Members – Membership & User Role Editor… vs Roles & Capabilities (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Members – Membership & User Role Editor…
300K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Roles & Capabilities has a higher user rating (5/5 from 6 reviews) while Members – Membership & User Role Editor… leads in active installations (300K+ vs 1.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Members – Membership & User Role Editor… has accumulated 6.8M+ total downloads while Roles & Capabilities has 30K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Members – Membership & User Role Editor… | Roles & Capabilities | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.9/5 | ► | 5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 1,245 | ◄ | 6 |
| Active Installs | 300K+ | ◄ | 1.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 6.8M+ | ◄ | 30K+ |
| Support Resolution | 90% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 1 month ago | ◄ | 3 months ago |
| First Released | 2009 | 2019 | |
| Age | 17 years | 7 years | |
| WP Requires | 6.0+ | 4.1+ | |
| PHP Requires | 7.4+ | 7.4+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 3.2.19 | 1.1.14 |
Rating Breakdown
Members – Membership & User Role Editor…
Roles & Capabilities
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Members – Membership & User Role Editor… averaged approximately 2,439 daily downloads while Roles & Capabilities averaged 21.
Recent Reviews
Members – Membership & User Role Editor… Reviews
Works great, easy to use…
The Members plugin has been a reliable part of my workflow. It keeps role and permission management clean, predictable, and free of unnecessary complexity. Everything integrates smoothly, and the inte
Works Great
Simple to use
Very Good
Worked perfectly for my use case
Roles & Capabilities Reviews
Simple and effective
This plugin is exactly in line with I think plugins should be: clear, one task only, well integrated without bloat meaningless UI elements that do nothing. That’s what I do with my plugins as well.
Simple and efficient
I just needed to add the capabilities for specific users to edit the pages they own, which is not possible with the default Author role. This plugin made it really easy: I could clone the Author role
The best plugin for delete unwanted capabilities
finally! Thank you so much for this! After testing several very complex and confusing user role plugins (which by the way just added more garbage to my wp_options table), I found “Roles & Capabilities
More Capabilities Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as Members – Membership & User Role Editor… and Roles & Capabilities
PublishPress Capabilities is the access control plugin. You can manage user capabilities, permissions, user roles, admin menus and more.
Create Access Levels and restrict any post, page, category, etc. Supports bbPress, BuddyPress, WooCommerce, WPML, and more.
The permissions plugin for posts, pages, categories, tags and more. You can control permissions for roles, individual users, and even custom groups.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Members – Membership & User Role Editor… or Roles & Capabilities more popular?
Which has better ratings — Members – Membership & User Role Editor… or Roles & Capabilities?
Are Members – Membership & User Role Editor… and Roles & Capabilities free?
Which plugin has better support — Members – Membership & User Role Editor… or Roles & Capabilities?
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.