- Invest in improving tools for real developers, agencies, and teams
It’s a common safeguard adopted by platforms that prioritize security, stability, and trust, and one that helps us keep offering powerful tools for free.
So if you’re a free user, nothing really changes—you still get:
- 3 sandbox sites (48 hours each)
- Unlimited connected site management
- Access to basic configuration and workflows
And, we want to make sure the effort you put into adding your credit card is well rewarded. Once you complete the setup, you’ll receive $25 in free credits, valid for 60 days, exclusively for our early action takers.
And, if you’re worried about a temporary $1 transaction during this process, don’t panic! It’s an authorization check and gets automatically reversed once your card is added successfully.
If it doesn’t, drop us a line at support@instawp.com and we’ll sort it out right away.
Here’s what you get with the Free Tier:
- 3 sandbox sites at a time, each lasting 48 hours.
- Unlimited manual basic site management for live sites.
- Access to basic configuration and workflows.
It’s still completely free to test and experiment. The card is just for verification to ensure a safe and secure platform.
For Existing Paid Users: What’s Changing?
Our paid customers can continue using InstaWP just as easily and effortlessly as before. Your current plan will remain active and fully supported until it expires.
In fact, you can even renew your plan after expiration. Switching to the Pay-As-You-Go model will also be possible.
What Will Happen to InstaWP Live?
As part of the v3 update, InstaWP Live—our previously branded managed hosting service—will soon be known as wp.cloud. This rebrand is intended to avoid confusion with our native managed hosting service and site plans.
Important to note:
All existing InstaWP Live sites continue to be hosted with the same reliable third-party provider. There’s no impact on current performance or availability.
If you wish to host more sites with InstaWP Live (now wp.cloud), you’ll find it listed in the dashboard alongside other supported hosting providers.
Meanwhile, our native InstaWP hosting—used in Site Plans starting from $2—offers tightly integrated services with enhanced control, making it a great option for developers and agencies.
Let us know if you have questions—we’re here to help you make the most of it!
What’s the Difference Between Old Plans and the New Site Plans?
Let’s break it down simply:
The new model is more modular, flexible, and cost-efficient, especially for teams and freelancers who want to scale without fixed commitments.
What’s the Bottom Line?
InstaWP v3 is a major leap forward in how WordPress users manage, develop, and scale their projects. With the Pay-As-You-Go model, you only pay for the resources you use, and the introduction of site-level plans gives you flexibility and control like never before. The new dashboard makes site management faster and easier, and the Free Tier is still available for those who need to test without commitment.
You don’t need to upgrade everything. You just need to upgrade what matters—and we think that’s a better way to build with WordPress.
Have more questions? Drop them in our support chat or tweet us @insta_wp. We’re listening.
