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Best WordPress Plugins

15 plugins compared · Updated August 2026

All Free only 15 Premium only 15

There are tens of thousands of WordPress plugins available, and most published "best of" lists cover the same handful. This one is built from the directory data instead.

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. Yoast SEO Best overall 98/100
  2. 2. WPForms 98/100
  3. 3. Really Simple Security 97/100
  4. 4. WP Mail SMTP by WPForms 96/100
  5. 5. Rank Math SEO 96/100
  6. 6. Translate WordPress with GTranslate 96/100
  7. 7. TablePress 96/100
  8. 8. Classic Editor 95/100
  9. 9. Wordfence Security 95/100
  10. 10. UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 95/100
  11. 11. All in One SEO 95/100
  12. 12. Essential Addons for Elementor 95/100
  13. 13. ElementsKit Elementor Addons 95/100
  14. 14. WP-Optimize 95/100
  15. 15. Widgets for Google Reviews 95/100
1 Yoast SEO
Best overall Free by Yoast

Yoast SEO

Real-time SEO guidance, schema, and AI built in. Help search engines and AI systems understand your content. All AI tools included, no hidden fees.

4.8★
from 27,819 ratings
10M+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
98

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
2 WPForms
Free by Syed Balkhi

WPForms

The best WordPress contact form plugin. Drag & Drop form builder to create beautiful contact forms, payment forms, & other custom forms.

4.8★
from 14,369 ratings
5M+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
98

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
3 Really Simple Security
Free by Really Simple Plugins

Really Simple Security

Easily improve site security with WordPress Hardening, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Login Protection, Vulnerability Detection and SSL certificate.

4.9★
from 8,862 ratings
3M+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
97

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
4 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms
Free by Syed Balkhi

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms

Make email delivery easy for WordPress. Connect with SMTP, Gmail, Outlook, SendGrid, Mailgun, SES, Zoho, + more. Rated #1 WordPress SMTP Email plugin.

4.8★
from 5,185 ratings
4M+
active installs
Updated
Jun 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
96

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
5 Rank Math SEO
Free by Rank Math SEO

Rank Math SEO

Grow your organic traffic and AI visibility with powerful SEO tools, XML sitemaps, Schema automation, and built-in AI SEO, all in one place.

4.8★
from 7,496 ratings
4M+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
96

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
7 TablePress
Free by Tobias Bäthge

TablePress

Embed beautiful, accessible, and interactive tables into your WordPress website’s posts and pages, without having to write code!

5★
from 4,625 ratings
600k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
96

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
8 Classic Editor
Free by WordPress.org

Classic Editor

Enables the previous "classic" editor and the old-style Edit Post screen with TinyMCE, Meta Boxes, etc. Supports all plugins that extend this screen.

4.9★
from 1,246 ratings
8M+
active installs
Updated
May 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
95

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
9 Wordfence Security
Free by Mark Maunder

Wordfence Security

Firewall, Malware Scanner, Two Factor Auth, and Comprehensive Security Features, powered by our 24-hour team. Make security a priority with Wordfence.

4.7★
from 4,983 ratings
5M+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
95

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
11 All in One SEO
Free by Syed Balkhi

All in One SEO

AIOSEO is the WordPress SEO plugin. Boost SEO rankings with AI SEO tools, schema, meta descriptions, XML sitemaps & rank tracking.

4.7★
from 5,201 ratings
2M+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
95

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
12 Essential Addons for Elementor
Free by WPDeveloper

Essential Addons for Elementor

Elementor addon offering 120+ widgets and templates — Elementor Gallery, Slider, Form, Post Grid, Menu, Accordion, WooCommerce & more.

4.9★
from 4,111 ratings
1M+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
95

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
13 ElementsKit Elementor Addons
Free by Roxnor

ElementsKit Elementor Addons

Join millions who empower their websites with ElementsKit Elementor Addons. Get templates, & 100+ widgets like header-footer, mega menu, custom widget

4.9★
from 2,036 ratings
1M+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
95

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
14 WP-Optimize
Free by David Anderson / Team Updraft

WP-Optimize

Get caching and more with this powerful cache plugin. Cache, optimize images, clean your database and minify for maximum performance.

4.8★
from 2,606 ratings
1M+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
95

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org