Best core plugins for WordPress
The most popular core plugins for WordPress in November 2026, in WordPress.org’s own popular order, which follows active installs. WP Downgrade leads with 100K+ active installs, ahead of Advanced Automatic Updates (20K+) and Core Rollback (20K+). All 43 plugins tagged “core” are below, with figures from WordPress.org that update every day.
Installs aren’t everything: a recent release, a “Tested up to” that matches the current WordPress, and support threads that get resolved show a plugin is looked after. Open any plugin for its downloads, rank history and alternatives.
Research this niche or see all plugins.
Top 10 core plugins
- 1.
WP DowngradeThe most installed core plugin, with 100K+ active installs. Rated 4.8 from 169 reviews, updated 1 month ago.
- 2.
Advanced Automatic Updates20K+ active installs. Rated 4.7 from 61 reviews, last updated 5 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 5.0.31.
- 3.
Core Rollback20K+ active installs. Rated 4.7 from 16 reviews, updated 3 months ago.
- 4.
WP Sanitize File Name Plus1K+ active installs. Rated 5.0 from 8 reviews, last updated 8 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.35.
- 5.
WP Updates Settings800+ active installs. Rated 4.4 from 5 reviews, last updated 8 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.35.
- 6.
WP Core Update Cleaner800+ active installs. Only 4 reviews so far, last updated 2 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 6.5.14.
- 7.
WP Disables Updates700+ active installs. Only 3 reviews so far, updated 1 week ago.
- 8.
WP Login Timeout Settings600+ active installs. Rated 3.5 from 8 reviews, last updated 8 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.35.
- 9.
Axio Core400+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 4 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 5.8.19.
- 10.
WP Excerpt Settings200+ active installs. Only 2 reviews so far, last updated 8 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.35.
All 43 plugins tagged “core”
WP Downgrade
Down in the last 7 days:1#401by Reisetiger1 month ago
Automatically downgrad or update to any WordPress version you want directly from the backend.
- Installs
- 100K+
- Rating
- 4.8(169)
- Downloads
- 1.2K/day
Advanced Automatic Updates
Up in the last 7 days:1#1,183by Gary Pendergast5 years ago
Adds extra options to WordPress' built-in Automatic Updates feature.
- Installs
- 20K+
- Rating
- 4.7(61)
- Downloads
- 30/day
Core Rollback
Down in the last 7 days:5#1,286by Andy Fragen3 months ago
Seamless rollback of WordPress Core to latest release or any outdated, secure release using the Core Update API and core update methods.
- Installs
- 20K+
- Rating
- 4.7(16)
- Downloads
- 138/day
WP Sanitize File Name Plus
Down in the last 7 days:34#6,025by Yslo9 years ago
Sanitize file names and enhance security.
- Installs
- 1K+
- Rating
- 5.0(8)
- Downloads
- 96/day
WP Updates Settings
Down in the last 7 days:10#7,304by Yslo9 years ago
Configure WordPress updates settings through UI (User Interface).
- Installs
- 800+
- Rating
- 4.4(5)
- Downloads
- 11/day
WP Core Update Cleaner
Down in the last 7 days:56#7,473by Upperdog2 years ago
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 …
- Installs
- 800+
- Rating
- 4.5(4)
- Downloads
- 11/day
WP Disables Updates
Up in the last 7 days:39#7,961by vinvin2711 days ago
Switch off WordPress core, plugin, theme and translation updates, automatic ones included, with four checkboxes.
- Installs
- 700+
- Rating
- 5.0(3)
- Downloads
- 17/day
WP Login Timeout Settings
Up in the last 7 days:6#8,434by Yslo9 years ago
Configure WordPress Login Timeout through UI (User Interface).
- Installs
- 600+
- Rating
- 3.5(8)
- Downloads
- 35/day
Axio Core
Down in the last 7 days:19#9,881by Generaxion4 years ago
Core plugin for WordPress projects.
- Installs
- 400+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 11/day
WP Excerpt Settings
Down in the last 7 days:68#12,249by Yslo9 years ago
Configure WordPress Excerpt through UI (User Interface).
- Installs
- 200+
- Rating
- 5.0(2)
- Downloads
- 0/day
Disable Privacy Tools
Down in the last 7 days:1#13,367by Dominik Schilling4 years ago
Removes the tools for creating a privacy policy and exporting/erasing personal data.
- Installs
- 100+
- Rating
- 5.0(3)
- Downloads
- 0/day
Turn Admin Email Verification Off
Up in the last 7 days:324#13,896by Arjan Olsder1 year ago
Turn Admin Email Verification Off stops WordPress from asking about e-mail verification every six months or so.
- Installs
- 100+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
WP Comment Humility
Up in the last 7 days:101#14,435by John James Jacoby27 days ago
Move the Comments menu beneath Posts in the WordPress admin.
- Installs
- 100+
- Rating
- 5.0(6)
- Downloads
- 4/day
Translation Tools
Down in the last 7 days:92#14,820by Pedro Mendonça1 year ago
Translation tools for your WordPress install.
- Installs
- 100+
- Rating
- 5.0(3)
- Downloads
- 11/day
Downgrade
#15,175by GraphicEdit8 years ago
Downgrade WordPress
- Installs
- 100+
- Rating
- 3.0(2)
- Downloads
- 5/day
WP Theme Plugin Editor Disable
Down in the last 7 days:42#15,608by Yslo9 years ago
This plugin disable Wordpress Theme/Plugin Editor.
- Installs
- 100+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Clean WordPress Updates
Up in the last 7 days:473#16,197by Arjan Olsder1 year ago
Clean WordPress Updates blocks new themes and plugins from being installed upon updating WordPress Core
- Installs
- 100+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Site Update Notification
Up in the last 7 days:218#18,957by Rakib Hossain1 year ago
A plugin that sends email notifications when plugins, themes, or WordPress need updates.
- Installs
- 70+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Time to Update
Up in the last 7 days:308#19,266by entertheraptor2 months ago
Sends email notifications when WordPress core, plugin, or theme updates are available. Simple, lightweight, and set-and-forget.
- Installs
- 60+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Disable Automatic Theme & Plugin Updates
Down in the last 7 days:98#19,624by Jake Spurlock6 years ago
Simply disable automatic theme and plugin updates.
- Installs
- 60+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
VillaTheme Core
Up in the last 7 days:93#20,796by VillaTheme1 month ago
VillaTheme Core is designed to seamlessly support and enhance every theme from VillaTheme.
- Installs
- 50+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 11/day
Disable Remote Patterns
#20,843by UXL Themes1 year ago
A simple plugin to disable the loading of the remote block patterns from the WordPress pattern directory.
- Installs
- 50+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 4/day
Core Files Update Cleanup
Up in the last 7 days:87#23,876by indextwo2 years ago
This plugin deletes the unnecessary license.txt, readme.html and wp-config-sample.php files after a core update.
- Installs
- 30+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Disable All WordPress Updates and Theme Editors
#25,761by SaffireTech1 month ago
Disable All WordPress Updates and Theme Editors is a handy tool that allows you to not only disable all types of WordPress updates but also allows you …
- Installs
- 20+
- Rating
- 4.0(4)
- Downloads
- 0/day
Unwanted Cleaner
Up in the last 7 days:526#28,732by Presskopp5 months ago
Unwanted plugins and themes are automatically removed during WordPress core updates, or you can delete them manually at any time in your dashboard.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Aucor core
Down in the last 7 days:254#30,742by Generaxion6 years ago
Core plugin for WordPress projects.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 11/day
Hash Checker
Up in the last 7 days:5,720#39,322by Paul Menard17 years ago
Provide a method to verify your WordPress core files match the original downloaded version.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Core Updates Permission
Up in the last 7 days:2,487#39,521by Mike Auteri13 years ago
Disables the theme, plugin and core update checking, the related cronjobs and notification system by default. Provides the ability to give certain adm …
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
ACF Page Level
Down in the last 7 days:5,268#40,398by Navneil Naicker4 years ago
Sometimes you want to show the field groups based on the page level right? Well here you go. Enjoy!
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
WP Contributions
#43,109by Michael Beckwith2 years ago
Provides an easy way to display your WordPress.org Themes, Plugins, Core tickets, and Codex contributions with handy widgets and template tags.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- 5.0(1)
- Downloads
- 2/day
Update Intervals
#44,759by Katsushi Kawamori2 months ago
Change the intervals of automatic updates.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- 5.0(1)
- Downloads
- 0/day
L7 Automatic Updates
#45,212by Jeff9 years ago
Set individual plugins, major and minor WordPress releases, themes and all plugins to automatically update.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- 5.0(1)
- Downloads
- 0/day
WP Theme Update
#45,695by rafacesar8 years ago
This plugin helps to make a theme easier upgradable.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
NHR Core Contributions
Up in the last 7 days:11,151#49,902by Nazmul Hasan Robin29 days ago
Show your WordPress contributions on your own site: core props, Gutenberg, release credits, profile badges, plugins and themes.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Enable Core Patterns
#51,738by UXL Themes1 year ago
A simple plugin to enable (or re-enable) the core WordPress block patterns.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 2/day
Zedna Auto Update
Down in the last 7 days:6,480#66,781by Radek Mezulanik6 years ago
Allow automatic update for Core, Plugins, Themes, Translations and send a notification about that.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Study For Next Core
#68,716by Study For Next1 month ago
Core plugin for the Study For Next School theme. Adds custom post types, meta boxes, and a security firewall.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Disable Plugins, Themes and Core Updates
Down in the last 7 days:8,646#69,837by Ciprian Craciun8 years ago
This plugin disable plugins, themes and core updates for WordPress and also the notifications.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day