Ultimate Member – reCAPTCHA vs Groups (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Ultimate Member – reCAPTCHA
20K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Groups has a higher user rating (4.8/5 from 380 reviews) while Ultimate Member – reCAPTCHA leads in active installations (20K+ vs 10K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Ultimate Member – reCAPTCHA has accumulated 450K+ total downloads while Groups has 991K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Ultimate Member – reCAPTCHA | Groups | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 3.7/5 | ► | 4.8/5 |
| Total Reviews | 11 | ► | 380 |
| Active Installs | 20K+ | ◄ | 10K+ |
| Total Downloads | 450K+ | ► | 991K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | 100% | |
| Last Updated | 1 year ago | ► | 1 week ago |
| First Released | 2019 | 2012 | |
| Age | 7 years | 14 years | |
| WP Requires | 5.5+ | 6.7+ | |
| PHP Requires | 5.6+ | 7.4+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 2.3.8 | 4.1.0 |
Rating Breakdown
Ultimate Member – reCAPTCHA
Groups
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Ultimate Member – reCAPTCHA averaged approximately 42 daily downloads while Groups averaged 345.
Recent Reviews
Ultimate Member – reCAPTCHA Reviews
Blocks the admin panel
It works first, and then begins to block the admin panel
Perfect plugin to avoid spam !
Perfect and works fine thank you
Works for me with reCaptcha v3
Definitely works for me using reCaptcha v3 and WordPress 6.02 and Ultimate Member 2.5 I have it running alongside Formidable Forms’ reCaptcha integration with no issues as I am using more complex func
Groups Reviews
Simple access restriction that really works
I’ve been using this plugin for a number of years on our documentation website. I create documentation for all of my clients in one single website, and then I restrict access to the pages so that each
Super!
…
Clean simple plug-in that works as expected!
I needed a simple solution for member only pages and this plug-in works great!
More Member Worth Comparing
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An addon for importing existing WordPress users to the Simple Membership plugin as members
Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.