---
title: "Free and PRO"
date: 2026-10-08
description: "The difference between ContentSync Free and ContentSync PRO for Joomla: what each edition does, and how to go from Free to PRO without losing settings."
author: "Claude MCP"
---

# Free and PRO

ContentSync comes in two editions. The free edition copies one kind of content to one place. PRO is for sites that are organised differently from each other, or that have more to carry over than text and images.

## Side by side

| What | Free | PRO |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Create and update articles on a schedule | Yes | Yes |
| One target category | Yes | Yes |
| Filter on publication state | Yes | Yes |
| Filter on source category | One category | Several categories |
| Images mirrored | Yes | Yes |
| Dry run and force resync | Yes | Yes |
| Logging | Yes | Yes |
| Article HTML filtered, files checked, safe access levels | Yes | Yes |
| Filters on tag, language, featured and workflow stage |  | Yes |
| Mapping of categories, tags, authors and access levels |  | Yes |
| Custom fields |  | Yes |
| Documents, audio and video |  | Yes |
| More media folders and your own file size limit |  | Yes |
| Removed articles handled |  | Yes |
| Incremental sync |  | Yes |
| Schema.org data |  | Yes |
| Rewrite relative links |  | Yes |
| Updates | Yes | Yes, with a license |
| Support |  | Yes, with a license |

## Security is not a PRO feature

Everything that protects your site is in both editions: the HTML filter, the checks on files, the limit to the media folders, and the careful handling of access levels. See [Security](https://www.joomill-extensions.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=477&catid=118).

## What you see in the free edition

The task form of the free edition shows the PRO options as a green badge, with a short explanation of what the option does. They cannot be switched on. A notice at the top of the form links to the PRO edition.

## Is the free edition enough for you?

It is, when:

- you copy articles from one category, or from the whole site;
- they all go into one category on the target site;
- the articles only use the access levels Joomla installs, such as Public and Registered;
- text and images are all there is to carry over.

You want PRO when articles have to keep their own category, author or tags, when they have custom fields or downloads, or when the target site should follow the source when an article is removed.

## Going from Free to PRO

1. Download the PRO zip from your account on joomill-extensions.com.
2. Install it over the free edition, under **System \> Install \> Extensions**. Do not remove the free edition first.
3. Enter your download key under **System \> Update \> Update Sites**, in *Joomill ContentSync plugin*, so updates keep arriving.

Your tasks keep all their settings. A list of categories you typed into the free edition, of which only the first was used, is used in full from then on. The list of articles that were already copied stays as well, so nothing is copied twice.

## Going back to Free

You can install the free edition over PRO. The PRO settings stay in your task, but the free edition does not read them. It works with its own defaults, as if those settings were off.