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Best Free WordPress Plugins for Capabilities

15 plugins compared · Updated August 2026 · Capabilities

All 15 Free only Premium only

Choosing a WordPress plugin for capabilities comes down to a few things: whether it is still actively maintained, whether real users rate it well, and whether it does the specific job you need without dragging the rest of the site down.

We ranked 15 plugins using our WPScore, which weighs the user rating (adjusted for how many people actually rated it), how many sites run it, how recently it was updated, and which WordPress version it is tested against. 15 of them have enough public data to be scored; the rest are listed below the ranked block, clearly marked, rather than being given a number we cannot justify.

How this list is funded. Some links here earn us a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra, and it does not move anything up the list — the order comes from the WPScore, which is calculated from public ratings, install counts and update history. See the method.

At a glance

  1. 1. Members Best overall 94/100
  2. 2. User Role Editor 90/100
  3. 3. PublishPress Capabilities 88/100
  4. 4. Restrict User Access 82/100
  5. 5. PublishPress Permissions: Control User Access for Posts, Pag... 82/100
  6. 6. Ultimate Client Dash 81/100
  7. 7. Custom Access Roles 77/100
  8. 8. RoleMaster Suite 75/100
  9. 9. Roles & Capabilities 74/100
  10. 10. Comment Moderation Role by WPBeginner 73/100
  11. 11. View Admin As 68/100
  12. 12. Custom Role Creator 55/100
  13. 13. User Roles and Capabilities 54/100
  14. 14. User Role for Flamingo 54/100
  15. 15. Map Cap 46/100
1 Members
Best overall Free by Blair Williams

Members

The best WordPress membership and user role editor plugin. User Roles & Capabilities editor helps you restrict content in just a few clicks.

4.9★
from 1,274 ratings
300k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
94

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
2 User Role Editor
Free by Vladimir Garagulya

User Role Editor

User Role Editor WordPress plugin makes user roles and capabilities changing easy. Edit/add/delete WordPress user roles and capabilities.

4.5★
from 288 ratings
700k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
90

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
3 PublishPress Capabilities
Free by PublishPress

PublishPress Capabilities

PublishPress Capabilities is the access control plugin. You can manage user capabilities, permissions, user roles, admin menus and more.

4.7★
from 143 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
4 Restrict User Access
Free by Joachim Jensen

Restrict User Access

Create Access Levels and restrict any post, page, category, etc. Supports bbPress, BuddyPress, WooCommerce, WPML, and more.

4.3★
from 94 ratings
10k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
82

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
6 Ultimate Client Dash
Free by WP CodeUs

Ultimate Client Dash

Create a custom client dashboard, manage user capabilities, white label and rebrand WordPress, provide instructions, create custom widgets and more.

4.8★
from 10 ratings
2k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
81

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
7 Custom Access Roles
Free by Room 34 Creative Services, LLC

Custom Access Roles

Create custom roles with editing capability for only specific pages, categories and post types.

5★
from 1 ratings
200+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
77

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
8 RoleMaster Suite
Free by Liton Arefin

RoleMaster Suite

Create, manage, and assign WordPress user roles and capabilities with precision — ideal for e-commerce and membership sites.

3.7★
from 3 ratings
700+
active installs
Updated
May 2026
Tested to
WP 6.9.7
75

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
11 View Admin As
Free by Jory Hogeveen

View Admin As

View the WordPress admin as a different role or visitor, switch between users, temporarily change your capabilities, set screen settings for roles.

4.9★
from 49 ratings
9k+
active installs
Updated
Nov 2024
Tested to
WP 6.7.7
68

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
15 Map Cap
Free by thenbrent

Map Cap

Control who can publish, edit and delete custom post types. Silly name, useful code.

5★
from 4 ratings
100+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2013
Tested to
WP 3.1.4
46

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org