WordPress is free.
Running it isn't.
Free download, then $40–$80/mo in plugin licenses, $30–$150/mo in managed hosting, a developer on call when LearnDash and BuddyBoss stop talking to each other, and your weekends. Simplero is one platform that does what twelve plugins were supposed to do — without making you the sysadmin.
The hidden cost
of “free.”
WordPress + 9 things you have to buy.
| WordPress core | $0 |
| LearnDash (LMS) — 1 site | $199/yr · $16.58/mo |
| BuddyBoss Pro (community + theme) | $299/yr · $24.92/mo |
| MemberPress Basic (memberships, 1 site) | $199.50/yr · $16.62/mo |
| Elementor Pro (page builder) | $59/yr · $4.92/mo |
| WP Engine Essential (managed WP hosting) | $25–$45/mo |
| ConvertKit / Kit Creator (email — 1K subscribers) | $29/mo |
| WP Rocket (caching) | $59/yr · $4.92/mo |
| Wordfence Premium (security) | $119/yr · $9.92/mo |
| UpdraftPlus Premium (backups) | $70/yr · $5.83/mo |
| All-in monthly | ~$138–$158/mo |
And that's before WooCommerce add-ons (subscriptions, taxes, gateway fees), forms, an SEO plugin, video hosting (Vimeo Pro starts at $20/mo), or a developer to actually wire it together.
Then the part that doesn't fit on a pricing page.
- A developer on retainer for the inevitable plugin conflict: $50–$300/mo, or your weekends.
- The launch where the checkout silently breaks because LearnDash and WooCommerce updated independently.
- The Tuesday morning where you discover a PHP version bump took your theme down.
- The hours you spend reading plugin compatibility forums instead of teaching.
One platform. $59/mo.
Billed annually. Includes courses, community, email, CRM, automations, affiliates, video hosting, landing pages, blog, scheduling, and 0% transaction fees. No plugins to buy, update, or troubleshoot.
What WordPress users
actually deal with.
Plugin update roulette.
Every Tuesday is an event. LearnDash pushes an update, WooCommerce pushes an update, BuddyBoss pushes an update, and somewhere in that combination your checkout silently stops processing payments. You find out from a customer.
You become the sysadmin.
PHP version bumps, security patches, malware scans, caching rules, backup schedules, SSL renewals, plugin compatibility matrices. You wanted to teach, coach, or build a community. Now you're maintaining infrastructure.
Twelve vendors, one launch.
When something breaks during a launch, who do you call? LearnDash blames BuddyBoss. BuddyBoss blames the host. The host blames a plugin. The plugin author hasn't replied to a forum post since 2024. Meanwhile, the cart is broken.
95.5% of all infected websites Sucuri cleaned in 2023 were running WordPress. The platform isn't insecure on its own — the plugin economy on top of it is.
What WordPress users
actually say.
“Migration presents a variety of challenges, particularly when it comes to navigating complex interfaces and the absence of effective email solutions. This process required me to thoroughly familiarize myself with at least twelve different learning management systems.”
“I updated my website plugins and everything broke. This usually happens when plugin updates clash. Restore a backup if you have one, or deactivate all plugins and reactivate them one by one to find the conflict.”
“How a single plugin update broke my entire WordPress site. Renamed the plugin folder via FTP — that deactivated it immediately. Cleared cache. Site came back online.”
“Massive performance issues with BuddyBoss. The problem seems to be the caching (ajax) that BuddyBoss uses. We tried Redis and it didn't work. Sorted out all plugins — didn't help. Tried the object cache.”
“After updating the LearnDash plugin, this doesn't work anymore. Action hook is not fired at all. I've tried sending a simple email…”
“I'm so frustrated with email options. I just want a straightforward email service… the capability to manage forms, send out newsletters, and even handle scheduled outreach campaigns — all from one email account — without needing to purchase multiple products from various companies.”
“If you've ever pieced together a Franken-system of Zapier triggers, PayPal links, Google Sheets, and manual reminders, you already know how fragile that setup feels.”
Side by side.
Frankenstack vs one platform.
| WordPress + plugins | Simplero Starter | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | Days to weeks. Pick host, install WP, install + configure 8–12 plugins, build theme. | Minutes. Sign up, pick a template, start. |
| Monthly cost (all-in) | ~$138–$158/mo just in licenses + hosting + email. Plus dev time. | $59/mo billed annually · everything included |
| Plugin updates / maintenance | Weekly. You're responsible. | None. We handle infrastructure. |
| Native courses (drip, quizzes, certificates) | LearnDash / LifterLMS / Tutor LMS — separate plugin | ✓ Built in |
| Native community | BuddyBoss / BuddyPress — separate plugin + theme | ✓ Built in |
| Native email + automation | — separate (Mailchimp / ConvertKit / FluentCRM) | ✓ Full automation engine |
| Native CRM (tags, segments, pipelines) | — separate plugin or external tool | ✓ Built in |
| Native affiliate program | — AffiliateWP or similar ($149+/yr) | ✓ Built in |
| Video hosting | — Vimeo Pro / Wistia (extra) | ✓ Unlimited included |
| Payment processing / checkout | WooCommerce + gateway plugin + subscriptions plugin | ✓ Native checkout, Stripe + PayPal |
| Page builder / landing pages | Elementor Pro / Divi (separate, $59–$249/yr) | ✓ Built-in builder |
| Mobile app | — not included | ✓ White-label option |
| Security & backups | Wordfence + UpdraftPlus + your vigilance. 95.5% of CMS infections were WordPress in 2023 (Sucuri). | Managed by us. Daily backups, infrastructure-level security. |
| Course AI | — not native | ✓ Built-in course AI for creators and students |
| Support | Twelve different vendors. Each blames the others. | One team. Real humans. Founder still answers email. |
| Founder access | — WordPress is volunteer-maintained software | Included on Partner level; paid concierge tier $1,500–$2,500/mo for direct line + priority feature dev |
| Years in business / stability | WordPress (2003) is mature; the plugin economy around it is not. Plugins get acquired, abandoned, or change licensing. | 17 years. Bootstrapped. Same founder. No acquisitions. |
The real difference,
not the feature matrix.
One platform, one bill, one support team.
When something breaks, you call us, not twelve different vendors. There's no LearnDash blaming BuddyBoss blaming the host. Just one team that owns the whole thing.
We do the maintenance so you can do your work.
Security patches, video infrastructure, deliverability, uptime, backups, scaling — that's our job. Yours is teaching, coaching, building a community. The split should have always been this clean.
Founder access included.
Calvin still answers customer emails. Partner-level access is included; paid concierge tier ($1,500–$2,500/mo by account size) gives you a direct line to founder + product team. WordPress is volunteer-maintained open-source. Plugin authors don't owe you a reply.
What Simplero customers actually say.
“I scored 12 platforms on a spreadsheet. Simplero won — not because it was the cheapest, but because it was the only one that didn't make me build a Frankenstack of tools to run my actual business.”
“My income tripled, quadrupled in the last six years on Simplero. The platform grew with me — I never had to migrate.”
“I ended up paying my annual plan for Simplero in what I was paying for one month of all my subscriptions. One platform replaced five.”
“There are no chatbot-gates you have to get through to get support from an actual human. The team responds, listens, and actually fixes things.”
Simplero pricing.
Stop being your own sysadmin.
You didn't get into this to maintain a plugin stack. You got into this to teach, to coach, to build a community. We'll do the infrastructure. You do the work only you can do.
Founded 2009 · Bootstrapped · Proud of it.
Make it simplero™
