PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection
by Canyon Webworks · eCommerce
Watermark and password protect PDFs with WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, and Download Monitor Shop. No Ghostscript required, PHP 8+ compatible.
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 88/100
no flags
Active installs
2K+
≈2.9K estimated
Momentum
+29%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “digital downloads” for “php 8”. “digital downloads” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “php 8” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
88 health vs 71 average across 9,744 eCommerce plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.0%
of downloads still active
At least 2K of 98.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median eCommerce plugin keeps 1.4%, across 5,139 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other eCommerce 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 15 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
Well tuned across the board
Updated 19 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.6★ over 51 reviews, smoothed to 4.35★
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
3 of 3 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
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.
47
Momentum
Holding steady
+1.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
37%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.5
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf password your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| pdf watermark your tag | #1 | #1 | up 1 |
| ghostscript | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| pdf protection | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| watermark | #3 | #3 | up 2 |
| woocommerce pdf your tag | #4 | #6 | up 6 |
| #5 | #4 | up 6 | |
| password protect a pdf | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| password protection | #6 | #7 | up 3 |
| document protection your tag | #6 | #6 | 0 |
| php 8 | #6 | #7 | up 2 |
| protect pdf | #3 | #3 | 0 |
| pdfs | #8 | #8 | 0 |
| pdf tool | #4 | #3 | 0 |
| woocommerce watermark | #4 | #4 | 0 |
| password protect | #10 | #10 | up 6 |
| download monitor | #10 | #13 | down 1 |
| copy protect pdf | #4 | #4 | 0 |
| ebook | #8 | #8 | up 2 |
| post to pdf | #5 | #5 | 0 |
| digital downloads your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
114 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 70 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 “digital downloads” for “php 8”. “digital downloads” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “php 8” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 5.7K · 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
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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.
15
releases in the last 12 months
19d ago
latest release · v4.1.6 · 12 Oct 2026
15
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 “2K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.1 years ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 17 Oct 2019
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 4.0.13 Tiny improvements for PHP 8.0+ compatibility Testing with WP 7.0 & WC 10.8 4.0.13
- — Version 4.0.12 Improvement to how file path constant ‘PDFINK_LITE_UPLOADS_PATH’ is set Testing with WC 10.6 4.0.12
- — Version 4.0.11 Update TCPDF to version 6.11.2 – will help with (but not guarantee) PHP 8.5 compatibility Update namespace vendor in TCPDI/TCPDF libraries to CanyonWebworks 4.0.11
- — Version 4.0.10 Remove cache-busting (it’s redundant) Update contributors, lang files, testing with WC 10.5 4.0.10
- — Version 4.0.9 Bust WP PDF Ink settings cache when watermarking settings changed Replace \r\n and \r with \n in EDD textareas while saving Remove EDD settings on plugin uninstall using edd_delete_option() Older changes are found in the 4.0.9
- — Version 4.0.8 Update TCPDF to version 6.10.1 Testing with WP 6.9 and WC 10.4 Testing with PHP 8.5 Deprecation notices for several filter hooks 4.0.8
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 40 languages, 0 at 90% or more
Plus 16 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.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
6 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Watermark and password protect PDFs with WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, and Download Monitor Shop. No..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 8 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 7 of 8 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 2 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 2,819 characters of description.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 5 tags appear in the text ("document protection", "pdf password", "pdf watermark", "Woocommerce PDF" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-10-05 1K+ → 2K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-10-04 2K+ → 1K+ down after 6 days in tier
- 2024-09-28 1K+ → 2K+ up after 1562 days in tier
- 2020-06-19 800+ → 1K+ up after 160 days in tier
- 2020-01-11 700+ → 800+ up after 160 days in tier
- 2019-08-04 600+ → 700+ up after 374 days in tier
- 2018-07-26 400+ → 600+ up after 579 days in tier
- 2016-12-24 300+ → 400+ up after 273 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).
-
Easy Media Download 8K+ installs · 4.0★ · 1 shared tag A -
DK PDF – WordPress PDF Generator 3K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A -
Premium Packages – Sell Digital Products Securely 2K+ installs · 3.9★ · 1 shared tag B -
codoc 2K+ installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag -
PDF Catalog for WooCommerce 1K+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag A -
Easy Digital Downloads Free Link 1K+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/waterwoo-pdf" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection: 2K+ active installs, 4.6★ (51 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/waterwoo-pdf
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