GN Publisher: Google News Compatible… vs Friends (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
GN Publisher: Google News Compatible…
20K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Friends has a higher user rating (5/5 from 6 reviews) while GN Publisher: Google News Compatible… leads in active installations (20K+ vs 1.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. GN Publisher: Google News Compatible… has accumulated 716K+ total downloads while Friends has 82K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | GN Publisher: Google News Compatible… | Friends | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.9/5 | ► | 5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 29 | ◄ | 6 |
| Active Installs | 20K+ | ◄ | 1.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 716K+ | ◄ | 82K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | 0% | |
| Last Updated | 2 weeks ago | ► | 3 days ago |
| First Released | 2020 | 2018 | |
| Age | 6 years | 8 years | |
| WP Requires | 3.5+ | false+ | |
| PHP Requires | 5.4+ | 7.4+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 1.5.27 | 4.0.4 |
Rating Breakdown
GN Publisher: Google News Compatible…
Friends
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, GN Publisher: Google News Compatible… averaged approximately 511 daily downloads while Friends averaged 175.
Recent Reviews
GN Publisher: Google News Compatible… Reviews
amazing support!
I had a small question and issue and they were extremely helpful, followed up on things with me and went above and beyond.
Great Work, Very Helpful
I had an issue on my site with the plugin only showing the latest article, and they were quick to help me get the setting right. They also helped me get the feed setup properly in Google News Publishe
just great
grat plugin, does what it needs to do
Friends Reviews
I love it, what a very cool plugin!
Perhaps something like this should be enabled by default on all WordPress plugins, it really hits home… the idea is brilliant!
Excellent!
This is really an excellent app. It’s possible to bridge to Bluesky with it and it’s really easy to reblog etc. I really like the email alerts. The only difficulty is finding sites to follow. A list o
You can use to bridge to BlueSky too!
I decided to try to use this to bridge my self-hosted ActivityPub-enabled WordPress blog to BlueSky as well, using the opt-in BridgyFed service which connects BlueSky to the Federation. I found a prob
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is GN Publisher: Google News Compatible… or Friends more popular?
Which has better ratings — GN Publisher: Google News Compatible… or Friends?
Are GN Publisher: Google News Compatible… and Friends free?
Which plugin has better support — GN Publisher: Google News Compatible… or Friends?
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.