An honest comparison. Document Library Pro by Barn2 is a mature, well-supported plugin — if it were bad, undercutting it wouldn’t matter. Here’s where the two differ, verified against both products in August 2026.
Price
| FileDeck Pro | Document Library Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 site / year | $59 | $149 (Essentials) / $199 (Advanced) |
| 5 sites / year | $99 | $249 / $349 |
| 3-year cost (1 site) | $177 | $447–597 |
| Free version | All layouts, unlimited docs | Yes (Lite) — limited |
Features
| Capability | FileDeck | Document Library Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Table / grid / folder layouts | ✓ (grid & folders free) | ✓ (paid) |
| Instant AJAX search & multi-select filters, with counts | ✓ free | ✓ (search free in Lite; filter dropdowns paid) |
| Multi-column sorting, infinite scroll, shareable filtered URLs | ✓ free | ✓ (paid tiers) |
| Signed, expiring protected-file URLs | ✓ Pro (15-min) | Not advertised |
| Role, password & per-person access control | ✓ Pro | ✓ Advanced ($199) |
| Version history with restore | ✓ Pro | ✓ Advanced |
| Document expiry | ✓ Pro | ✓ Advanced |
| Lead capture before download | ✓ Pro | ✓ Advanced |
| Multi-select zip download | ✓ Pro | ✓ |
| CSV import / bulk add | ✓ Pro | ✓ |
| One-click import from Download Monitor, WP Download Manager & Shared Files | ✓ Pro | — |
| AI semantic search & “Ask this library” | ✓ AI tier | — |
| Native Gutenberg block with live preview | ✓ free | Paid add-on |
| Front-end document submission | ✓ Pro | ✓ |
| Hosted (non-WordPress) version | ✓ (FileDeck Embed) | ✓ |
What Document Library Pro does better
Credit where due: Barn2 has run this product since early 2021, with a dedicated support team, a large knowledge base, and a hosted cloud version for non-WordPress sites (embeddable in Squarespace, Wix or Webflow). If that longer track record matters more to you than price or architecture, they’re a reasonable choice.
Migrating from Document Library Pro
FileDeck Pro imports a Document Library Lite or Pro library in one click: go to Documents → Import & Export → Migrate and it reads your documents straight from your own database — titles, descriptions, nested categories, tags and files — with no CSV export. It runs in the background, and re-running never creates duplicates. See the full walkthrough, or switch from Document Library to FileDeck.
FAQ
Is FileDeck a fork of Document Library Pro? No. FileDeck is an independent, clean-room implementation. No code is shared.
Why is FileDeck cheaper? Smaller team, no legacy codebase, and a deliberate decision to compete on price honesty. Renewals never cost more than year one.
Can I try before buying? Yes — the live demo runs the real plugin with a full sample library, and the free version has no document limits.
FileDeck is a WordPress document library plugin — searchable tables, grids and folders, with a free version that has no artificial limits. Pro adds access control with signed download URLs, lead capture and version history from $59/yr, and renewals never increase. Live demo, no signup — or get FileDeck free on WordPress.org.
Free version on WordPress.org with no document limit, 30-day money-back guarantee on every paid plan, and we move your existing library across for free.
Document Library Pro and Barn2 are trademarks of Barn2 Media Ltd. FileDeck is not affiliated with Barn2. This is an independent comparison; prices and features verified August 2026 from public sources — tell us if anything is out of date.