RSS Importer vs Friends (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Friends has a higher user rating (5/5 from 6 reviews) while RSS Importer leads in active installations (30K+ vs 1.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. RSS Importer has accumulated 1.3M+ total downloads while Friends has 82K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | RSS Importer | Friends | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 2/5 | ► | 5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 10 | ◄ | 6 |
| Active Installs | 30K+ | ◄ | 1.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 1.3M+ | ◄ | 82K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | 0% | |
| Last Updated | 1 year ago | ► | 3 days ago |
| First Released | 2010 | 2018 | |
| Age | 16 years | 8 years | |
| WP Requires | 3.0+ | false+ | |
| PHP Requires | false+ | 7.4+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 0.3.2 | 4.0.4 |
Rating Breakdown
RSS Importer
Friends
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, RSS Importer averaged approximately 114 daily downloads while Friends averaged 175.
Recent Reviews
RSS Importer Reviews
Not working
Only pulling through the titles not the main body of the posts.
It seems to get only XML from a downloaded file
It should allow an URL specification to get feed from an online website.
Needs update for PHP 7
This plugin needs an update to work with php7. (and 8) @garethgillman has provided a fix. https://wordpress.org/support/topic/fix-for-php-7/ Once that’s fixed it works really nice. Although it could a
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
More Plugins Worth Comparing
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GN Publisher makes RSS feeds that comply with the Google News RSS Feed Technical Requirements for including your site in the Google News.
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FeedWordPress syndicates content from feeds you choose into your WordPress weblog.
Display any RSS feed(s) in widget with news ticker effect in multiple tabs, thumbnails, customizable color themes and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is RSS Importer or Friends more popular?
Which has better ratings — RSS Importer or Friends?
Are RSS Importer and Friends free?
Which plugin has better support — RSS Importer or Friends?
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.