Best WordPress Plugins for Control

15 plugins compared · Updated August 2026 · Control

All Free only 15 Premium only

Choosing a WordPress plugin for control 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. Sticky Header Effects for Elementor Best overall 89/100
2. WP Crontrol 88/100
3. SiteOrigin CSS 88/100
4. Widget Options 88/100
5. PublishPress Capabilities 88/100
6. PublishPress Blocks 86/100
7. Groups 85/100
8. Min Max Quantities 85/100
9. Download Manager 84/100
10. Companion Auto Update 84/100
11. Min Max Control 84/100
12. Better Block Editor 84/100
13. Advanced Access Manager 83/100
14. New User Approve 83/100
15. Block Manager 83/100

Best overall Free by POSIMYTH

Sticky Header Effects for Elementor

Create advanced Elementor sticky headers with scroll effects: blur, shrink, hide on scroll, plus full responsive controls in Elementor Free or Pro.

4.5★: from 68 ratings
300k+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026
Tested to: WP 7.0.4

WPScore

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Free by John Blackbourn

WP Crontrol

Take control of the cron events on your WordPress website or WooCommerce store with WP Crontrol.

4.5★: from 165 ratings
300k+: active installs
Updated: Jul 2026
Tested to: WP 7.0.4

WPScore

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Free by Greg - SiteOrigin

SiteOrigin CSS

Powerful, simple CSS editing for WordPress. Visual controls & real-time previews for effortless site customization.

4.9★: from 153 ratings
100k+: active installs
Updated: May 2026
Tested to: WP 7.0.4

WPScore

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Free by Marketing Fire

Widget Options

Widget Options gives you super powers to control your site’s sidebar widgets and all Gutenberg blocks on pages, posts & other custom post types.

4.9★: from 1,516 ratings
100k+: active installs
Updated: May 2026
Tested to: WP 7.0.4

WPScore

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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

WPScore

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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

WPScore

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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

WPScore

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Free by PluginEver

Min Max Quantities

Set minimum and maximum order quantities or amounts for individual products, categories, or globally, with quantity-step control for WooCommerce store …

4.8★: from 59 ratings
10k+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026
Tested to: WP 7.1

WPScore

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Free by Shahjada

Download Manager

This File Management & Digital Store plugin will help you to control file downloads & sell digital products from your WP site.

4.1★: from 1,007 ratings
100k+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026
Tested to: WP 7.1

WPScore

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Free by Papin Schipper

Companion Auto Update

Manage all updates on your WordPress site. Stay in the know with several optional e-mail notifications and logs. For free.

4.8★: from 105 ratings
40k+: active installs
Updated: Mar 2026
Tested to: WP 6.9.7

WPScore

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Free by Saiful Islam

Min Max Control

Min Max Control plugin offers to set product's minimum, maximum quantity and step of each product individually.

4.7★: from 79 ratings
10k+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026
Tested to: WP 7.1

WPScore

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Free by Dream Theme

Better Block Editor

Better Block Editor (BBE) — responsive layout controls, on-scroll animations, and pre-made site templates for Block Editor.

5★: from 10 ratings
6k+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026
Tested to: WP 7.1

WPScore

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Free by AAM Plugin

Advanced Access Manager

Access Governance for WordPress. Control roles, users, content, admin areas, and APIs to prevent broken access controls and excessive privileges.

4.2★: from 420 ratings
100k+: active installs
Updated: May 2026
Tested to: WP 7.0.0

WPScore

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Free by Saad Iqbal

New User Approve

WordPress user approval plugin to moderate registrations. Approve or deny real users and prevent fake signups to control who registers on site.

4.3★: from 130 ratings
20k+: active installs
Updated: Aug 2026
Tested to: WP 7.0.4

WPScore

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Free by Darren Cooney

Block Manager

Disable unwanted blocks and patterns, organize blocks by changing categories - complete control over your WordPress Block Editor experience.

4.9★: from 13 ratings
4k+: active installs
Updated: Jun 2026
Tested to: WP 7.0.4

WPScore

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