Better Search Replace

The newest reviews report a mistranslated checkbox and database corruption that broke sites, a real dip from the mostly five-star praise running through the older reviews, while gripes about Pro-only features show up throughout.

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.

159 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 114 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).

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 · 94% 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 6.1 years ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.

1. ★★★★★ darquelf

   4mo ago

   The Portuguese translation is misleading. In English, the checkbox says ‘Case-Insensitive’, but in Portuguese it’s translated as ‘Sensível à caixa-alta’ (Case-sensitive).If the subtext says it’s already case-sensitive by default, why the fkn checkbox? This terrible translation caused me to rework my entire site.

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

   6mo ago

   Replaces all instances of the string, with one instance of the string that it finds in the database, everywhere. Completely out of your control. This topic was modified 2 months, 1 week ago by accordionmaniac.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ Anonymous

   6mo ago

   Using it for years, doing it’s job well 🙂

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ urmirun

   8mo ago

   Used Better Search Replace while moving my site. It did the basic job fine & was easy to run. But some useful options are locked in Pro, which was a bit annoying. Still ok for quick replace tasks tho.

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ hakeemstone

   8mo ago

   Used it to update old URLs after site move. Did the job smooth, no big issue. UI is simple & easy to get. Saved a lot of time tbh. Would be 5 star if a bit faster on large DB, but still solid plugin 👍

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ Juarez Meireles

   8mo ago

   Se você não quer passar raiva, fique longe deste plugin. Instalei para somente para alterar alguns links de saída que haviam em postagens de cupons e produtos Woo. Ele realmente fez o trabalho. Troucou. Porém, bagunçou tudo no banco de dados com coisas que não tinha nada relacionado à estes links.Todos os botões de saída do site, independente do url de saída, ficaram com um mesmo url que nunca foi inserido no plugin. Trocou a descrição de todas as categorias para um mesmo texto que era o texto de uma das lojas que sou parceiro(dealstore).Se ele alterasse só o que solicitamos, era maravilhoso. Mas ele alterou foi tudo. O pior é que só percebi 10 dias depois. Agora é trabalhar vários dias para recuperar os valores reais em diversos campos.Mas tirando esse bug, o plugin é bom.

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ KeithRowley

   10mo ago

   I’ve done the job before, migrating a site to a new url. This made the job easier and presented no false steps or problems. Thank you. This topic was modified 6 months, 1 week ago by KeithRowley.

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

   11mo ago

   This is about the free version of this plug. I tried Better Search Replace to change a couple of words on the website. It left me hanging, neither completing the process nor enabling me to restore my site. It deliberately did not change the menu items and asked me to buy their paid version to complete the replacement. Hiding the facts from the free users was dishonest, and I had to restore the website. The plug developer should tell users upfront what would happen if it were used for free. However, I completed the job using their competitor’s plug in that replaced EVERYTHING. Th BSR plugin should be removed from this website because it offers incomplete job and a disservice to the free users. It should not be promoted on this site for free to attract buyers, while hunting for those who use it for free to force them buy it. They should understand that offering a free version is the price they pay for their plugin to be promoted to the broad market. This topic was modified 7 months ago by andyrogers. Reason: Add the name of the plugin

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 1.4.11 New: Requires WordPress 6.2+ New: Requires PHP 8.1+ Fix: Core tables altered to have compound primary keys are now properly handled during search and replace Fix: SQL injection vulnerability on multibyte charsets (GBK, B 1.4.11
2. — Version 1.4.10 Fix: Improved security and stability 1.4.10
3. — Version 1.4.9 Security: The plugin now uses its own update mechanism from WP Engine servers New: Dependencies have been updated 1.4.9
4. — Version 1.4.8 No changes as this was a pro-only release for Better Search Replace Pro 1.4.8
5. — Version 1.4.7 Fix: The case-insensitive setting once again allows case-insensitive strings to be matched within serialized data, fixing a regression introduced in version 1.4.6 1.4.7
6. — Version 1.4.6 Changed: Serialized text strings are now only deserialized when containing a match, resulting in faster performance Security: Table names are now escaped when displaying search results 1.4.6

All 2 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (1.4.11). Sites still on an older version should update.

1. Patched High · 8.8 Better Search Replace <= 1.4.4 - Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection ↗
   2024-01-24 CVE-2023-6933 Deserialization of Untrusted Data Affects <= 1.4.4 Patched in 1.4.5
2. Patched High · 7.2 Better Search Replace <= 1.4 - Authenticated (Administrator+) SQL Injection ↗
   2022-08-01 CVE-2022-2593 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command Affects <= 1.4 Patched in 1.4.1

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0

Translated into 84 languages, 16 at 90% or more

Plus 60 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. 2020-10-01 900K+ → 1M+ up after 214 days in tier
2. 2020-03-01 800K+ → 900K+ up after 179 days in tier
3. 2019-09-04 700K+ → 800K+ up after 156 days in tier
4. 2019-04-01 600K+ → 700K+ up after 121 days in tier
5. 2018-12-01 500K+ → 600K+ up after 137 days in tier
6. 2018-07-17 400K+ → 500K+ up after 77 days in tier
7. 2018-05-01 300K+ → 400K+ up after 165 days in tier
8. 2017-11-17 200K+ → 300K+ up after 227 days in tier

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 Better Search Replace into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Better Search Replace: 1M+ active installs, 4.3★ (546 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/better-search-replace