Join waitlist

The Rivale Diff · Issue 2 · October 2026

Data as of 2026-09-30

The Rivale Diff

The monthly diff of the WordPress plugin market

WordPress plugin market data, October 2026

This issue records what Rivale observed across the WordPress plugin market in September 2026, with the plugins behind each number. Every figure says what it was measured on.

Cite: The Rivale Diff, Issue 2 (October 2026), Rivale.io Copy · Press and data use

In this issue

58.7M

downloads in the week of 21 September, September’s highest week

45.7%

of ai-tagged plugins released an update in September, against 21.1% of all top 12,500 plugins

3,928

plugins with no update in a year gained downloads per day in September

3,174

plugins joined the directory in September, and 48 of the top 12,500 plugins had their listing closed

Editor’s note · Rivale

This Rivale Diff issue has three spotlight stories.

The first is about those plugins nobody touched in a year that still grew. Sounds almost counter intuitive, or at least hard to believe, yet 4,575 of the top 12,500 WordPress plugins had not released an update since September 2025, and 3,928 of them had more downloads per day in September than in August. Here are a few names Regenerate Thumbnails and Limit Login Attempts among them. More below, in their dedicated section.

The second spotlight story goes to AI, specifically the AI tag. 110 of the top 12,500 plugins carry the ai tag, and as a group they released more updates, declared support for WordPress 7.1.x more often and gained more downloads per day than the top 12,500 as a whole. Below you’ll get to see the plugin names that rose and those that fell.

The third is the month’s biggest download moves. Elementor and Yoast SEO generated the most, while Akismet recorded the biggest contraction.

The rest of the issue is the diff, as usual: who released an update, who gained ratings, who climbed into the top 1,000, who arrived, which plugins had their listing closed, and where the whole directory stands on WordPress 7.1.x support and maintenance.

Enjoy!
Matteo

How busy September was

Weekly downloads across the top 12,500 WordPress plugins over the trailing year. The plugins that gained and lost the most in September against August, and which of the plugins that lost the most released no update.

Downloads

Elementor and Yoast SEO gained the most downloads in September, Akismet lost the most

Rivale recorded 226.7M downloads across the top 12,500 plugins on WordPress.org in September 2026. August had 232.0M, with one more day, so Rivale compares downloads per day. On that basis September was 1.0% higher. Two plugins in three had more downloads per day than in August.

The week of 21 September reached 58.7M, September’s highest. Six of the ten plugins that lost the most released no update during the month.

Downloads per week across the top 12,500 plugins, in millions
The two months compared belowAUGSEP20M40M60MWordPress 7.1 released 2026-08-1958.7Mweek of 2026-09-212025-09-222026-03-232026-09-21The two months compared belowAUGSEP20M40M60MWordPress 7.1 released 2026-08-1958.7M2025-09-222026-03-232026-09-21
Downloads, full months
226.7M
September, 30 days
232.0M
August, 31 days
Per day +1.0%
How each plugin's September compared with its August, per day
66%higher than August
34%lower than August
Each plugin's own September downloads per day against its own August.
Downloads, full months, ranked by change per day: 10 plugins gained the most, 10 lost the most
Elementor11,337,257 → 16,921,714Yoast SEO11,660,136 → 14,594,707Limit Login Attempts Security1,713,481 → 4,184,659Really Simple Security1,750,921 → 3,749,741WooCommerce5,097,840 → 6,551,632Duplicator535,958 → 2,095,710MonsterInsights2,784,071 → 4,245,081Widgets for Google Reviews483,170 → 1,342,268Safe SVG109,364 → 842,085Redirection1,342,836 → 2,019,225Akismet8,786,979 → 1,580,749WPForms9,341,967 → 5,858,595Contact Form 74,328,362 → 1,407,824Security Optimizer1,678,914 → 115,593Popup Builder (OptinMonster)1,787,126 → 270,759All-in-One WP Migration3,910,942 → 2,460,973All in One SEO2,751,822 → 1,356,618Broken Link Checker1,480,795 → 287,337ManageWP Worker1,102,100 → 105,483ACF1,966,869 → 1,071,226Elementor11,337,257 → 16,921,714Yoast SEO11,660,136 → 14,594,707Limit Login Attempts Secu…1,713,481 → 4,184,659Really Simple Security1,750,921 → 3,749,741WooCommerce5,097,840 → 6,551,632Duplicator535,958 → 2,095,710MonsterInsights2,784,071 → 4,245,081Widgets for Google Reviews483,170 → 1,342,268Safe SVG109,364 → 842,085Redirection1,342,836 → 2,019,225Akismet8,786,979 → 1,580,749WPForms9,341,967 → 5,858,595Contact Form 74,328,362 → 1,407,824Security Optimizer1,678,914 → 115,593Popup Builder (OptinMonster)1,787,126 → 270,759All-in-One WP Migration3,910,942 → 2,460,973All in One SEO2,751,822 → 1,356,618Broken Link Checker1,480,795 → 287,337ManageWP Worker1,102,100 → 105,483ACF1,966,869 → 1,071,226
Gained the most downloadsLost the most downloads
Show the numbers

Gained the most downloads per day, September against August

Plugin
August
September
Change
Elementor11,337,25716,921,714+54% per day
Yoast SEO11,660,13614,594,707+29% per day
Limit Login Attempts Security1,713,4814,184,659+152% per day
Really Simple Security1,750,9213,749,741+121% per day
WooCommerce5,097,8406,551,632+33% per day
Duplicator535,9582,095,710+304% per day
MonsterInsights2,784,0714,245,081+58% per day
Widgets for Google Reviews483,1701,342,268+187% per day
Safe SVG109,364842,085+696% per day
Redirection1,342,8362,019,225+55% per day

Lost the most downloads per day, September against August

Plugin
August
September
Change
Akismet8,786,9791,580,749-81% per day
WPForms9,341,9675,858,595-35% per day
Contact Form 74,328,3621,407,824-66% per day
Security Optimizer1,678,914115,593-93% per day
Popup Builder (OptinMonster)1,787,126270,759-84% per day
All-in-One WP Migration3,910,9422,460,973-35% per day
All in One SEO2,751,8221,356,618-49% per day
Broken Link Checker1,480,795287,337-80% per day
ManageWP Worker1,102,100105,483-90% per day
ACF1,966,8691,071,226-44% per day

53 weeks to 27 September 2026, every plugin with weekly download data (12,470 to 12,999 a week). Month figures cover the top 12,500 WordPress plugins and compare 1 to 30 September with 1 to 31 August, per day. Method

Cite this DefinitionDownload volume

Also in September

Tags

Plugin downloads per day rose in 20 of the 39 tags used by at least 100 of the top 12,500 plugins, and fell in 19. Plugins tagged media grew the most in percentage terms, from 640,563 to 1,338,669 downloads. Plugins tagged editor added the most downloads per day, from 16,124,531 to 20,632,159 for the full month, and contact-form lost the most, from 26,600,571 to 12,427,729. Download change by tag

No release

Six of the ten plugins that lost the most downloads per day listed no new version in September: Akismet, Contact Form 7, Security Optimizer, Popup Builder (OptinMonster), Broken Link Checker and ManageWP Worker.

AI-tagged WordPress plugins in September

The 110 plugins among the top 12,500 plugins that carry the ai tag. Who gained and lost downloads, and how the group compares with all top 12,500 plugins on updates and WordPress 7.1.x support.

AI plugins

Elementor gained and All in One SEO lost the most downloads among ai-tagged plugins

Rivale recorded 110 plugins using the ai tag among the top 12,500 plugins on WordPress.org on 30 September 2026. Elementor uses the tag too, and it alone added 198k downloads a day, more than the net gain of the whole group, 159k a day. Behind it, AI Agent by SiteGround, AI Engine and Alt Text AI rose. All in One SEO, Premium Addons for Elementor and Uncanny Automator fell.

The median change among ai-tagged plugins was +28.4% per day, against +8.5% across all top 12,500 plugins. 45.7% of the ai plugins in the top 12,500 at the start of September released an update, against 21.1% of all top 12,500 plugins. None of the 110 entered the top 1,000 in September, against six plugins across the top 12,500, and none had its listing closed.

Off this scale: Elementor, 11,337,257 → 16,921,714 (+54% per day). Its change alone is larger than every other bar below, so it is stated here and left out of the scale.

Downloads of ai-tagged plugins, full months, ranked by change per day: 10 gained the most, 10 lost the most
AI Agent by SiteGround2,928,861 → 3,079,703AI Engine229,744 → 293,854Alt Text AI30,580 → 52,079Angie155,985 → 170,830BEAR Bulk Editor3,418 → 20,438miniOrange Secure MCP Server3,660 → 14,919Royal MCP33,482 → 42,827AI Provider for OpenAI56,706 → 65,243AI Provider for Google49,506 → 56,164All in One SEO2,751,822 → 1,356,618Premium Addons for Elementor1,702,547 → 1,483,067Uncanny Automator113,080 → 55,720Website LLMs.txt79,386 → 35,982AI56,908 → 34,517Echo Knowledge Base24,406 → 6,907AI Provider for Anthropic52,584 → 35,344AI Puffer56,343 → 43,110LLMs.txt and LLMs-Full.txt Generator4,339 → 1,881OpenStation10,766 → 8,842AI Agent by SiteGround2,928,861 → 3,079,703AI Engine229,744 → 293,854Alt Text AI30,580 → 52,079Angie155,985 → 170,830BEAR Bulk Editor3,418 → 20,438miniOrange Secure MCP Server3,660 → 14,919Royal MCP33,482 → 42,827AI Provider for OpenAI56,706 → 65,243AI Provider for Google49,506 → 56,164All in One SEO2,751,822 → 1,356,618Premium Addons for Elemen…1,702,547 → 1,483,067Uncanny Automator113,080 → 55,720Website LLMs.txt79,386 → 35,982AI56,908 → 34,517Echo Knowledge Base24,406 → 6,907AI Provider for Anthropic52,584 → 35,344AI Puffer56,343 → 43,110LLMs.txt and LLMs-Full.txt Genera…4,339 → 1,881OpenStation10,766 → 8,842
Gained the most downloadsLost the most downloads
Show the numbers

ai-tagged plugins that gained the most downloads per day

Plugin
August
September
Change
AI Agent by SiteGround2,928,8613,079,703+9% per day
AI Engine229,744293,854+32% per day
Alt Text AI30,58052,079+76% per day
Angie155,985170,830+13% per day
BEAR Bulk Editor3,41820,438+518% per day
miniOrange Secure MCP Server3,66014,919+321% per day
Royal MCP33,48242,827+32% per day
AI Provider for OpenAI56,70665,243+19% per day
AI Provider for Google49,50656,164+17% per day

ai-tagged plugins that lost the most downloads per day

Plugin
August
September
Change
All in One SEO2,751,8221,356,618-49% per day
Premium Addons for Elementor1,702,5471,483,067-10% per day
Uncanny Automator113,08055,720-49% per day
Website LLMs.txt79,38635,982-53% per day
AI56,90834,517-37% per day
Echo Knowledge Base24,4066,907-71% per day
AI Provider for Anthropic52,58435,344-31% per day
AI Puffer56,34343,110-21% per day
LLMs.txt and LLMs-Full.txt Generator4,3391,881-55% per day
OpenStation10,7668,842-15% per day
ai-tagged plugins next to all top 12,500 plugins
Each row shows the ai-tagged plugins first, then all top 12,500 plugins, on the same measure.
Downloads per day, all plugins, September against Aug…+24.9%+1.0%Downloads per day, median plugin+28.4%+8.5%Released an update in September45.7%21.1%Declares support for WordPress 7.1.x on 30 September52.7%32.6%Downloads per day, all plugins, September against…+24.9%+1.0%Downloads per day, median plugin+28.4%+8.5%Released an update in September45.7%21.1%Declares support for WordPress 7.1.x on 30 Septem…52.7%32.6%
110 ai-tagged pluginsAll top 12,500 plugins

Plugins using the ai tag on WordPress.org inside the top 12,500, September 2026 against August. Tags are declared by the plugin author. Method

Cite this DefinitionTag profile

Also in September

Arrivals

236 of the 3,027 plugins first listed in September and still listed at month end use the ai tag, 7.8%, against 3% of the whole directory.

No release

Among ai-tagged plugins that lost downloads, AI, Echo Knowledge Base, AI Provider for Anthropic and LLMs.txt and LLMs-Full.txt Generator listed no new version in September.

The top 1,000 WordPress plugins and everyone else

Updates, ratings and rank movement among the top 12,500 plugins on WordPress.org in September, by the rank each plugin held when the month began. Then the plugins nobody updated in a year that still gained downloads, and the plugins that moved up or down an active install tier.

Updates and ratings

Half of the top 1,000 plugins released an update, fewer than in August

Rivale recorded an update released by 50% of the top 1,000 plugins on WordPress.org in September 2026. That was down from 52% in August. Among plugins ranked 1,001 to 5,000 the share was 27%, and among ranks 5,001 to 12,500 it was 14%. Across all top 12,500 plugins, 21.1% released an update, against 23.6% in August.

One in three of the top 1,000 plugins gained a rating. Among plugins ranked 5,001 to 12,500, one in 57 did. 11,590 of 12,367 plugins ended the month with the same number of ratings. Of the 1,659 ratings gained, 91% were five-star.

Share of plugins that released an update, August and September
AugustSeptember
21.1%, all top 12,500 plugins, September
The 1,000 most popular plugins
52%
50%
Plugins ranked 1,001 to 5,000
30%
27%
Plugins ranked 5,001 to 12,500
16%
14%
0%20%40%60%
21.1%, all top 12,500 plugins, September
Share of plugins that released an update, and that gained a rating, September
Released an updateGained a rating
The 1,000 most popular plugins50%31.2%
Plugins ranked 1,001 to 5,00027%6.9%
Plugins ranked 5,001 to 12,50014%1.7%
All top 12,500 plugins21.1%5.8%
Released the most versions in September
BrikPanel213.2.93 → 3.3.26Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce208.0.1 → 8.0.30WPVibe151.15.5 → 1.20.0Quiz Maker by AYS126.7.1.74 → 6.7.1.86WCPOS121.10.5 → 1.10.20DiviOps Agent121.5.15 → 1.5.27BrikPanel213.2.93 → 3.3.26Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce208.0.1 → 8.0.30WPVibe151.15.5 → 1.20.0Quiz Maker by AYS126.7.1.74 → 6.7.1.86WCPOS121.10.5 → 1.10.20DiviOps Agent121.5.15 → 1.5.27
Ratings gained in September, by star
WPVibe59UpdraftPlus29Wordfence Security27WPCode24Discount Rules for WooCommerce23WP Armour17WP Mail SMTP17WPvivid17WPVibe59UpdraftPlus29Wordfence Security27WPCode24Discount Rules for WooCommerce23WP Armour17WP Mail SMTP17WPvivid17
Five-starOther starOne-star
PluginOne-starAll ratings gained
Elementor413
All-in-One WP Migration35
Constant Contact Forms33
TI WooCommerce Wishlist34
Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO22
Show the numbers

Gained the most ratings in September

Plugin
Ratings gained
Five-star
One-star
WPVibe59580
UpdraftPlus29280
Wordfence Security27251
WPCode24240
Discount Rules for WooCommerce23230
WP Armour17170
WP Mail SMTP17160
WPvivid17150

Top 12,500 plugins grouped by their rank on 1 September, September 2026 against August. August is measured the same way, so it differs from the 50%, 30% and 15% Issue 1 printed. Method

Cite this DefinitionUpdate rate

Silent but growing

Most WordPress plugins untouched for a year still gained downloads in September

Rivale recorded 3,928 plugins among the top 12,500 plugins on WordPress.org with no update in a year and more downloads per day in September 2026. They are part of the 4,575 plugins in the top 12,500 that had not listed a new version in the year to 30 September. 646 of the 4,575 had fewer downloads per day than in August, and one had the same. Their median change was +12.8% per day, against +8.5% across all top 12,500 plugins.

Regenerate Thumbnails, with a million installs and last updated in August 2025, gained the most downloads per day. Limit Login Attempts, with 300,000 installs and last updated in April 2023, Sassy Social Share and Simple Custom CSS also rose.

No update in a year, downloads up: the 15 largest percentage gains
No update sinceFull-month downloads, August → September, and the change per dayLog Deprecated Notices25 June 2021, 63 months1,312 → 2,308, +81.8%New Relic Reporting for Wor…11 August 2025, 13 months1,535 → 2,263, +52.3%Better Passwords28 September 2024, 24 months2,692 → 3,959, +52.0%Datawrapper oEmbed6 August 2024, 25 months2,189 → 3,197, +50.9%Login by Auth012 July 2024, 26 months2,327 → 3,231, +43.5%Post Meta Inspector31 July 2016, 121 months2,141 → 2,956, +42.7%WP REST API OAuth 1.0a Serv…5 August 2024, 25 months2,110 → 2,781, +36.2%Disable auto-update Email N…21 January 2025, 20 months1,066 → 1,399, +35.6%Starbox9 May 2025, 16 months1,039 → 1,362, +35.5%Robots.txt Editor16 January 2021, 68 months2,163 → 2,817, +34.6%Transients Manager18 October 2024, 23 months6,653 → 8,634, +34.1%DocumentCloud24 September 2025, 12 months1,863 → 2,415, +34.0%Event Tracking for Gravity…3 November 2024, 22 months2,315 → 2,957, +32.0%Shareaholic5 November 2024, 22 months1,038 → 1,322, +31.6%HTTP Auth22 July 2025, 14 months2,811 → 3,546, +30.4%Log Deprecated Notices+81.8%63 moNew Relic Reporting for Word…+52.3%13 moBetter Passwords+52.0%24 moDatawrapper oEmbed+50.9%25 moLogin by Auth0+43.5%26 moPost Meta Inspector+42.7%121 moWP REST API OAuth 1.0a Server+36.2%25 moDisable auto-update Email No…+35.6%20 moStarbox+35.5%16 moRobots.txt Editor+34.6%68 moTransients Manager+34.1%23 moDocumentCloud+34.0%12 moEvent Tracking for Gravity F…+32.0%22 moShareaholic+31.6%22 moHTTP Auth+30.4%14 mo
Months since the last updateChange in downloads per day, September against August
Show the numbers

Largest percentage gains, plugins with 1,000 or more August downloads

Plugin
Rank
Last update
August (full month)
September (full month)
Change per day
Log Deprecated Notices7,1212021-06-251,3122,308+81.8%
New Relic Reporting for WordPress8,4252025-08-111,5352,263+52.3%
Better Passwords12,0012024-09-282,6923,959+52.0%
Datawrapper oEmbed7,4332024-08-062,1893,197+50.9%
Login by Auth02,0332024-07-122,3273,231+43.5%
Post Meta Inspector5,0772016-07-312,1412,956+42.7%
WP REST API OAuth 1.0a Server2,4862024-08-052,1102,781+36.2%
Disable auto-update Email Notifications1,0262025-01-211,0661,399+35.6%
Starbox1,9002025-05-091,0391,362+35.5%
Robots.txt Editor1,9112021-01-162,1632,817+34.6%
Transients Manager1,2042024-10-186,6538,634+34.1%
DocumentCloud5,3002025-09-241,8632,415+34.0%
Event Tracking for Gravity Forms1,4152024-11-032,3152,957+32.0%
Shareaholic1,4942024-11-051,0381,322+31.6%
HTTP Auth2,8072025-07-222,8113,546+30.4%

Largest gains in downloads per day

Plugin
Rank
Last update
August (full month)
September (full month)
Change per day
Regenerate Thumbnails642025-08-2052,01057,249+13.7%
Transients Manager1,2042024-10-186,6538,634+34.1%
Blog Blocks11,3532019-09-16582,052+3555.9%
Sassy Social Share3972025-09-158,1159,329+18.8%
Better Passwords12,0012024-09-282,6923,959+52.0%
Simple Custom CSS Plugin3552025-03-116,6417,598+18.2%
SQL Buddy3,1452025-06-169272,009+123.9%
Limit Login Attempts1982023-04-044,2825,233+26.3%
Datawrapper oEmbed7,4332024-08-062,1893,197+50.9%
Log Deprecated Notices7,1212021-06-251,3122,308+81.8%
Brightcove Video Connect8,3022025-03-173,6134,512+29.0%
Debug Bar Slow Actions12,3712018-01-184,1805,058+25.0%
YARPP4022024-11-116,9507,730+14.9%
Login by Auth02,0332024-07-122,3273,231+43.5%
WP-Stateless Gravity Forms Addon9,7692025-08-296891,556+133.4%

Top 12,500 plugins on 30 September with no new version since 30 September 2025. Downloads per day, September against August. Method

Cite this DefinitionSilent but growing

Install milestones

Rivale recorded 449 plugins among the top 12,500 on WordPress.org moving up an active install tier in September 2026. 674 moved down a tier.

Specifically, UpdraftPlus moved from the 3,000,000 active install tier to 4,000,000. Widgets for Google Reviews reached the 1,000,000 active install tier. Cookie Compliance fell from 900,000 to 800,000. SeedProd Website Builder fell from 700,000 to 600,000.

Active install tier at the end of August and of September, the ten largest plugins that moved each way
10k100k1M10MUpdraftPlus3,000,000 → 4,000,000Widgets for Google Reviews900,000 → 1,000,000Gutenberg300,000 → 400,000Manage90,000 → 100,000Secure Custom Fields90,000 → 100,000Product Feed Manager for Wo…80,000 → 90,000hCaptcha for WP70,000 → 80,000Patchstack50,000 → 60,000AI Provider for Anthropic50,000 → 60,000HTML Editor Syntax Highligh…50,000 → 60,000Cookie Compliance900,000 → 800,000SeedProd Website Builder700,000 → 600,000PixelYourSite500,000 → 400,000SureRank SEO400,000 → 300,000Pinterest for WooCommerce300,000 → 200,000Health Check & Troubleshoot…300,000 → 200,000Post Views Counter200,000 → 100,000MalCare WordPress Security…200,000 → 100,000WP Bulk Delete100,000 → 90,000Ivory Search100,000 → 90,00010k100k1M10MUpdraftPlusWidgets for Goo…GutenbergManageSecure Custom F…Product Feed Ma…hCaptcha for WPPatchstackAI Provider for…HTML Editor Syn…Cookie Complian…SeedProd Websit…PixelYourSiteSureRank SEOPinterest for W…Health Check &…Post Views Coun…MalCare WordPre…WP Bulk DeleteIvory Search
Tier at the end of AugustMoved up, tier at the end of SeptemberMoved down
Show the numbers

Moved up an active install tier, largest first

Plugin
Active install tier, end of August
Tier, end of September
Rank, end of August
Rank, end of September
UpdraftPlus3,000,0004,000,0001514
Widgets for Google Reviews900,0001,000,0006868
Gutenberg300,000400,000157154
Manage90,000100,000475448
Secure Custom Fields90,000100,000485457
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce80,00090,000529488
hCaptcha for WP70,00080,000563555
Patchstack50,00060,000699648
AI Provider for Anthropic50,00060,000757681
HTML Editor Syntax Highlighter50,00060,000696687

Moved down an active install tier, largest first

Plugin
Active install tier, end of August
Tier, end of September
Rank, end of August
Rank, end of September
Cookie Compliance900,000800,0007373
SeedProd Website Builder700,000600,0009192
PixelYourSite500,000400,000133133
SureRank SEO400,000300,000155156
Pinterest for WooCommerce300,000200,000203205
Health Check & Troubleshooting300,000200,000206206
Post Views Counter200,000100,000284285
MalCare WordPress Security Plugin200,000100,000283286
WP Bulk Delete100,00090,000466467
Ivory Search100,00090,000467468

Top 12,500 plugins, active install tier on 31 August and 30 September 2026. A tier change is not a fixed number of installs. Logarithmic scale. Method

Cite this DefinitionInstall milestones

Also in September

Update share

Across all top 12,500 plugins, 21.1% released an update in September, against 23.6% in August, measured the same way on the same plugins. Issue 1 printed 22.6% with an earlier method. Update rate

Rank movement

In the top 1,000, 337 plugins moved up the ranking, 501 moved down and 156 kept their rank. 3 had their listing closed and 2 were missing from the 30 September data. The median move was 3 places, against 49 places among plugins ranked 5,001 to 12,500. Rank stability

Climbed into the top 1,000

Prime Slider, from outside the top 12,500 to rank 396. Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW, from outside to 726. WPVibe, from 1,801 to 800, and from 10,000 to 40,000 installs. Cloudways Site Manager, from 1,022 to 857.

Crossed the two-year line

249 listed plugins passed two years since their last update during September. Login Logo, 40,000 installs, last updated 11 September 2024. Any Mobile Theme Switcher, 20,000 installs, 3 September 2024. Two years without an update

Which WordPress plugins came and left

Which plugins arrived in the WordPress.org directory in September. Which had their listing closed, which entered the top 12,500 plugins, and which lost reviews.

Arrivals

Two of 3,174 new WordPress plugins reached the top 12,500 plugins in September

Rivale recorded 3,174 new plugins listed on WordPress.org for the first time in September 2026. That is 106 a day on average. By 30 September, 116 had reached 10 or more installs. Nine had reached 100 or more, none had reached 1,000, and two were in the top 12,500 plugins.

27.5% of the new plugins still listed on 30 September use the woocommerce tag, against 12.5% of the directory. Plugins tagged ai are 2.6 times as common among the arrivals as across the directory, and chatbot three times.

Where the 3,174 September arrivals had got to by 30 September
CountLength on a square-root scale
Tags of the September arrivals against the whole directory
Plugins tagged ai are 2.6 times as common among the arrivals as across the directory.
Share of the 3,027 still-listed arrivalsShare of all plugins in the directorywoocommerce27.5%12.5%ai7.8%3%seo7.8%3.6%security4.3%2.2%chatbot3.6%1.2%analytics3.1%1.5%
Share of the 3,027 still-listed arrivalsShare of all plugins in the directory
woocommerce27.5%12.5%
ai7.8%3%
seo7.8%3.6%
security4.3%2.2%
chatbot3.6%1.2%
analytics3.1%1.5%

Plugins first listed on WordPress.org between 1 and 30 September 2026. Tag shares compare the 3,027 still listed with the whole directory. Method

Cite this DefinitionNew plugin outcomes

Departures

Easy Google Fonts was the largest of 48 plugins whose WordPress.org listing was closed

Rivale recorded 48 plugins from the top 12,500 whose WordPress.org listing was closed in September 2026. All 48 were in the top 12,500 at the end of August and unavailable on WordPress.org on 30 September. WordPress.org marks many closures as temporary, pending its review, so a plugin can return. The largest was Easy Google Fonts, with 100,000 installs, closed since 9 September. Vsourz Form Entries for Contact Form 7, with 70,000, closed since 2 September.

Across the whole directory, 326 plugins had their listing closed in September. 115 plugins entered the top 12,500 in the same month, Prime Slider at rank 396 the highest placed.

Listing closed on WordPress.org, most installs first

PluginInstallsClosed since
Easy Google Fonts100,0002026-09-09
Vsourz Form Entries for Contact Form 770,0002026-09-02
OptionTree50,0002026-09-03
Nimble Page Builder30,0002026-09-08
SimplyBook.me30,0002026-09-10
Login Designer (Custom Login Page Customizer)30,0002026-09-30
elegro Crypto Payment20,0002026-09-25
Post Snippets20,0002026-09-30
Wufoo Shortcode10,0002026-09-03
Easy Custom Sidebars10,0002026-09-09
Tabs Responsive10,0002026-09-21
WP Contact Slider9,0002026-09-30

Plugins that entered the top 12,500 in September

PluginInstallsRank at month end
Prime Slider100,000396
Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW50,000726
Ultimate Post Kit30,0001,030
WP Dark Mode20,0001,298
xSpeed Cache8,0002,289
Rename Media Files9,0002,309
Track The Click7,0002,654
Easy Modal7,0002,682
Pixel Gallery4,0003,340
Ultimate Store Kit3,0003,739
Buy one click for WooCommerce3,0003,780
Paytium2,0004,242
Wishlist for WooCommerce2,0004,927
Coupons & Add to Cart by URL Links for WooCommerce2,0004,944
Gallery, Photo Albums Plugin2,0004,970

WordPress plugins in the top 12,500 on 31 August 2026 and not on 30 September. Closed means the plugin’s listing was unavailable on WordPress.org when Rivale checked on 2 October 2026, dated by the closure date WordPress.org states. WordPress.org marks many closures as temporary, pending a review, and a closed plugin can return: 11 of the 326 directory closures had reopened by 7 October. Method

Cite this DefinitionDepartures from the top 12,500

Removed reviews

xSpeed Cache lost 14 reviews, the most among the top 12,500 WordPress plugins

Rivale recorded 110 reviews removed from plugins in the top 12,500 plugins on WordPress.org in September 2026. They came from 85 plugins. In August it was 140 reviews across 104. xSpeed Cache lost 14, more than any other plugin. Chat Floating Button by XD lost 5.

37 of the removed reviews were one-star and 73 were rated higher.

Of the 110 reviews removed across the top 12,500, 37 were one-star
73 rated higher

Plugins with the most reviews removed in September

PluginReviews removedInstalls
xSpeed Cache148,000 installs
Chat Floating Button by XD5300 installs
Access Governance (AAM)3100,000 installs
Simple Lightbox2100,000 installs
WooCommerce PayPal Payments2800,000 installs
Variation Swatches for WooCommerce2300,000 installs
GTranslate2900,000 installs
MarqueeAll21,000 installs
Table for Divi21,000 installs
Admin Menu Tree Page View110,000 installs

Reviews removed from top 12,500 plugins between 1 and 30 September 2026. Method

Cite this DefinitionRemoved reviews

Where the whole WordPress plugin directory stands

Tested up to WordPress 7.1.x, maintenance, minimum PHP versions, plugin dependencies and support forums across all 74,095 plugins listed on 30 September.

Where the directory stands

Tested up to

32.6% of the top 12,500 plugins and 18.2% of the whole directory list “Tested up to: 7.1.x”. 13 of the top 100 do not, among them Classic Editor, Duplicate Page, WordPress Importer and Classic Widgets. Rivale counts a declared 7.1, 7.1.0, 7.1.1 or 7.1.2 as 7.1.x. Plugin support for WordPress versions

Maintenance

35,558 of the 74,095 plugins listed on WordPress.org on 30 September have gone two years without an update, 48.0%. Inside the top 12,500 the share is 27.0%. Two years without an update

PHP

31,370 of the 74,095 listed plugins declare no minimum PHP version. 37,296 declare PHP 7 or older and 5,429 PHP 8 or newer. PHP requirement

Dependencies

1,054 of the top 12,500 plugins require at least one other plugin. 827 require WooCommerce and 84 require Elementor. Plugin dependencies

Support

Among the 745 plugins ranked 1 to 1,000 with support forum data for both months, the share of support threads resolved rose to 74.1%. Plugins ranked 5,001 to 12,500 stayed at 53.4%. Support loadSince Issue 1: 70.4% → 74.1%, +3.7 points

Notes on the numbers

  • The top 12,500 plugins are the plugins in the first 12,500 positions of WordPress.org’s popularity ordering on 30 September.
  • The whole directory means all 74,095 plugins listed on WordPress.org on 30 September.
  • Inside the top 12,500 plugins, update and rank figures split by the popularity rank each plugin held when September began. Download figures compare the full month, 1 to 30 September, with 1 to 31 August, per day. Every other figure covers 1 to 30 September, or stands at 30 September. Method

End of Issue 2 · October 2026

Copy citation Press and data use All issues

The Rivale Diff

Get the next issue in your inbox

The Rivale Diff once a month, short notes when something new ships, and new posts when they go out. No account needed.