User Role Editor vs WP Approve User (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, User Role Editor has a higher user rating (4.5/5 from 287 reviews) and leads in active installations (700K+ vs 3.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. User Role Editor has accumulated 21M+ total downloads while WP Approve User has 104K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | User Role Editor | WP Approve User | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.5/5 | ◄ | 4.2/5 |
| Total Reviews | 287 | ◄ | 41 |
| Active Installs | 700K+ | ◄ | 3.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 21M+ | ◄ | 104K+ |
| Support Resolution | 0% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 4 months ago | ◄ | 2 years ago |
| First Released | 2010 | 2012 | |
| Age | 16 years | 14 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.4+ | 4.3+ | |
| PHP Requires | 7.3+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 4.64.6 | 11 |
Rating Breakdown
User Role Editor
WP Approve User
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, User Role Editor averaged approximately 2,093 daily downloads while WP Approve User averaged 10.
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
WP Approve User Reviews
Great plugin!
For a free plugin, this is quite powerful. Would be nice to be able to add the users full name (i.e. first and last name) in the approval email (rather than just the username), but the ability to edit
Nice, simple and focused
We are looking for a way to minimise the amount of emails which we send out to dead addresses (often Gmail) via fake bbPress signups to our forum. The first step is user approval. Konstantin’s plug
does what it says
this plugin does what it says simple. glad i found it. one thing would make this plugin so so so much better. The possibility to add a list of email domains for auto approval. For instance i want ever
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.