10 Best WP Custom Author URL Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
WP Custom Author URL has 5,000+ active installs on WordPress.org. These 10 plugins share its category or its tags on WordPress.org, are actively maintained, and each has at least 100 active installs. They are ordered by how closely they match, not by our opinion.
The 10 closest alternatives to WP Custom Author URL
- 1
Author Avatars
Closest matchAuthor Avatars List/Block
4.8 (32) 4,000+ active installsDisplay lists of user avatars using widgets or shortcodes. With Gutenberg support.
Shares the author, profile tags on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, last updated August 7, 2026.
- 2
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor
4.7 (735) 40,000+ active installsPowerful user profile plugin to create front-end user registration forms, login & user profile forms. Includes user role editor & content restriction.
Shares the profile tag on WordPress.org. About 8 times the installs, last updated 12 days ago.
- 3
4.7 (33) 900+ active installsCustomize various aspects of WordPress backend. Create a clean and easier admin area for the users.
Shares the profile tag on WordPress.org. 900+ installs against 5,000+, no update since April 16, 2025.
- 4
4.9 (39) 5,000+ active installsAvatar Manager for WordPress is a sweet and simple plugin for storing avatars locally and more. Easily.
Shares the profile tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, no update since February 2, 2021.
- 5
4.7 (42) 20,000+ active installsAdd an avatar upload field on frontend pages and Edit Profile screen so users can add a custom profile picture.
Shares the profile tag on WordPress.org. About 4 times the installs, no update since November 15, 2024.
- 6
4.5 (29) 20,000+ active installsAllow registered users to upload & select their own avatars.
Shares the profile tag on WordPress.org. About 4 times the installs, last updated March 28, 2026.
- 7
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities
4.6 (236) 5,000+ active installsCustom user profiles plugin ❤ with paid memberships, groups, communities, content restriction, user registration, messaging, WooCommerce memberships, …
Shares the profile tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, last updated 2 days ago.
- 8
4.6 (89) 100,000+ active installsAdds an avatar upload field to user profiles. Generates requested sizes on demand just like Gravatar!
Shares the profile tag on WordPress.org. About 20 times the installs, last updated 18 days ago.
- 9
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture
4.7 (41) 100,000+ active installsUse any image from your WordPress Media Library as a custom user avatar or user profile picture. Add your own Default Avatar.
Shares the profile tag on WordPress.org. About 20 times the installs, last updated 17 days ago.
- 10
User Registration
Paid version availableUser Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder
4.8 (828) 50,000+ active installsBuild membership sites with tiered plans, content restriction, drag-&-drop custom registration & login form builder, and built-in payment system.
About 10 times the installs, last updated 26 days ago.
Switching from WP Custom Author URL: common questions
What is the best alternative to WP Custom Author URL?
Author Avatars is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 4,000+ active installs with a 4.8 out of 5 rating.
Which WP Custom Author URL alternative has the most users?
Simple Local Avatars, with 100,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which WP Custom Author URL alternative is rated highest?
User Registration, rated 4.8 out of 5 by 828 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these WP Custom Author URL alternatives free?
Every plugin listed here is free to install from WordPress.org. Where WordPress.org marks a plugin as commercial, the developer also sells a paid version or add-ons, and that is shown on each plugin.
How are alternatives chosen?
Automatically, from WordPress.org data: plugins that share a category top 10 with WP Custom Author URL score highest, then plugins that appear in the same WordPress.org rankings, then plugins with the same tags, weighted so rare tags count more than common ones. Plugins by the same author and plugins rated under 4.0 are left out.
How we choose these alternatives
Nothing on this page is picked by hand. Every day we walk the whole WordPress.org directory, then score every plugin against WP Custom Author URL on three signals: sharing a category top 10 counts most, then appearing in the same WordPress.org rankings, then carrying the same tags, with rare tags counting for more than common ones like "wordpress". Plugins by the same author are excluded, so an author's own add-ons cannot fill the list, and so is anything rated below 4.0 or with fewer than 100 active installs. The ten highest scores are what you see, in that order. Full methodology.
The bottom line
Author Avatars is the closest match to WP Custom Author URL by the data we track, and Simple Local Avatars has the widest reach with 100,000+ active installs. ProfileGrid shipped the most recent release, on September 5, 2026. The list is rebuilt every day from WordPress.org, so a plugin that stops being maintained drops out on its own.
Weekly · free
What moved this week
One email a week, built from the same daily snapshots these rankings come from: the plugins that climbed, what launched, and one ranking worth a look.