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Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) vs ACF PHP VARS (2026)

Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)

4.5(1,428)

2.0M+ active installs

Free

Updated 4 days ago
View Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
VS
ACF PHP VARS

ACF PHP VARS

4.8(5)

10 active installs

Free

Updated 7 years ago
View ACF PHP VARS

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, ACF PHP VARS has a higher user rating (4.8/5 from 5 reviews) while Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) leads in active installations (2.0M+ vs 10). Both are free WordPress plugins. Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) has accumulated 69M+ total downloads while ACF PHP VARS has 3.2K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.5/5Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
►
ACF PHP VARS4.8/5
Total Reviews
1,428Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
◄
ACF PHP VARS5
Active Installs
2.0M+Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
◄
ACF PHP VARS10
Total Downloads
69M+Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
◄
ACF PHP VARS3.2K+
Support Resolution
43%Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
ACF PHP VARSN/A
Last Updated
4 days agoAdvanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
◄
ACF PHP VARS7 years ago
First Released
2011Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
ACF PHP VARS2016
Age
15 yearsAdvanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
ACF PHP VARS10 years
WP Requires
6.2+Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
ACF PHP VARS3.0.1+
PHP Requires
7.4+Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
ACF PHP VARSfalse+
Business Model
FreeAdvanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
ACF PHP VARSFree
Latest Version
6.8.0Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)
ACF PHP VARS1.3

Rating Breakdown

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®)

4.5/5(1,428 reviews)
5
84%
4
2%
3
1%
2
1%
1
12%

ACF PHP VARS

4.8/5(5 reviews)
5
80%
4
20%
3
0%
2
0%
1
0%

Recent Reviews

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) Reviews

by tyriqsuth

Must Have Tool

One of the best plugins I’ve used. Makes custom fields super easy to manage. Works smoothly and is very flexible. tnx to devs, really helped in my projects 👍

by albertowadsworth

Flexible Fields Tool

ACF really helps when adding custom fields to posts n pages. Setup is pretty simple and very flexible. Took a little time to learn at first, but works great once you get used to it. Tnkz devs.

by annafjmorris

I just want to display the content

The back-end set up is great and clearly this is a powerful plugin. However, this plugin requires either the paid version or custom PHP theme to display the content on the front end! There are no bloc

ACF PHP VARS Reviews

No reviews yet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) or ACF PHP VARS more popular?
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) has 2.0M+ active installations while ACF PHP VARS has 10. Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) or ACF PHP VARS?
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) has a 4.5/5 rating from 1,428 reviews, while ACF PHP VARS has a 4.8/5 rating from 5 reviews.
Are Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) and ACF PHP VARS free?
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) is free and ACF PHP VARS is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) or ACF PHP VARS?
Support resolution data is not available for all plugins. Check each plugin's WordPress.org support forum for current response quality.
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) was last updated 4 days ago and ACF PHP VARS was last updated 7 years ago.

Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.