Acquisition scout

Plugins worth approaching about a takeover, classified by deal rationale. An abandoned giant, a climbing indie and an out-resourced underdog are different purchases, so each candidate carries the archetype tags it earns and a fit score against its best one.

A high score isn't a verdict on the plugin, it's a signal that its users deserve a maintainer and its owner might welcome the conversation.

All · 319 Install-base grab · 31 Rising star · 39 Healthy and safe · 53 Underdog vs Goliath · 22 Niche monopoly · 1 Turnaround · 47 Orphaned by a company · 4 Sleeper · 139

Healthy and safe. Big, loved and maintained. Costs more, but the base is proven and stable.

Sort by 53 candidates

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin by David Anderson / Team Updraft (16 plugins) Healthy and safe

4M+ installs 4.8★ · 8,710 reviews 0y idle Backup

Why: 4M+ installs, 4.8★ across 8,710 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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Widgets for Google Reviews by Trustindex (33 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.9★ · 2,667 reviews 0y idle Media

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.9★ across 2,667 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging by wpvividplugins (4 plugins) Healthy and safe

900K+ installs 4.9★ · 1,571 reviews 0y idle Backup

Why: 900K+ installs, 4.9★ across 1,571 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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Translate WordPress with GTranslate by edo888 (4 plugins) Healthy and safe

900K+ installs 4.9★ · 4,962 reviews 0y idle Multilingual

Why: 900K+ installs, 4.9★ across 4,962 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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WPS Hide Login by Remy Perona (4 plugins) Healthy and safe

2M+ installs 4.8★ · 2,111 reviews 0.2y idle Login & Users

Why: 2M+ installs, 4.8★ across 2,111 reviews · actively maintained

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Polylang by Chouby (2 plugins) Healthy and safe

900K+ installs 4.7★ · 3,004 reviews 0y idle Multilingual

Why: 900K+ installs, 4.7★ across 3,004 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor by Roxnor (19 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.9★ · 2,052 reviews 0y idle Page Builders

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.9★ across 2,052 reviews · actively maintained

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CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) by CookieYes (2 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.8★ · 3,236 reviews 0y idle Privacy & Consent

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.8★ across 3,236 reviews · actively maintained

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WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin by Emre Vona Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.9★ · 4,229 reviews 0y idle Performance

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.9★ across 4,229 reviews · actively maintained

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XML Sitemap Generator for Google by Auctollo Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.8★ · 2,233 reviews 0.1y idle SEO

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.8★ across 2,233 reviews · actively maintained

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WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance by David Anderson / Team Updraft (16 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.8★ · 2,617 reviews 0.1y idle Performance

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.8★ across 2,617 reviews · actively maintained

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WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam by Dnesscarkey (5 plugins) Healthy and safe

400K+ installs 5.0★ · 1,474 reviews 0.2y idle Security

Why: 400K+ installs, 5.0★ across 1,474 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder by WPManageNinja (15 plugins) Healthy and safe

800K+ installs 4.8★ · 808 reviews 0y idle Forms

Why: 800K+ installs, 4.8★ across 808 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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EWWW Image Optimizer by Shane Bishop (5 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.8★ · 1,843 reviews 0y idle Performance

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.8★ across 1,843 reviews · actively maintained

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All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall by David Anderson / Team Updraft (16 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.7★ · 1,720 reviews 0y idle Security

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.7★ across 1,720 reviews · actively maintained

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MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) by chriscct7 (3 plugins) Healthy and safe

2M+ installs 4.5★ · 3,157 reviews 0.1y idle Analytics

Why: 2M+ installs, 4.5★ across 3,157 reviews · actively maintained

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Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner by Complianz (2 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.7★ · 1,667 reviews 0.1y idle Privacy & Consent

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.7★ across 1,667 reviews · actively maintained

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Duplicate Page by mndpsingh287 (9 plugins) Healthy and safe

3M+ installs 4.8★ · 467 reviews 0.5y idle Uncategorized

Why: 3M+ installs, 4.8★ across 467 reviews · actively maintained

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Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 by Arshid (7 plugins) Healthy and safe

600K+ installs 5.0★ · 1,875 reviews 0.1y idle Forms

Why: 600K+ installs, 5.0★ across 1,875 reviews · actively maintained

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File Manager by mndpsingh287 (9 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.6★ · 1,492 reviews 0y idle Uncategorized

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.6★ across 1,492 reviews · actively maintained

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Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF by Mateusz Gbiorczyk (3 plugins) Healthy and safe

500K+ installs 4.9★ · 1,107 reviews 0y idle Performance

Why: 500K+ installs, 4.9★ across 1,107 reviews · actively maintained

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FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP by WPManageNinja (15 plugins) Healthy and safe

700K+ installs 4.8★ · 412 reviews 0.1y idle Email & Marketing

Why: 700K+ installs, 4.8★ across 412 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce by WP Overnight (8 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.9★ · 1,866 reviews 0y idle eCommerce

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.9★ across 1,866 reviews · actively maintained

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Duplicate Post by Inisev (6 plugins) Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.9★ · 1,624 reviews 0.1y idle Uncategorized

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.9★ across 1,624 reviews · actively maintained

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Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads by Spacetime Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.9★ · 2,433 reviews 0y idle Uncategorized

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.9★ across 2,433 reviews · actively maintained

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TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation by Cozmoslabs (11 plugins) Healthy and safe

400K+ installs 4.7★ · 1,667 reviews 0y idle Multilingual

Why: 400K+ installs, 4.7★ across 1,667 reviews · actively maintained

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WP Go Maps – Google Map, OpenStreetMap, Leaflet Map by WPGMaps (2 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 3,055 reviews 0.1y idle eCommerce

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 3,055 reviews · actively maintained

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28 C

Classic Widgets by Tonya Mork (4 plugins) Healthy and safe

2M+ installs 4.8★ · 272 reviews 0.9y idle Blocks

Why: 2M+ installs, 4.8★ across 272 reviews · last release 0.9y ago

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Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin by Blair Williams (3 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 1,281 reviews 0y idle AI

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 1,281 reviews · actively maintained

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SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO by Benjamin Denis (3 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 1,268 reviews 0y idle SEO

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 1,268 reviews · actively maintained

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Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder by Strategy11 Team (7 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 1,388 reviews 0.1y idle Forms

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 1,388 reviews · actively maintained

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Loco Translate by Tim W Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.8★ · 453 reviews 0.1y idle Multilingual

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.8★ across 453 reviews · actively maintained

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Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor by WP Royal (5 plugins) Healthy and safe

600K+ installs 4.8★ · 612 reviews 0y idle Page Builders

Why: 600K+ installs, 4.8★ across 612 reviews · actively maintained

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Code Snippets by Code Snippets Pro Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.7★ · 510 reviews 0y idle Uncategorized

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.7★ across 510 reviews · actively maintained

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AddToAny Share Buttons by micropat (2 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.7★ · 1,114 reviews 0.5y idle Social

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.7★ across 1,114 reviews · actively maintained

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Variation Swatches for WooCommerce by Emran Ahmed (6 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 926 reviews 0y idle eCommerce

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 926 reviews · actively maintained

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SVG Support by Benbodhi (2 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.8★ · 356 reviews 0y idle Uncategorized

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.8★ across 356 reviews · actively maintained

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Regenerate Thumbnails by Alex Mills (5 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.6★ · 396 reviews 1.2y idle Uncategorized

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.6★ across 396 reviews · last release 1.2y ago

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WP Activity Log by Melapress (6 plugins) Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.6★ · 490 reviews 0y idle Booking & Events

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.6★ across 490 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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Easy Updates Manager by David Anderson / Team Updraft (16 plugins) Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 726 reviews 0.2y idle Uncategorized

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 726 reviews · actively maintained

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HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates by Leevio Healthy and safe

400K+ installs 4.8★ · 489 reviews 0y idle Page Builders

Why: 400K+ installs, 4.8★ across 489 reviews · actively maintained

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ManageWP Worker by ManageWP Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.6★ · 679 reviews 0y idle Backup

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.6★ across 679 reviews · actively maintained · recent reviews souring

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Header Footer Code Manager by DraftPress Team (12 plugins) Healthy and safe

600K+ installs 4.9★ · 309 reviews 0.3y idle Uncategorized

Why: 600K+ installs, 4.9★ across 309 reviews · actively maintained

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Custom Post Type UI by webdevstudios (12 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.6★ · 276 reviews 0.3y idle Uncategorized

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.6★ across 276 reviews · actively maintained

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Simple Custom Post Order by colorlibplugins (11 plugins) Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 588 reviews 0y idle Uncategorized

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 588 reviews · actively maintained

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Unlimited Elements for Elementor by Unlimited Elements (4 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 525 reviews 0y idle Page Builders

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 525 reviews · actively maintained

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Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes by Pär Thernström (12 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.9★ · 492 reviews 0y idle Booking & Events

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.9★ across 492 reviews · actively maintained

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Antispam Bee by pluginkollektiv (7 plugins) Healthy and safe

700K+ installs 4.8★ · 226 reviews 0.2y idle Security

Why: 700K+ installs, 4.8★ across 226 reviews · actively maintained

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ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF by ShortPixel (9 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.5★ · 830 reviews 0.1y idle Performance

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.5★ across 830 reviews · actively maintained

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Child Theme Configurator by lilaeamedia (4 plugins) Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.7★ · 280 reviews 1.4y idle Uncategorized

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.7★ across 280 reviews · last release 1.4y ago

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User Role Editor by Vladimir Garagulya (2 plugins) Healthy and safe

700K+ installs 4.5★ · 288 reviews 0y idle Security

Why: 700K+ installs, 4.5★ across 288 reviews · actively maintained · recent reviews souring

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OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. by Daan van den Bergh (3 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.6★ · 213 reviews 0y idle Performance

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.6★ across 213 reviews · actively maintained

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GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law by Moove Agency (6 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.5★ · 205 reviews 0.1y idle Privacy & Consent

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.5★ across 205 reviews · actively maintained

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Scored from the tracked catalog: active installs, install-tier momentum from our milestone history, time since the last release and WordPress-version lag, category demand, ratings, and the competitive picture from shared-tag rivals. Companies only appear under "Orphaned by a company"; flagged and closed plugins never appear.