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Best WordPress Plugins for Avatars

15 plugins compared · Updated August 2026 · Avatars

All Free only 15 Premium only

Choosing a WordPress plugin for avatars 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. Simple Local Avatars Best overall 88/100
  2. 2. One User Avatar 88/100
  3. 3. Simple User Avatar 85/100
  4. 4. Author Avatars List/Block 83/100
  5. 5. Gravatar Enhanced 81/100
  6. 6. Easy Author Avatar Image 80/100
  7. 7. Leira Letter Avatar 78/100
  8. 8. BP Local Avatars 70/100
  9. 9. Basic User Avatars 68/100
  10. 10. Local Avatars by Nocksoft 60/100
  11. 11. User Avatar 55/100
  12. 12. Avatar Manager 54/100
  13. 13. Disable User Gravatar 52/100
  14. 14. WP First Letter Avatar 52/100
  15. 15. Polygon Recent Comments With Avatar 52/100
1 Simple Local Avatars
Best overall Free by 10up

Simple Local Avatars

Adds an avatar upload field to user profiles. Generates requested sizes on demand just like Gravatar!

4.6★
from 89 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
2 One User Avatar
Free by One Designs

One User Avatar

Use any image from your WordPress Media Library as a custom user avatar or user profile picture. Add your own Default Avatar.

4.7★
from 41 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
3 Simple User Avatar
Free by Matteo Manna

Simple User Avatar

Simple User Avatar helps users to add or remove their avatar using images from his Media Library.

4.6★
from 18 ratings
20k+
active installs
Updated
Jun 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
85

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
5 Gravatar Enhanced
Free by Automattic

Gravatar Enhanced

The official Gravatar plugin, featuring privacy-focused settings, easy profile updates, and customizable Gravatar Profile blocks.

5★
from 3 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Mar 2026
Tested to
WP 6.8.8
81

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
8 BP Local Avatars
Free by shanebp

BP Local Avatars

A BuddyPress plugin that creates Gravatar avatars for any user or group without one, and stores them locally.

4.1★
from 7 ratings
100+
active installs
Updated
Apr 2026
Tested to
WP 6.8.8
70

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
9 Basic User Avatars
Free by Jared Atchison

Basic User Avatars

Add an avatar upload field on frontend pages and Edit Profile screen so users can add a custom profile picture.

4.7★
from 42 ratings
20k+
active installs
Updated
Nov 2024
Tested to
WP 6.7.7
68

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
11 User Avatar
Free by Saad Iqbal

User Avatar

Use any image from your WordPress Media Library as a custom user avatar or user profile picture. Add your own Default Avatar.

5★
from 2 ratings
800+
active installs
Updated
Sep 2023
Tested to
WP 6.3.10
55

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
12 Avatar Manager
Free by Cătălin Dogaru

Avatar Manager

Avatar Manager for WordPress is a sweet and simple plugin for storing avatars locally and more. Easily.

4.9★
from 39 ratings
5k+
active installs
Updated
Feb 2021
Tested to
WP 5.6.19
54

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
13 Disable User Gravatar
Free by Marcus (aka @msykes)

Disable User Gravatar

Stops WordPress from grabbing a user avatar using their registrated email from gravatar.com.

5★
from 10 ratings
3k+
active installs
Updated
Nov 2022
Tested to
WP 6.1.12
52

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
14 WP First Letter Avatar
Free by DanielAGW

WP First Letter Avatar

Set custom avatars for users with no Gravatar. The avatar will be the first (or any other) letter of user's name on a colorful background.

4.7★
from 33 ratings
2k+
active installs
Updated
Mar 2017
Tested to
WP 4.7.35
52

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org