Regenerate Thumbnails vs AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Regenerate Thumbnails
1.0M+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild has a higher user rating (4.8/5 from 90 reviews) while Regenerate Thumbnails leads in active installations (1.0M+ vs 30K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Regenerate Thumbnails has accumulated 22M+ total downloads while AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild has 851K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Regenerate Thumbnails | AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.6/5 | ► | 4.8/5 |
| Total Reviews | 395 | ◄ | 90 |
| Active Installs | 1.0M+ | ◄ | 30K+ |
| Total Downloads | 22M+ | ◄ | 851K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 7 months ago | ◄ | 2 years ago |
| First Released | 2008 | 2009 | |
| Age | 18 years | 17 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.7+ | 2.8+ | |
| PHP Requires | 5.2.4+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 3.1.6 | 1.14 |
Rating Breakdown
Regenerate Thumbnails
AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Regenerate Thumbnails averaged approximately 1,826 daily downloads while AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild averaged 63.
Recent Reviews
Regenerate Thumbnails Reviews
Works Pretty Well
Used it to fix image sizes after changing my theme. Did the job without much hassle. Took some time but worked fine. Pretty useful plugin overall. tnx to the devs for keeping it simple.
Very, very, very happy with the results
For layout and design purposes, I opted to increase the size of all my featured image thumbnails moving forward, but you guessed it, I still had to resize the previous photos. Well, this plugin handle
Screwed all the references to images in a Portrait orientation
Yea, That was stupid. Foolishly used this, still don’t know why. Screwed up all my references to images in a Portrait orientation. Luckily I was able to figure it out and with Better Search Re
AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild Reviews
Still Works Great!
With over 4K images on my site, it’s impossible to get “Regenerate Thumbnails” in Woocommerce to complete. This takes care of it in a couple hours without taking a break. Thank you! Running WordP
Seems to be a dead plugin
No replies to support queries for over a year so it seems like a dead plugin. hopefully you backup your site before trying this.
This should be in Core
This is a great plugin, easy to use and it should be in Core in some way or form. It’s ridiculous that Woo does automatic thumbnail regeneration, but WP Core doesn’t. Thanks for this.
More Thumbnail Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as Regenerate Thumbnails and AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild
Easily control whether the featured image appears in the single post or page view (doesn't hide it in archive/list view).
Automatically generate the featured image from the image of the post.
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Provides flexible and advanced random posts. Display it via shortcode or widget with thumbnails, post excerpt, and much more!
Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.