AdRotate Banner Manager

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.

143 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 111 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn'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. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Crossed into this band 15 months ago; the previous band took 2.8 years to cross, which places it about 57% of the way through.

1. ★★★★★ codings

   4mo ago

   Have been using this plugin for many years to manage ads on a heavy traffic site. Setting up banner ads, inserting Google Ads code, keeping track of advertisers: it simply works. The support is always fast, friendly, and helpful. Any issues are typically user error or conflict with other themes/plugins. It may not be the easiest plugin to understand at first, but once you get used to it, everything makes sense. It is nice that so many options have been made available in the free version, but as a plugin used primarily to make money, it’s only right to eventually consider supporting the Pro version. Totally worth it! Thank you to the developer!

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ massebooks

   5mo ago

   I’ve tried this plug-in twice with the same results each time. It works great until WordPress has an update then everything just stops working. Maybe the paid is better but looking at the 1-star reviews, I doubt it. This topic was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by massebooks.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ Sandra M. Lopes

   5mo ago

   Everybody has their own favourite ad management plugin. This just happens to be mine. Why? It works. And has worked well enough for the past decade (or two?). Do I need any more features? No, not really. I get sometimes annoyed when I cannot save a more complex JavaScript ad snippet — but that’s not AdRotate, it’s the WordPress core interfering, being extra-cautious.Do I need any fixes or changes? Well, the truth is, Arnan is constantly tinkering with this plugin. Most of the time you just get improvements — free of charge. Some things could be better managed, e.g. changing multiple schedules at the same time for the same last date. But perhaps it’s just me being lazy, and instead of “multiple schedules” I might just need… one, but configured correctly. That said, it’s all my fault, really. These days, ad blockers are pervasive and AI-enhanced to successfully disable most ads. AdRotate cannot do “magic”, but it has some pretty neat features to punch a hole through all those barriers. This is never 100% guaranteed to succeed, but it’s always worth a try. One might wonder — why use a third-party plugin to manage your ads manually? Why don’t I stick simply with Google Ads, or any other provider which already has fantastic backends with all statistics I could possibly ever want — and for free? The answer is not quite obvious and does not apply to everybody. First and foremost, Google is very keen in blocking content that they know that will discourage advertisers. If you have that kind of content, you already know that (you have been blocked, or at least offered a reduced set of advertisers). The option is not to rely on Google (note that other operators have similar rules or guidelines and are quite trigger-happy to exclude as many sites as they legitimately can). And even if you do (my own Google Ads are shown inside AdRotate), you have to take Google’s word on how many impressions you got, and how many of those were clicked-through. I prefer not to trust Google on that, and double-check their status, by contrasting them with what AdRotate says. A small discrepancy is to be expected — both do their maths differently. But a big difference is worth investigating — and, for that, you need to have statistics of your own that you can rely upon. But the biggest advantage of AdRotate is to manage sections of your site that have “special” links — not necessarily “ads” in the classic sense, but things like URL exchanges with friends with related content. Or actual ads that a prospective customer wants to buy — but avoid Google’s (or any other providers’) fees. Every now and then, I do get the odd customer who wants to “place an ad” but does not want to use Google to serve such ads. Well, I need to be able to track such cases on my own — Google will only track their own ads, obviously — and that means you need an alternative. This is it.

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ kauder

   1.1y ago

   The standard edition of AdRotate works well enough but the constant upselling to the pro version is beyond annoying. You cannot work in any area of WordPress without a stupid banner ad promoting an upsell to AdRotate Pro taking up valuable real estate as you’re trying to work. When you click “maybe later” to get rid of the banner, it navigates you away from what you’re doing over to the AdRotate plugin. VERY ANNOYING!!!!

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ Pete Broderick

   1.2y ago

   Top-notch product, has everything we need in an extremely straightforward and easy to use interface. Built-in documentation/tips/instructions appear throughout, making implementation fool-proof.

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ Brian - TGL

   1.2y ago

   Arnan quickly made some significant improvements to the AdRotate plugin after we discovered a couple of problems that became apparent on a larger site with 100’s of active ads and 1,000’s of archived ads. He was quick to reply after I submitted the information and screencasts to clearly show where we were running into a problem and had a beta ready to test within a few hours.

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ Web Hippo

   1.3y ago

   This is by far the best ad manager you can find we use it on our global retro gaming website

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ pzactual2025

   1.4y ago

   Es un buen plugin, funciona bien y no muestra problemas de configuración como muchos otros. Muchas gracias equipo de AdRotate. <font _mstmutation=”1″></font> This topic was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by pzactual2025. This topic was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by pzactual2025. This topic was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by pzactual2025.

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 5.19.3 5.19.2 – August 24, 2026 * Change – Improved support for wp-cli * Update – Improved IP Address detection * Fix – Removed unused budget counter 5.19.1 – July 24, 2026 * Fix – Typo in W3TC cache wrapper code 5.19 – July 22 5.19.3

All 10 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (5.19.3). Sites still on an older version should update.

1. Patched High · 8.8 AdRotate Banner Manager <= 5.17.7 - Authenticated (Contributor+) PHP Code Injection via 'banner' Shortcode Attribute ↗
   2026-06-23 CVE-2026-12242 Improper Control of Generation of Code Affects <= 5.17.7 Patched in 5.17.8
2. Patched High · 7.2 AdRotate – Ad manager & AdSense Ads <= 5.13.2 - Authenticated (Admin+) Double Extension Arbitrary File Upload ↗
   2024-08-19 CVE-2022-1206 Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type Affects <= 5.13.2 Patched in 5.13.3
3. Patched High · 8.8 AdRotate Banner Manager <= 5.9 - Cross-Site Request Forgery ↗
   2022-11-11 CVE-2022-26366 Cross-Site Request Forgery Affects <= 5.9 Patched in 5.9.1
4. Patched Medium · 5.5 AdRotate – Ad manager & AdSense Ads <= 5.8.22 - Authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Group Names ↗
   2022-04-11 CVE-2022-0649 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects < 5.8.23 Patched in 5.8.23
5. Patched Medium · 5.5 AdRotate – Ad manager & AdSense Ads <= 5.8.22 - Authenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Advert Names ↗
   2022-04-11 CVE-2022-0662 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects < 5.8.23 Patched in 5.8.23
6. Patched High · 7.2 AdRotate – Ad manager & AdSense Ads <= 5.8.17 - Admin+ SQL Injection ↗
   2022-02-07 CVE-2022-0267 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command Affects <= 5.8.17 Patched in 5.8.22
7. Patched High · 7.2 AdRotate < 5.8.4 - Authenticated SQL Injection ↗
   2020-06-03 CVE-2021-24138 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command Affects < 5.8.4 Patched in 5.8.4
8. Patched High · 7.2 AdRotate – Ad manager & AdSense Ads <= 5.2 - Authenticated SQL Injection ↗
   2019-07-11 CVE-2019-13570 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command Affects <= 5.2 Patched in 5.3
9. Patched Critical · 9.8 AdRotate – Ad manager & AdSense Ads 3.9 - 3.9.4 - SQL Injection ↗
   2014-02-22 CVE-2014-1854 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command Affects 3.9 - 3.9.4 Patched in 3.9.5
10. Patched Critical · 9.8 AdRotate – Ad manager & AdSense Ads < 3.6.8 - SQL Injection ↗
    2011-11-08 CVE-2011-4671 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command Affects < 3.6.8 Patched in 3.6.8

Translated into 63 languages, 0 at 90% or more

Plus 39 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.

This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.

Growth timeline

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

1. 2025-08-17 30K+ → 20K+ down after 1025 days in tier
2. 2022-10-27 40K+ → 30K+ down after 899 days in tier
3. 2020-05-11 50K+ → 40K+ down after 1818 days in tier
4. 2015-05-20 60K+ → 50K+ down

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).

Embed this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for AdRotate Banner Manager into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

AdRotate Banner Manager: 20K+ active installs, 4.3★ (655 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/adrotate