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Search Regex vs WPS Cleaner (2026)

Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.

Search Regex

Search Regex

4.7(97)

100K+ active installs

Free

Updated 1 month ago
View Search Regex
VS
WPS Cleaner

WPS Cleaner

4.3(99)

20K+ active installs

Free

Updated 9 months ago
View WPS Cleaner

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, Search Regex has a higher user rating (4.7/5 from 97 reviews) and leads in active installations (100K+ vs 20K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Search Regex has accumulated 2.4M+ total downloads while WPS Cleaner has 339K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.7/5Search Regex
◄
WPS Cleaner4.3/5
Total Reviews
97Search Regex
►
WPS Cleaner99
Active Installs
100K+Search Regex
◄
WPS Cleaner20K+
Total Downloads
2.4M+Search Regex
◄
WPS Cleaner339K+
Support Resolution
0%Search Regex
WPS CleanerN/A
Last Updated
1 month agoSearch Regex
◄
WPS Cleaner9 months ago
First Released
2007Search Regex
WPS Cleaner2018
Age
19 yearsSearch Regex
WPS Cleaner8 years
WP Requires
6.5+Search Regex
WPS Cleaner4.2+
PHP Requires
7.4+Search Regex
WPS Cleanerfalse+
Business Model
FreeSearch Regex
WPS CleanerFree
Latest Version
3.4.1Search Regex
WPS Cleaner1.6.10.2

Rating Breakdown

Search Regex

4.7/5(97 reviews)
5
86%
4
7%
3
3%
2
1%
1
3%

WPS Cleaner

4.3/5(99 reviews)
5
76%
4
6%
3
3%
2
3%
1
12%

Recent Reviews

Search Regex Reviews

by hakuna4matata

Handy for search-and-replace, but “Delete Matches” is dangerous

This plugin does a great job when you just want to find and replace text across your site. The interface is clear, the regex support works well, and the preview feature is very useful. However, the

by humananimal

Amazing

Dear John, you are so GODLEY!! thank you for this wonderful super helpful plugin! May I buy you a ticket to Disneyland?? 😉

by kelson

Incredibly powerful!

Incredibly powerful search tool for your dashboard, especially useful if, for example, you’ve moved to a new server (or a new site structure), or someone’s changed their name, or any other reason you

WPS Cleaner Reviews

by tarunsoft

Be careful to use this plugin

Plugin showing unused images. I deleted all the unused images but I saw my site hasn’t any images! Rubbish!

by staedeli

Deleted all images from my site.

Left my site completely stripped of images. All product images, blog images and custom post type images are gone. Good thing I tested it on staging first. I deleted the plugin faster than lighting

by hevea2019

Extension très utile

J’ai beaucoup aimé la simplicité d’utilisation de cette extension pour nettoyer un certain nombre de données obsolètes. Je recommande

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Search Regex or WPS Cleaner more popular?
Search Regex has 100K+ active installations while WPS Cleaner has 20K+. Search Regex is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Search Regex or WPS Cleaner?
Search Regex has a 4.7/5 rating from 97 reviews, while WPS Cleaner has a 4.3/5 rating from 99 reviews.
Are Search Regex and WPS Cleaner free?
Search Regex is free and WPS Cleaner is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Search Regex or WPS Cleaner?
Support resolution data is not available for all plugins. Check each plugin's WordPress.org support forum for current response quality.
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
Search Regex was last updated 1 month ago and WPS Cleaner was last updated 9 months ago.

Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.