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Best Free WordPress Plugins for Upgrade

14 plugins compared · Updated August 2026 · Upgrade

All 15 Free only Premium only

Choosing a WordPress plugin for upgrade 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 14 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. 14 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. Core Rollback Best overall 85/100
  2. 2. Plugin Compatibility Checker 82/100
  3. 3. Local Development 77/100
  4. 4. RIS Version Switcher 76/100
  5. 5. No Update Nag 67/100
  6. 6. Easy Theme and Plugin Upgrades 57/100
  7. 7. Design Upgrade for LearnDash 55/100
  8. 8. WP Core Update Cleaner 55/100
  9. 9. WP Updates Notifier 54/100
  10. 10. Simple Automatic Updates 51/100
  11. 11. Windows Compatibility Fix 50/100
  12. 12. Upgrade for Unattach and Re-attach Media Attachments 48/100
  13. 13. Hide Update Reminder Message 47/100
  14. 14. Update Notifier 41/100
1 Core Rollback
Best overall Free by Andy Fragen

Core Rollback

Seamless rollback of WordPress Core to latest release or any outdated, secure release using the Core Update API and core update methods.

4.7★
from 16 ratings
20k+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
85

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
2 Plugin Compatibility Checker
Free by CompatShield

Plugin Compatibility Checker

Scan and check your WordPress site for PHP, Database (MySQL/MariaDB), and Plugin compatibility to ensure safe upgrades to WordPress 7.0 and beyond.

4★
from 10 ratings
9k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
82

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
3 Local Development
Free by Andy Fragen

Local Development

Places development notice for plugins or themes that are in local development. Prevents updating of selected plugins and themes.

5★
from 5 ratings
100+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
77

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
4 RIS Version Switcher
Free by Md Taufiqur Rahman

RIS Version Switcher

Effortlessly switch between WordPress core, plugin, and theme versions for compatibility testing, troubleshooting, and rollback.

5★
from 1 ratings
100+
active installs
Updated
Jun 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
76

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
5 No Update Nag
Free by Scott Reilly

No Update Nag

Removes the WordPress update nag that appears at the top of all admin pages when a new version of WordPress is released.

5★
from 2 ratings
1k+
active installs
Updated
Apr 2025
Tested to
WP 6.8.8
67

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
7 Design Upgrade for LearnDash
Free by Dave Warfel

Design Upgrade for LearnDash

Instantly improve LearnDash's design -- focus mode, course content, profile page, course navigation & course grid -- to more closely match yo …

5★
from 53 ratings
7k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2022
Tested to
WP 6.0.14
55

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
8 WP Core Update Cleaner
Free by Upperdog

WP Core Update Cleaner

This plugin automatically removes some files in the root folder, like wp-config-sample.php, readme and license files, when WordPress is manually or au …

4.5★
from 4 ratings
800+
active installs
Updated
Mar 2024
Tested to
WP 6.5.10
55

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
9 WP Updates Notifier
Free by Scott Cariss

WP Updates Notifier

Sends email to notify you if there are any updates for your WordPress site. Can notify about core, plugin and theme updates.

4.2★
from 35 ratings
30k+
active installs
Updated
Feb 2020
Tested to
WP 5.3.23
54

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
14 Update Notifier
Free by Jon Cave

Update Notifier

Sends email notifications if a new version of WordPress available. Notifications about updates for plugins and themes can also be sent.

700+
active installs
Updated
Sep 2010
Tested to
WP 3.0.5
41

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org