Preload Featured Images vs Preload 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) and leads in active installations (2.0K+ vs 1.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Preload Featured Images has accumulated 18K+ total downloads while Preload Images has 12K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Preload Featured Images | Preload Images | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 5/5 | ◄ | 4.6/5 |
| Total Reviews | 3 | ► | 8 |
| Active Installs | 2.0K+ | ◄ | 1.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 18K+ | ◄ | 12K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 1 year ago | ◄ | 3 years ago |
| First Released | 2021 | 2019 | |
| Age | 5 years | 7 years | |
| WP Requires | 5.0+ | 3.8+ | |
| PHP Requires | 7.4+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 1.0.0 | 1.2.1 |
Rating Breakdown
Preload Featured Images
Preload Images
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Preload Featured Images averaged approximately 6 daily downloads while Preload Images averaged 3.
Recent Reviews
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!
Preload Images Reviews
Perfect to improve animated GIF trigger on mobile
I wanted to trigger an animated GIF on hover. To implement this, I followed a simple online guide to *swap* an image on hover – set initial image as the first frame of your GIF, and the second image a
Highly recommended!
I run a photo gallery website for hobby using fancybox, and I’m happy to find this plugin! Initially I was searching for a solution with JavaScript, etc., but this is much easier way to preload images
Doesn’t work to preload site background image +
Sadly, the plugin does not work to preload a site’s background image when that image is specified in common image urls. Plus, when there is no image specified in the common image urls, the site loads
Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.