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Simple Local Avatars
Adds an avatar upload field to user profiles. Generates requested sizes on demand just like Gravatar!
The facts
- Rating
- 4.6★ from 89
- Active installs
- 100k+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 19 Aug 2026
- Added
- Jan 2011
- Requires WP
- 6.6
- Tested up to
- WP 7.1
- Requires PHP
- 7.4
- Downloads
- 2,527,022
Our analysis
AI-assistedSimple Local Avatars is a WordPress plugin that allows users to upload their own avatars directly to their profiles, provided they have the necessary media permissions. The plugin generates and stores avatars in the 'uploads' folder, ensuring that they are cropped and sized correctly on demand, similar to Gravatar functionality.
This plugin is suitable for WordPress sites that want to enhance user profiles with custom avatars. It supports both local avatars and Gravatar, allowing site administrators to control whether lower privilege users can upload their own images.
Best for: This plugin suits WordPress sites that want to allow users to personalise their profiles with custom avatars.
What it does well
- ✓Adds an avatar upload field to user profiles
- ✓Generates and stores avatars in the uploads folder
- ✓Supports Gravatar and default avatars
- ✓Allows control over user permissions for avatar uploads
- ✓Enables rating of local avatars
Where it falls short
- •No new features are planned for future development
- •Limited to users with media permissions
Verdict
Simple Local Avatars provides a straightforward way to manage user avatars on WordPress sites, though its development is stable with no new features expected.
From the developer
10up's own description of Simple Local Avatars, lightly tidied.
Adds an avatar upload field to user profiles if the current user has media permissions. Generates requested sizes on demand just like Gravatar! Simple and lightweight.
Just edit a user profile, and scroll down to the new “Avatar” field. The plug-in will take care of cropping and sizing!
- Stores avatars in the “uploads” folder where all of your other media is kept.
- Has a simple, native interface.
- Fully supports Gravatar and default avatars if no local avatar is set for the user – but also allows you turn off Gravatar.
- Generates the requested avatar size on demand (and stores the new size for efficiency), so it looks great, just like Gravatar!
- Lets you decide whether lower privilege users (subscribers, contributors) can upload their own avatar.
- Enables rating of local avatars, just like Gravatar.
Support Level
Simple Local Avatars’ support level is marked as stable. 10up is not planning to develop any new features for this, but will still respond to bug reports and security concerns. We welcome PRs, but any that include new features should be small and easy to integrate and should not include breaking changes. We otherwise intend to keep this tested up to the most recent version of WordPress.
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