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Best Free WordPress Plugins for Roles & Permissions

15 plugins compared · Updated August 2026 · Roles & Permissions

All 15 Free only Premium only 6

Choosing a WordPress plugin for roles & permissions 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. Big File Uploads 90/100
  4. 4. User Profile Builder 89/100
  5. 5. PublishPress Capabilities 88/100
  6. 6. Import and export users and customers 88/100
  7. 7. Wholesale Suite 87/100
  8. 8. Nav Menu Roles 86/100
  9. 9. Advanced Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules for WooCommerce 86/100
  10. 10. PublishPress Blocks 86/100
  11. 11. WPO365 86/100
  12. 12. WPFront User Role Editor 85/100
  13. 13. Groups 85/100
  14. 14. Controlled Admin Access 85/100
  15. 15. Remove Dashboard Access 84/100
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 Big File Uploads
Free by Infinite Uploads

Big File Uploads

Enable large file uploads in the built-in WordPress media uploader via file chunking, and set maximum upload file size to any value based on user role …

4.9★
from 397 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
90

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
4 User Profile Builder
Free by Cozmoslabs

User Profile Builder

Powerful user profile plugin to create front-end user registration forms, login & user profile forms. Includes user role editor & content restriction.

4.7★
from 735 ratings
40k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
89

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
5 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
7 Wholesale Suite
Free by Josh Kohlbach

Wholesale Suite

WooCommerce wholesale plugin for serving wholesale & B2B customers. Adds wholesale pricing, user roles, dynamic pricing & more.

4.8★
from 544 ratings
20k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
87

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
10 PublishPress Blocks
Free by PublishPress

PublishPress Blocks

PublishPress Blocks is your complete solution for the WordPress block editor. You can control block permissions, styles, visibility, usage and more.

4.7★
from 204 ratings
20k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
86

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
11 WPO365
Free by Marco van Wieren

WPO365

WordPress + Microsoft Entra | Ext. ID | B2C | M365 Integration for your Digital Workplace. For SSO, Mail, Roles, Access, Sync, SharePoint, PowerBI.

4.9★
from 151 ratings
10k+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
86

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
12 WPFront User Role Editor
Free by Syam Mohan

WPFront User Role Editor

Easily allows you to manage WordPress user roles. You can create, edit, delete and manage capabilities, also copy existing roles.

4.5★
from 65 ratings
30k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
85

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
13 Groups
Free by itthinx

Groups

Turn your site into a powerful membership solution. Manage members, teams and access to content easily.

4.8★
from 381 ratings
10k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
85

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
15 Remove Dashboard Access
Free by TrustedLogin

Remove Dashboard Access

Disable Dashboard access for users of a specific role or capability. Disallowed users are redirected to a chosen URL. Get set up in seconds.

4.6★
from 78 ratings
30k+
active installs
Updated
May 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
84

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org