Best replacement plugins for WordPress
The most popular replacement plugins for WordPress in November 2026, in WordPress.org’s own popular order, which follows active installs. Prepare New Version leads with 6K+ active installs, ahead of PicDefense.io (100+) and Drag & Drop Featured Image Improved (50+). All 12 plugins tagged “replacement” 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 replacement plugins
- 1.
Prepare New VersionThe most installed replacement plugin, with 6K+ active installs. Rated 4.8 from 6 reviews, last updated 12 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.0.38.
- 2.
PicDefense.io100+ active installs. Only 3 reviews so far, updated 2 months ago.
- 3.
Drag & Drop Featured Image Improved50+ active installs. Only 1 review so far, updated 1 week ago.
- 4.
hiWeb Theme Switcher10+ active installs. Only 1 review so far, last updated 10 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.5.33.
- 5.
Image Headlines10+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 18 years ago.
- 6.
Custom Post Avatar10+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 6 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 5.5.24.
- 7.
PostMarkApp Mail Replacement10+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 8 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 3.1.4.
- 8.
Advanced Galleria10+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 13 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 3.7.41.
- 9.
Custom URL ReplacerFewer than 10 active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 1 year ago. Tested only up to WordPress 6.7.11.
- 10.
Word GuardFewer than 10 active installs. No reviews yet, updated 9 months ago. Tested only up to WordPress 6.9.11.
All 12 plugins tagged “replacement”
Prepare New Version
Down in the last 7 days:5#2,914by Globalis12 years ago
Create the next version of your post while preserving its already online version.
- Installs
- 6K+
- Rating
- 4.8(6)
- Downloads
- 11/day
PicDefense.io
Down in the last 7 days:34#13,261by PicDefense.io2 months ago
Compile list of images on your Wordpress site and submit to PicDefense.io for copyright risk analysis.
- Installs
- 100+
- Rating
- 2.7(3)
- Downloads
- 11/day
Drag & Drop Featured Image Improved
Up in the last 7 days:132#21,149by wpgenie212 days ago
Drag and Drop Featured Image Improved replaces the default featured image box with a drag and drop zone for faster and more convenient uploads.
- Installs
- 50+
- Rating
- 5.0(1)
- Downloads
- 6/day
hiWeb Theme Switcher
Down in the last 7 days:617#32,285by Den Media10 years ago
Changing the theme on selected pages and posts
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- 5.0(1)
- Downloads
- 0/day
Image Headlines
#32,604headlines18 years ago
This plugin allows you to have images created automatically for your entry titles. In this way you can utilize non-standard fonts and get smoother r …
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Custom Post Avatar
Up in the last 7 days:6,624#36,869by Christian Hockenberger6 years ago
Custom Post Avatar gives you the possibility to replace your default avatar by a custom image on each post individually.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
PostMarkApp Mail Replacement
Up in the last 7 days:2,980#41,913by tmertz8 years ago
A simple plugin that replaces the default wp_mail function with PostMarkApp (http://postmarkapp.com/).
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Advanced Galleria
Down in the last 7 days:3,651#44,074by Luke Stevenson13 years ago
Replaces the Wordpress default "[gallery]" shortcode to insert a Galleria Slideshow.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Custom URL Replacer
Up in the last 7 days:428#55,127by Hyperspective1 year ago
Short Description: Replaces anchor text matching an external URL with custom text and can force external links to open in a new tab.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Word Guard
Down in the last 7 days:14,068#65,630by wpsqr9 months ago
Enforce editorial consistency in WordPress by scanning content against a customizable styleguide with suggested keyword replacements.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
MediaZard
#69,822by Harish Bisht16 days ago
See detected media uses, review deletion warnings, and replace supported images while keeping the attachment ID and original file path.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Berestov Element Scheduler
#70,880by andreyberestov2 months ago
Schedule frontend element replacements by day, parity, or persistent rules.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 1/day