bwt
// compare · ai

AI Engine vs AI Puffer vs AIKit vs Bertha AI

The four AI plugins most WordPress users weigh up, side by side — with one important caveat up front. AI Engine is the deep, multi-provider toolkit with a polished chatbot and MCP support; AI Puffer (formerly AI Power) is the widest all-in-one feature pack; AIKit is the writer-first chat experience sold as a one-time license. Bertha AI is here because it still appears in most published roundups, but its WordPress plugin is deprecated and the vendor now points users to a Chrome extension instead — so in practice this is a three-way decision, and the real questions are feature depth, how much setup you want, and how you'd rather pay.

// at a glance
Product PriceLighthouseWP.orgOpen CVEsInstalls
AI Engine $79944.9 ★0100,000+
AI Puffer $96924.6 ★010,000+
AIKit $3995—040,000+
Bertha AI $24094—030,000+

Lighthouse: reproducible median of 5 mobile runs · CVEs: open advisories, Patchstack + Wordfence · Ratings: WordPress.org

// the picks
Best overall & most capable
AI Engine

The deepest feature surface on WordPress — content, chatbots, image generation, and MCP server endpoints — across OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and local models. Active development and a genuinely usable free tier make it the safe broad bet, if you can live with a dense UI and bringing your own keys.

Best all-in-one feature pack
AI Puffer

An independent plugin that crams an unusually wide feature set into one install — content, chat, image generation, AI forms, and embeddings — across OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and local models. The pick when you want the most capabilities in a single plugin and don't mind a dense admin. (Rebranded from 'AI Power'.)

Best value — writer-focused
AIKit

A chat-style writing experience that feels like ChatGPT inside the editor, with a friendlier, less dense interface than the toolkits above. OpenAI-only and lighter on features — but it's a one-time purchase rather than a subscription, making it the cheapest of the four and the best fit for individual writers who want flow over breadth.

No longer a live option Deprecated
Bertha AI

Kept in this comparison because Bertha is still widely listed elsewhere, but its WordPress plugin is deprecated: the vendor states it "no longer works with the latest version of WordPress" and directs users to its Chrome extension. It was the only one here that bundled inference, so there was no API key to wire up — that convenience now sits outside the editor, and at a monthly SaaS price rather than a budget add-on. Treat this as a three-way choice in practice.

// head to head

AI Engine

AI · Free, Pro from $79 · Since 2022
Full review

AI Engine is the most-featured AI plugin in the WordPress repository. Free version supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and local models for content generation, chatbots, image generation, and admin-side AI tools. Pro adds the Forms add-on, advanced chatbot UI, and the MCP server endpoint that lets external agentic systems read and act on your WordPress install. Run solo by Jordy Meow since 2022.

Pros

  • Multi-provider out of the box (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, local)
  • Active development with shipped features every two to three weeks
  • MCP server endpoint puts WordPress in the agentic workflow loop
  • Free version is genuinely usable, not crippleware

Cons

  • Requires bringing your own API keys
  • UI density is high; first-time setup can feel overwhelming
  • Chatbot frontend defaults are aesthetic, not always content-clean

AI Puffer

AI · Free, Pro from $96 · Since 2022
Full review

AI Puffer — previously published as 'AI Power' (GPT AI Power: Complete AI Pack) — is a comprehensive, independently developed AI plugin for WordPress by developer senols. It is not affiliated with any hosting company. One plugin bundles content generation, chatbots, image generation, AI-powered forms, and embeddings, working across multiple providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and local models. Actively maintained with a large install base; you bring your own provider API keys.

Pros

  • One of the widest feature sets in a single plugin — content, chat, images, forms, and embeddings
  • Multi-provider out of the box (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and local models)
  • Actively maintained with frequent releases and a solid WordPress.org rating
  • Free tier is genuinely usable for evaluation before upgrading

Cons

  • Requires bringing your own API keys — no bundled inference at any tier
  • The sheer breadth of features makes the admin dense and the learning curve steeper
  • Smaller community and fewer integration tutorials than AI Engine

AIKit

AI · From $39 · Since 2023
Full review

AIKit is a newer entrant in the WordPress AI plugin space, launched late 2023. Focuses on a chat-style content generation interface that feels closer to using ChatGPT inside the WordPress editor than the form-based UX of older plugins. Growing user base, friendlier-than-average admin UX, single-developer momentum.

Pros

  • Chat-style interface feels native to modern AI workflows
  • Friendly admin UX with less density than AI Engine or AI Puffer
  • Active feature shipping despite small team
  • One-time license — the only pick here without a recurring subscription, and the cheapest overall

Cons

  • Smaller feature surface than AI Engine (no MCP server, no image generation depth)
  • OpenAI-only at the time of writing (no Anthropic or Google support yet)
  • Single-developer momentum is a vendor-risk consideration
  • The vendor's own site (getaikit.com) currently serves an invalid HTTPS certificate, so buy and get support through its CodeCanyon listing

Bertha AI

AI · Free, Pro from $240 · Since 2021
Full review

Bertha AI launched in 2021 as one of the early dedicated AI content generation plugins for WordPress, and built a substantial early-adopter community in the 2021-2023 wave. **Its WordPress plugin is now deprecated.** Bertha's own site states the plugin "is now deprecated and no longer works with the latest version of WordPress" and directs users to its Chrome extension, which remains actively developed and is where the product's free and paid tiers now live. We keep the entry because Bertha still appears in older WordPress AI roundups across the web, and readers deserve to know the plugin is no longer a live option rather than discover it after installing. If you want AI writing inside the WordPress editor itself, see AI Engine or AI Puffer instead; if you specifically liked Bertha's bundled inference — no API key to manage — the Chrome extension is the supported path.

Pros

  • Bundled inference — no API key or provider account to configure
  • Simple, guided content workflow aimed at non-technical users
  • Simpler admin UX than AI Engine or AI Puffer
  • Mature codebase from one of the earlier WP-AI launches

Cons

  • The WordPress plugin is deprecated and does not work with current WordPress versions
  • Continuing as a Chrome extension means it no longer runs inside the WordPress editor
  • Priced as a monthly SaaS (from ~$20/mo) rather than a one-off or BYO-key model
  • Smaller community discussion and integration ecosystem than the active alternatives
The verdict

For most sites, AI Engine is the default — the broadest capability, multi-provider flexibility, and the only one here with MCP server support for the agentic path. Choose AI Puffer if you want the widest all-in-one feature pack in a single plugin, or AIKit if you want the simplest writer-focused experience at the lowest cost (a one-time license). Bertha AI is not a live option for WordPress any more; if its bundled-inference approach is what appealed, use the vendor's Chrome extension rather than the deprecated plugin. The three live plugins are clean on open advisories today, so this is a capability-and-workflow call, not a security one.

// see also

Best WordPress AI Plugins

The full ranked roundup, with the best pick for each use case.
// faq

Frequently asked questions

Which WordPress AI plugin has the most features?
AI Engine. It covers content generation, chatbots, image generation, and admin-side tools across multiple providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and local models), and it's the only one of these four with MCP server endpoints for agent-to-WordPress workflows.
Do these AI plugins need my own OpenAI or Anthropic key?
AI Engine, AI Puffer, and AIKit expect you to bring your own provider key, so you pay the model provider directly for usage. Bertha AI is the exception — it bundles inference, so you can get started without wiring up an API key (which is part of why it's priced as a monthly service).
Is AI Engine or AIKit better for a blog?
For a solo writer who mainly wants an AI writing assistant, AIKit's chat-style interface is simpler and faster to adopt. AI Engine is the better long-term pick if you'll also want a chatbot, image generation, or multi-provider flexibility as your needs grow.
// methodology

Every figure in the comparison table is pulled from the same reproducible pipeline behind each plugin's detail page — Lighthouse scores are the median of five mobile runs on identical hosting, and open-CVE counts come from Patchstack and Wordfence Intelligence on every build. The editorial call is ours; the numbers are measured, not vendor-supplied.