User Role Editor vs Roles & Capabilities (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Roles & Capabilities has a higher user rating (5/5 from 6 reviews) while User Role Editor leads in active installations (700K+ vs 1.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. User Role Editor has accumulated 21M+ total downloads while Roles & Capabilities has 30K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | User Role Editor | Roles & Capabilities | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.5/5 | ► | 5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 287 | ◄ | 6 |
| Active Installs | 700K+ | ◄ | 1.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 21M+ | ◄ | 30K+ |
| Support Resolution | 0% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 4 months ago | ► | 3 months ago |
| First Released | 2010 | 2019 | |
| Age | 16 years | 7 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.4+ | 4.1+ | |
| PHP Requires | 7.3+ | 7.4+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 4.64.6 | 1.1.14 |
Rating Breakdown
User Role Editor
Roles & Capabilities
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, User Role Editor averaged approximately 2,093 daily downloads while Roles & Capabilities averaged 21.
Recent Reviews
User Role Editor Reviews
Simple and works nicely
This plugin is working well. Thank you for the developer who put lot of time into it. Very nice, lightest and most simple.
Worked great for my site
I’m a DIY self learner, and had a great experience with URE. It has vast capabilities and is organized to make it easy to navigate and apply so many customizations. Very intuitive. On the one occasion
Wont save capabilities for custom role
I hate giving bad reviews as I know how much work goes into these plugins, often by one person. But we have wasted so much time and lost orders because of a known bug. I can see that others have rep
Roles & Capabilities Reviews
Simple and effective
This plugin is exactly in line with I think plugins should be: clear, one task only, well integrated without bloat meaningless UI elements that do nothing. That’s what I do with my plugins as well.
Simple and efficient
I just needed to add the capabilities for specific users to edit the pages they own, which is not possible with the default Author role. This plugin made it really easy: I could clone the Author role
The best plugin for delete unwanted capabilities
finally! Thank you so much for this! After testing several very complex and confusing user role plugins (which by the way just added more garbage to my wp_options table), I found “Roles & Capabilities
More Role Worth Comparing
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Restrict permissions with Simple Client Dashboard. Our new "Admin" user role between Administrator and Editor is perfect for clients and Webmasters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is User Role Editor or Roles & Capabilities more popular?
Which has better ratings — User Role Editor or Roles & Capabilities?
Are User Role Editor and Roles & Capabilities free?
Which plugin has better support — User Role Editor or Roles & Capabilities?
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.