BuddyPress vs Patreon WordPress (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, BuddyPress has a higher user rating (4.1/5 from 375 reviews) and leads in active installations (100K+ vs 3.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. BuddyPress has accumulated 13M+ total downloads while Patreon WordPress has 287K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | BuddyPress | Patreon WordPress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.1/5 | ◄ | 3.6/5 |
| Total Reviews | 375 | ◄ | 51 |
| Active Installs | 100K+ | ◄ | 3.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 13M+ | ◄ | 287K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | 0% | |
| Last Updated | 6 months ago | ► | 2 weeks ago |
| First Released | 2009 | 2017 | |
| Age | 17 years | 9 years | |
| WP Requires | 6.1+ | 4.0+ | |
| PHP Requires | 5.6+ | 7.4+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 14.4.0 | 1.9.17 |
Rating Breakdown
BuddyPress
Patreon WordPress
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, BuddyPress averaged approximately 614 daily downloads while Patreon WordPress averaged 121.
Recent Reviews
BuddyPress Reviews
Great, magnificent and impeccable plugin. Does exactly what’s described.
Great, magnificent and impeccable plugin. Does exactly what’s described.
Works fine
Not the easiest
needs remade from scratch
This plugin needs to be completely rebuilt from scratch, with a particular focus on redesigning the user interface.
Patreon WordPress Reviews
Poorly coded mess
This version is stable. Don’t buy or try the pro plugin. That plugins code is garbage and it crashes everything. This topic was modified 9 months, 4 weeks ago by erdeme61.
Works as a start but doesn’t include featured images
I have to go in and manually edit each post as this plugin doesn’t pull in the main image from Patreon. I would expect it to pull the image as a featured image in WP. It does pull in the images from t
It stopped working out of nowhere
It stopped working on my 2 hostings, and support doesn’t provide a solution.
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Member search and member directories for BuddyPress and the BuddyBoss Platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.