Companion Auto Update

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

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 · 97% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.

No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price.

1. ★★★★★ dashmore

   1.3y ago

   Delaying the updates has really improved the reliability of our site.

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ sankari

   2.2y ago

   Nice options and reliable support.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ Hermann Matthias

   2.7y ago

   good idea, and good running, I love this plugin

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ bhtvdmeer

   3.2y ago

   Great plugin. You need to check your site from time to time because automatic updating can go wrong if a host is not very stable. But that is not the fault of this plugin.

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

   3.5y ago

   Just wanted to thank the plugin author, Papin, for all his time and great work o this free plugin. I hope he goes on maintaining it. It was not updated since wp6.0.3 but it works PERFECTLY well, so I assume no need for Papin to unnecessarily waste his time. WP now has auto updates, but sans all the features and fine-tuning this plugin enables.

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ Jon York

   4.2y ago

   I’ve used this plugin for several years on many, many websites and it has worked absolutely flawlessly. Never a day of trouble from it. And it has saved me unbelievable amounts of trouble. So I really hate that it has come to this – but while it’s still working on my WP 6.0 sites, it has not been updated and tested for use with 6.0. I haven’t had any trouble with it except I’m getting bombarded with notices each day from all my websites saying I have an “outdated” plugin. It turned out it was this one. This one hasn’t been updated in the last 3 months and 6.0 has been out for a month now. That’s scaring me that it’s no longer being supported so I’m going to be trying something else for now.

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ Dave Loodts

   4.2y ago

   We use this amazing plugin on all our staging sites. Handy to have a log of which plugins have updates in the last week.

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ lucaslima28

   4.2y ago

   Recomendo muito para deixar seu wordpress devidamente atualizado

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 3.9.4 📅 Release date: March 21, 2026 🐞 Fixed: Fatal error on plugin activation 3.9.4
2. — Version 3.9.3 Improved security Declared support for WP6.8 3.9.3
3. — Version 3.9.2 Fixed some more undefined variables Declared support for WP6.5 3.9.2
4. — Version 3.9.1 Fixed: Undefined variable $totalNum 3.9.1
5. — Version 3.9.0 Fixed: Fatal error during Cron Fixed: PHP deprecated error for PHP 8 and up 3.9.0
6. — Version 3.8.9 Fixed error: Call to undefined function is_plugin_active() 3.8.9

4 disclosed vulnerabilities on record for this plugin, all fixed in the current version. Sites on older versions stay exposed until they update.

1. Medium · 5.5 Companion Auto Update <= 3.9.2 - Authenticated (Administrator+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via update_delay_days parameter ↗
   2025-07-14 CVE-2025-4369 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') Affects <= 3.9.2 Patched in 3.9.3
2. High · 7.2 Companion Auto Update <= 3.3.5 - Authenticated (Admin+) SQL Injection ↗
   2019-01-14 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') Affects < 3.3.6 Patched in 3.3.6
3. High · 8.8 Companion Auto Update <= 3.2.0 - Cross-Site Request Forgery ↗
   2018-10-02 CVE-2018-20972 Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Affects < 3.2.1 Patched in 3.2.1
4. Critical · 9.8 Companion Auto Update <= 3.2.0 - Local File Inclusion ↗
   2018-10-01 CVE-2018-20973 Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') Affects < 3.2.1 Patched in 3.2.1

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

Translated into 24 languages, 10 at 90% or more

Growth timeline

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

1. 2026-07-10 50K+ → 40K+ down after 482 days in tier
2. 2025-03-15 60K+ → 50K+ down after 27 days in tier
3. 2025-02-16 50K+ → 60K+ up after 5 days in tier
4. 2025-02-11 60K+ → 50K+ down after 395 days in tier
5. 2024-01-13 70K+ → 60K+ down after 433 days in tier
6. 2022-11-06 80K+ → 70K+ down after 4 days in tier
7. 2022-11-02 70K+ → 80K+ up after 2 days in tier
8. 2022-10-31 80K+ → 70K+ 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).

• S Simple Automatic Updates 2K+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D
• MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A
• Modular DS: Monitor, update, and backup multiple websites 40K+ installs · 4.9★ · 2 shared tags A
• MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ installs · 4.9★ · 2 shared tags A
• Version Control for jQuery 6K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags C
• Auto Update Post Date 2K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B

Embed this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for Companion Auto Update into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Companion Auto Update: 40K+ active installs, 4.8★ (105 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-25. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/companion-auto-update