Groups – Memberships and Access Control
by itthinx · Membership
Also makes 29 other plugins · 22.5K+ installs across the portfolio →
Turn your site into a powerful membership solution. Manage members, teams and access to content easily.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 89/100
no flags
Active installs
10K+
≈17K estimated
Momentum
-41%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “member” and “membership” for “control” and “memberships”. “member” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “control” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “membership” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #15. “memberships” sits at #10 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
89 health vs 71 average across 298 Membership plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.9%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 1.1M lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Membership plugin keeps 0.9%, across 164 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Membership plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 14 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Support resolution
Updated 37 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.8★ over 382 reviews, smoothed to 4.72★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
1 of 2 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
To rank higher: Mark more forum threads resolved — the resolved ratio feeds the ranking.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →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.
36
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
15%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.3
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
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.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| groups your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| access control your tag | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| content groups | #1 | #1 | — |
| plugin groups | #2 | #1 | up 1 |
| access your tag | #8 | #6 | up 1 |
| control access | #3 | #3 | up 1 |
| control | #9 | #4 | down 2 |
| memberships | #10 | #8 | down 1 |
| membership your tag | #15 | #8 | up 2 |
| woocommerce access control | #6 | #4 | 0 |
| file access control | #6 | #6 | 0 |
| membership management | #10 | #8 | 0 |
| member access | #8 | #6 | down 1 |
| membership site | #17 | #9 | down 1 |
| members | #24 | #15 | 0 |
| user access control | #12 | #9 | down 1 |
| club | #20 | #6 | 0 |
| membership plugin | #24 | #10 | 0 |
| manage downloads access | #16 | #14 | down 2 |
| membership plugin for site | #16 | #10 | 0 |
| member your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
143 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 116 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “member” and “membership” for “control” and “memberships”. “member” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “control” sits at #9 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “membership” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #15. “memberships” sits at #10 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “membership”. #15 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 23.2K · peaks are release surges
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
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
14
releases in the last 12 months
1mo ago
latest release · v4.8.0 · 24 Sep 2026
131
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare 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.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.8 years ago; the previous band took 7.9 years to cross, which places it about 65% of the way through.
Install history since 31 Mar 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ nemanja.radevic3mo ago
works out of the box with woo memberships and all, is great plugin and simple easy to use!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ninjaneen10mo ago
I’ve been using this plugin for a number of years on our documentation website. I create documentation for all of my clients in one single website, and then I restrict access to the pages so that each client can only see the pages they’re supposed to see. I love the simplicity. Thank you so much 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kahana12mo ago
…
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mchilson12mo ago
I needed a simple solution for member only pages and this plug-in works great!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ awesomekatherine12mo ago
Had to build a seperate login area for client to access important documents. Used Groups to set up a group of users who could access these documents. Plugin was easy to use, and functions beautifully.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ alexsanetra1.2y ago
Quite a nice plugin
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Salty1.2y ago
Sehr gut
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jrmatson1.4y ago
Just what I needed
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 3 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (4.8.0). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 6.4 Groups <= 3.10.0 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting via 'groups_group_info' Shortcode ↗2026-02-18 CVE-2026-0549 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 3.10.0 Patched in 3.11.0
- Patched Medium · 4.3 Groups <= 3.7.0 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Insecure Direct Object Reference to Arbitrary Group Join ↗2025-11-07 CVE-2025-11748 Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key Affects <= 3.7.0 Patched in 3.8.0
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 69 languages, 1 at 90% or more
Plus 45 more locales with partial translations.
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Share of voice
How often each assistant names Groups when asked about this topic, where it comes in the answer, and how that compares with its wp.org search position. Latest run 25 Oct 2026.
- Assistants
- ChatGPT, Claude
- Topics tracked
- Membership
Readme readiness
8 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Turn your site into a powerful membership solution. Manage members, teams and access to content easily."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 11 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 11 of 11 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("use it", "if you want", "great for").
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WooCommerce, bbPress, Multisite, YouTube and 1 more.
- ✓ Headings and lists 27 headings and 10 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 9,306 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-01-27 20K+ → 10K+ down after 2886 days in tier
- 2016-03-03 10K+ → 20K+ 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).
- S Simple Membership Form Shortcode 2K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags B
-
SimpleShop 1K+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags -
Groups 404 Redirect 1K+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags A -
MyASP MemberShip 100+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags -
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Groups – Memberships and Access Control into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/groups" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Groups – Memberships and Access Control — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Groups – Memberships and Access Control: 10K+ active installs, 4.8★ (382 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/groups
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.