JetPack is a popular plugin for WordPress bloggers. This is probably because JetPack offered easy sharing, in-depth stats, and a host of other useful features. Mostly the automatic and easy sharing though.

I say, offered, because things have changed. Now, users on a free plan are capped at 30 shares each month. If you share to, say, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIN, that’s ten posts a month you can share.

Of course, there are workarounds. Sign up for Tumblr, link Tumblr to Twitter and then share to Tumblr. Tumblr will share on Twitter for you. Two for the price of one. Not ideal but then again neither is this new miserly kneecapping of the free plan.

Why the limit? Cash of course. JetPack wants a monthly payment if you want to keep using them to share your posts.

Is it worth it though? I am not sure it is. JetPack is a heavy plugin that does cause slowdown but less slowdown than if you used separate plugins to get all the same features.

Now, it might be cheaper and easier to go with one of the many free plugins that do not cap social media sharing.

For Author Buzz UK, I will be looking into alternatives. I will also examine the case for phasing JetPack out of our network of blogs entirely. At least that way, we could get Mastodon support before the next ice age.