Why AI Won’t Kill Premium Plugins

Darrel Wilson’s latest video says that AI will take over many WordPress plugins. He calls premium plugin pricing “pure greed.” It’s a bold statement meant to stir up debate, and I understand why it grabs attention. The argument has surface-level appeal, but it’s wrong; and it’s dangerous.

Below is my take on this topic. But first a quick direct response to Darrel from me.

AI is changing what’s possible in website development, for sure. It can generate snippets that mimic features of plugins. But plugins are successful because they’re more than their code. Premium plugins are ecosystems: support, docs, compliance, accessibility, updates, integrations, communities. AI can’t replicate that. And ignoring those layers creates serious risks for the users Darrel claims to help.

AI can generate snippets, but only premium plugins generate trust.

This isn’t the first time I’ve defended the WordPress product space. Years ago, I wrote The Case for Give and The Case for the WordPress Plugin Freemium Model. More recently, I shared how builders should actually use AI to build better plugins. Now Darrel’s video provoked me to step into the fray for the WordPress product space again. I hope to show the real value of premium plugins while also explaining how to use AI responsibly.

Why the AI-Replaces-Plugins narrative resonates

Darrel believes that AI is making plugins useless. He claims that plugin companies are just raising prices unfairly. I understand why this pitch lands. Many users find confusing upsell tiers and renewal surprises frustrating. AI demos feel magical. In just seconds, they create forms, calendars, or tables that seem like they took hours to make. Yes, some companies in our space have focused too much on big price tags or large add-on markets. Those realities make the critique appealing. But reducing the entire ecosystem to that caricature misses the deeper story.

The problem isn’t that plugins are premium; it’s that some pricing models aren’t.

Why Darrel’s argument fails

The first flaw is how he represents plugin pricing. Darrel highlights the highest possible tiers: $600 to $1,000 a year and frames them as typical. In practice, most customers pay much less. His most egregious example is how he emphasizes that the Modern Events Calendar costs $1,000 a year. He states it and restates it as if that’s the only option for adding recurring events or ticket sales.

The unlimited-sites enterprise tier links to that number. It’s not what most business owners will ever need. Top tiers cater to agencies, enterprises, or organizations that run at scale. These tiers include features like priority support, advanced integrations, and the ability to manage many client sites with one license. That’s real value for those businesses, and it justifies the cost. Premium pricing isn’t about greed, but sustainability. Plugins that are fairly priced deliver the value customers expect and the results they want for their websites.

The second flaw is the hidden cost of relying on AI snippets. What looks magical in a demo often becomes a maintenance nightmare. Code generated once may not survive the next WordPress update. Vulnerabilities go unpatched because there’s no team behind the snippet. Accessibility is often ignored. AI usually doesn’t focus on WCAG compliance or screen readers. Non-technical users, the ones who use plugins, don’t want to waste time fixing broken code. They want tools that work reliably.

The other reason why plugins outpace AI currently is longterm use. Users might embed a calendar with a few events and feel quick success. But they’re going to want more events and more complex calendar tools. With AI they’ll have to build that first then implement it successfully on their website. Tools like The Events Calendar are pre-built to give them that success whenever they’re ready for it without generating or hallucinating anything.

The biggest misunderstanding is seeing plugins as just code. Plugins succeed because they deliver an ecosystem. Every plugin has support teams, documentation, update pipelines, compliance checks, and communities. These elements help users succeed. Customers aren’t buying a form field or a booking feature. They’re buying stability, reliability, and trust.

The idea that AI alone can replace plugins isn’t just wrong; it’s dangerous advice that leaves users exposed.

These flaws make Darrel’s argument misleading and even dangerous. He exaggerates prices, overlooks hidden AI costs, and simplifies plugins to code. This approach exposes users to security and long-term sustainability issues they might not face otherwise. His video doesn’t help people. Instead, it leads them to false economies that fail as soon as something goes wrong.

The Real Case for Premium Plugins

Premium plugins provide ongoing value that far exceeds the line items Darrel rattles off. They provide proactive updates, strong security, and compliance features. Their support is responsive, and integrations keep working as the ecosystem changes. For a business owner, spending a few hundred dollars a year is cheaper than paying for developer hours to start from scratch.

That doesn’t mean AI has no role. Quite the opposite. Treat AI as a complement to plugins, not as their replacement. Tools like Loveable, Claude Code, and Cursor are great for prototyping features. They help extend functionality and create small customizations quickly. You can even build complete, functionality-oriented plugins, like my TLDRWP plugin. The teams behind premium plugins are what make those features secure, accessible, and reliable.

And if we want the ecosystem to thrive, plugin companies also have responsibilities. They should communicate pricing in a clear manner. They should avoid hiding essential features behind endless add-ons. They should take the initiative to adopt AI in a responsible manner. The real battle isn’t between AI and plugins. It’s between thoughtful, sustainable solutions and exploitative ones.

The healthiest future is AI plus plugins, not AI instead of plugins.

The real future is in how AI is being leveraged in WordPress now and how plugins will take advantage of that. Elementor recently launched their own MCP called Angie. Plugins who hook into Angie, like The Events Calendar, GiveWP, and LearnDash, are giving their users the ability to leverage AI in the plugin so users have quicker and more reliable success out of the box.

Similarly, the WordPress Core AI team is working on their own MCP and PHP client, the Abilities API and more. With these tools baked into Core, plugins can leverage them to drive quicker success for all users. This is the real power of AI and it’s a future that is a pairing of AI with plugins, not against them.

The Takeaway

So, will AI kill the premium WordPress plugin space like Darrel suggests? No. AI is powerful, but it comes with hidden costs. Premium plugins are valuable for what they do and the trust they provide.

AI can make features. Premium plugins make businesses possible.

The case for premium plugins is stronger than ever. The future isn’t about choosing between AI or plugins. It’s about weaving them together to create solutions that last.