Page Loader vs Preload Featured Images (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Preload Featured Images has a higher user rating (5/5 from 3 reviews) while Page Loader leads in active installations (3.0K+ vs 2.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Page Loader has accumulated 35K+ total downloads while Preload Featured Images has 18K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Page Loader | Preload Featured Images | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.9/5 | ► | 5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 8 | ◄ | 3 |
| Active Installs | 3.0K+ | ◄ | 2.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 35K+ | ◄ | 18K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 1 year ago | ◄ | 1 year ago |
| First Released | 2017 | 2021 | |
| Age | 9 years | 5 years | |
| WP Requires | 3.0+ | 5.0+ | |
| PHP Requires | false+ | 7.4+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 1.2 | 1.0.0 |
Rating Breakdown
Page Loader
Preload Featured Images
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Page Loader averaged approximately 7 daily downloads while Preload Featured Images averaged 6.
Recent Reviews
Page Loader Reviews
Perfectly minimalist
Perfectly minimalist, just what we need
Simple and Faster!
The plugin helped me a lot, but have something who can be upgraded, like more styles of loader animations and custom loader animations from gif’s and lotties.
it closed my head
big seo problem ! closed my head so bots could not read it €dit:They fixed the problem. I did not try it but belive it :p This topic was modified 4 years, 10 months ago by mktgwien.
Preload Featured Images Reviews
works perfectly on post blog
works with no problem on post blog. thank you dev team. hope to see this gona works with pages This topic was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by Sepi.
Great, wish it worked for pages too
This is fantastic and works perfectly! It would be nice if it preloaded the featured image on pages too.
Hidden Gem!
Thanks for making this one!
More Preload Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as Page Loader and Preload Featured Images
Make website faster, speed up page load time and improve performance scores in tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, Pingdom, and more.
Easily add a pure CSS animated preloader to your WordPress website.
A Plugin to add awesome collection of Loaders and Spinners. Delightful and performance-focused Pure CSS animations.
Take advantage of browser resource hints and plug-and-play features to improve page load time.
Allows you to specify on individual pages or posts the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) Image on that page to preload, making the page load quicker.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Page Loader or Preload Featured Images more popular?
Which has better ratings — Page Loader or Preload Featured Images?
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.