Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar vs WP Reading Progress (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar
10K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, WP Reading Progress has a higher user rating (5/5 from 19 reviews) while Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar leads in active installations (10K+ vs 3.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar has accumulated 112K+ total downloads while WP Reading Progress has 49K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar | WP Reading Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.5/5 | ► | 5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 19 | 19 | |
| Active Installs | 10K+ | ◄ | 3.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 112K+ | ◄ | 49K+ |
| Support Resolution | 100% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 8 months ago | ► | 1 month ago |
| First Released | 2019 | 2019 | |
| Age | 7 years | 7 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.2+ | 4.9+ | |
| PHP Requires | 5.2+ | 5.6+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 1.0.11 | 1.7.0 |
Rating Breakdown
Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar
WP Reading Progress
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar averaged approximately 26 daily downloads while WP Reading Progress averaged 23.
Recent Reviews
Read Meter – Reading Time & Progress Bar Reviews
Nice and intuitive
Works out of the box !
Does not count custom fields
The plugin works, but it only counts the words on the blog itself. It does not count words in custom blocks and custom field text
Progress Bar is Cool; Read Time Broken
I really like the progress bar. This plugin is simple, which is good. No matter what, the read time is only 1 minute. I thought of reaching out to support, but then I saw that several people already h
WP Reading Progress Reviews
Loads the CSS and JS on EVERY page
Even when I’ve set it to only load on specific post types it still loads the CSS and JS everywhere. A pity really, because it’s really been helpful for users. This topic was modified 1 month,
Best Progress Bar Plugin
Really nice plugin, clean, fast! Thank you!
Awesome plugin with great support, perfect experience!
This plugin is great and does exactly what I need it to do. I’ve tried a few different plugins of this type and this one is by far the most user-friendly. It does what it says on the tin and it does i
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.