Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… vs Hide/Remove Metadata (2026)

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

Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…

Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…

4.9(89)

90K+ active installs

Free

Updated 5 days ago
View Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
VS
Hide/Remove Metadata

Hide/Remove Metadata

3.6(14)

20K+ active installs

Free

Updated 3 weeks ago
View Hide/Remove Metadata

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… has a higher user rating (4.9/5 from 89 reviews) and leads in active installations (90K+ vs 20K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… has accumulated 1.8M+ total downloads while Hide/Remove Metadata has 292K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.9/5Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove Metadata3.6/5
Total Reviews
89Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove Metadata14
Active Installs
90K+Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove Metadata20K+
Total Downloads
1.8M+Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove Metadata292K+
Support Resolution
67%Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove MetadataN/A
Last Updated
5 days agoEmail Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove Metadata3 weeks ago
First Released
2010Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove Metadata2019
Age
16 yearsEmail Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove Metadata7 years
WP Requires
4.7+Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove Metadata5.9+
PHP Requires
7.4+Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove Metadatafalse+
Business Model
FreeEmail Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove MetadataFree
Latest Version
2.4.5Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove Metadata2.0

Rating Breakdown

Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…

4.9/5(89 reviews)
5
94%
4
3%
3
0%
2
2%
1
0%

Hide/Remove Metadata

3.6/5(14 reviews)
5
57%
4
7%
3
0%
2
7%
1
29%

Recent Reviews

Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… Reviews

by 720florian

Nice Free Plugin

Good free plugin. I hope it will soon be able to automatically recognize phone numbers

by paulr25

Been using it for years!

I’m actually impressed that it’s still free.

by niveksa

Excellent plugin and support

Excellent plugin and support. Highly recommended.

Hide/Remove Metadata Reviews

by anakinlaroche1977

Doesn’t do anything at all

Does nothing in css or php. Useless.

by tbwriter

Did not work using the CSS options, but the PHP option worked well

The CSS option didn’t do anything for my site, but when I selected the PHP option, it removed the date as it was supposed to. It has an option to remove the author too, but I didn’t try that as I d

by susodp

Working fine on WordPress 6.1.1

PHP option remove the icon as well, working fine on WordPress 6.1.1

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… or Hide/Remove Metadata more popular?
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… has 90K+ active installations while Hide/Remove Metadata has 20K+. Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… or Hide/Remove Metadata?
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… has a 4.9/5 rating from 89 reviews, while Hide/Remove Metadata has a 3.6/5 rating from 14 reviews.
Are Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… and Hide/Remove Metadata free?
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… is free and Hide/Remove Metadata is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… or Hide/Remove Metadata?
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?
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… was last updated 5 days ago and Hide/Remove Metadata was last updated 3 weeks ago.

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