Admin Menu Editor

Reviewers keep calling it the best admin menu plugin they've tried, with quick help from the developer, and the only gripes are small ones about separators and a short learning curve.

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.

wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.

519 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 348 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.

Directory rank vs rivals

wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 49% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Crossed into this band 5 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 56% of the way through.

1. ★★★★★ mermaidswhimsy

   4mo ago

   Perfect for customizing your admin menu. I love it. I wish the spacers were bigger but all in all it’s a good plugin.

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ Suki

   7mo ago

   A comprehensive suite for customising your clients’ entire backend. This topic was modified 3 months, 1 week ago by Suki.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ Erupt Media

   8mo ago

   Not sure how we can manage without this plugin. It keeps our structure organized, categorized and most importantly easy to find. Highly recommend, I’ve tried a few and stuck with this one overall.

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ moloko74

   9mo ago

   Great plugin, it just lacked an option to organize groups with a titled separator.

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ Ralf R.

   9mo ago

   I was always annoyed by the huge number of menu entries created by all the installed plugins. With Admin Menu I was finally able to clean things up and organize everything in a meaningful way. It took me a moment to understand how the features work, but after that everything was really easy.

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ mister pc

   9mo ago

   Of all the similar plugins I’ve tested, this one is from far the best : intuitive, fluid and drag’n’drop oriented use. I also met a minor issue with corrupted configuration data (more related to the DB that the plugin) and Janis brought me some advice very quickly, so that I’ve been able to identify the problem and find a solution even more quickly 😀 This was also the occasion for me to notice the full robustness of the plugin for a usage on live environments. GREAT !!!

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ fdittmar

   9mo ago

   Janis is very quick to help if needed. ‘Menus’ work well.

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ digimarknz

   11mo ago

   I found this plug-in in January and have since deployed it on to 8 websites so my clients can log in and get straight to the functions they want without being bamboozled by a daunting WordPress dashboard. My clients are all the opposite of tech-savvy and not a single one of them has had a problem navigating their way around the functions they need on their simplified menus. I use the Widgets to give them guides and updates and strip their menu back to only what they need and it’s brilliant.. Also the support from Jānis on the rare occasions I needed it was prompt and helpful.I will be renewing my license for another 12 months soon and wanted to add my 5 stars to this excellent plug-in and express my gratitude to Jānis (the developer) for a job well done.

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 1.15.1 Added improved SVG menu icon support. It was already possible to use SVG icons for admin menu items, but you had to manually encode them in the format that WordPress expects. Now the icon selector has a new “SVG” tab, an 1.15.1
2. — Version 1.15 Increased the minimum required PHP version to 7.4. Increased the minimum required WordPress version to 5.9. Fixed the “admin_menu_editor-menu_url_blacklist” filter being called too early, before most other plugins have b 1.15
3. — Version 1.14.1 Fixed the position of the dropdown button for the “Extra capability” field. Now the button should be vertically aligned with the field. Fixed a dropdown potentially extending outside its parent dialog/popup when one of t 1.14.1
4. — Version 1.14 Increased the minimum required PHP version from 5.6 to 7.1. Added an “About” tab to the “Content Permissions (AME)” meta box. The tab clarifies where the box came from and how to disable it if necessary. Fixed a PHP 8.4 1.14
5. — Version 1.13.1 Fixed a minor conflict with “Advanced Flat Rate Shipping For WooCommerce” that caused several of its submenu items that are supposed to be hidden to become visible. Fixed a potential “access denied” error caused by misid 1.13.1
6. — Version 1.13 Added a way to control access to specific posts and pages. The new “Content Permissions” box in the post editor lets you choose which roles will be able to see a post. It also has an “Advanced” tab where you can enable o 1.13

All 3 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (1.15.2). Sites still on an older version should update.

1. Patched Medium · 4.3 Admin Menu Editor <= 1.14.1 - Cross-Site Request Forgery ↗
   2026-03-10 CVE-2026-32456 Cross-Site Request Forgery Affects <= 1.14.1 Patched in 1.15
2. Patched Medium · 6.4 Admin Menu Editor <= 1.14 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via placeholder Parameter ↗
   2025-09-05 CVE-2025-9493 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.14 Patched in 1.14.1
3. Patched Medium · 4.3 Admin Menu Editor <= 1.12 - Cross-Site Request Forgery via ajax_hide_hint() ↗
   2024-02-05 CVE-2024-24876 Cross-Site Request Forgery Affects <= 1.12 Patched in 1.12.1

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1

Translated into 27 languages, 10 at 90% or more

Plus 3 more locales with partial translations.

Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.

Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2026-05-22 400K+ → 300K+ down after 4 days in tier
2. 2026-05-18 300K+ → 400K+ up after 1 days in tier
3. 2026-05-17 400K+ → 300K+ down after 1302 days in tier
4. 2022-10-23 300K+ → 400K+ up after 1391 days in tier
5. 2019-01-01 200K+ → 300K+ up after 1027 days in tier
6. 2016-03-10 100K+ → 200K+ up

Competes with

The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).

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Drop a live Pulse card for Admin Menu Editor into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Admin Menu Editor: 300K+ active installs, 4.6★ (312 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/admin-menu-editor