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 · 329 Install-base grab · 33 Rising star · 35 Healthy and safe · 57 Underdog vs Goliath · 27 Niche monopoly · 1 Turnaround · 35 Orphaned by a company · 5 Sleeper · 155

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

Sort by 57 candidates

WPS Hide Login by Remy Perona (3 plugins) Healthy and safe

2M+ installs 4.8★ · 2,111 reviews 0.1y idle Login & Users

Why: 2M+ installs, 4.8★ across 2,111 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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

3M+ installs 4.8★ · 8,635 reviews 0y idle Backup

Why: 3M+ installs, 4.8★ across 8,635 reviews · actively maintained

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Widgets for Google Reviews by Trustindex (27 plugins) Healthy and safe

900K+ installs 4.9★ · 2,631 reviews 0y idle Admin & Utilities

Why: 900K+ installs, 4.9★ across 2,631 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★ · 1,538 reviews 0y idle Backup

Why: 900K+ installs, 4.9★ across 1,538 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★ · 4,950 reviews 0y idle Multilingual

Why: 900K+ installs, 4.9★ across 4,950 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor by Roxnor (16 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.9★ · 2,036 reviews 0y idle Page Builders

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.9★ across 2,036 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★ · 3,229 reviews 0y idle Privacy & Consent

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.8★ across 3,229 reviews · actively maintained

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

1M+ installs 4.9★ · 4,224 reviews 0y idle Performance

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.9★ across 4,224 reviews · actively maintained

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XML Sitemap Generator for Google by Auctollo Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.8★ · 2,233 reviews 0.3y 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★ · 2,607 reviews 0.1y idle Performance

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.8★ across 2,607 reviews · actively maintained

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

400K+ installs 5.0★ · 1,435 reviews 0.2y idle Security

Why: 400K+ installs, 5.0★ across 1,435 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★ · 1,838 reviews 0y idle Performance

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.8★ across 1,838 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★ · 1,715 reviews 0.1y idle Security

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.7★ across 1,715 reviews · actively maintained

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Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder by WPManageNinja (16 plugins) Healthy and safe

700K+ installs 4.8★ · 791 reviews 0y idle Forms

Why: 700K+ installs, 4.8★ across 791 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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

1M+ installs 4.7★ · 1,655 reviews 0y idle Privacy & Consent

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.7★ across 1,655 reviews · actively maintained

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Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder by Daniel Iser (7 plugins) Healthy and safe

700K+ installs 4.9★ · 4,504 reviews 0.1y idle Email & Marketing

Why: 700K+ installs, 4.9★ across 4,504 reviews · actively maintained

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Duplicate Page by mndpsingh287 (7 plugins) Healthy and safe

3M+ installs 4.8★ · 465 reviews 0.3y idle Uncategorized

Why: 3M+ installs, 4.8★ across 465 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 0y idle Forms

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

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Polylang by Chouby (2 plugins) Healthy and safe

800K+ installs 4.7★ · 2,983 reviews 0y idle Multilingual

Why: 800K+ installs, 4.7★ across 2,983 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★ · 1,098 reviews 0y idle Performance

Why: 500K+ installs, 4.9★ across 1,098 reviews · actively maintained

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

2M+ installs 4.5★ · 3,149 reviews 0y idle Analytics

Why: 2M+ installs, 4.5★ across 3,149 reviews · actively maintained · recent reviews souring

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PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce by WP Overnight (7 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.9★ · 1,862 reviews 0y idle eCommerce

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.9★ across 1,862 reviews · actively maintained

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Duplicate Post by Inisev (6 plugins) Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.9★ · 1,613 reviews 0y idle Uncategorized

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.9★ across 1,613 reviews · actively maintained

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

300K+ installs 4.9★ · 2,428 reviews 0.1y idle Uncategorized

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.9★ across 2,428 reviews · actively maintained

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FluentSMTP – WP SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP by WPManageNinja (16 plugins) Healthy and safe

600K+ installs 4.8★ · 400 reviews 0.1y idle Email & Marketing

Why: 600K+ installs, 4.8★ across 400 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor by Roxnor (16 plugins) Healthy and safe

600K+ installs 4.7★ · 504 reviews 0y idle Forms

Why: 600K+ installs, 4.7★ across 504 reviews · actively maintained · still climbing install tiers

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TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation by Cozmoslabs (10 plugins) Healthy and safe

400K+ installs 4.7★ · 1,653 reviews 0y idle Multilingual

Why: 400K+ installs, 4.7★ across 1,653 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★ · 3,036 reviews 0y idle eCommerce

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 3,036 reviews · actively maintained

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29 C

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

2M+ installs 4.8★ · 272 reviews 0.7y idle Blocks

Why: 2M+ installs, 4.8★ across 272 reviews · last release 0.7y ago

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Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin by Blair Williams (4 plugins) Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 1,275 reviews 0y idle Uncategorized

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 1,275 reviews · actively maintained

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SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO by Benjamin Denis (2 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 1,247 reviews 0y idle SEO

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 1,247 reviews · actively maintained

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Formidable Forms – WordPress Form Builder for Contact Forms, Calculators, Quizzes & More by Strategy11 Team (6 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 1,381 reviews 0y idle Forms

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 1,381 reviews · actively maintained

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Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty by Premio (9 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 5.0★ · 1,240 reviews 0y idle Chat & Support

Why: 300K+ installs, 5.0★ across 1,240 reviews · actively maintained

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ManageWP Worker by ManageWP Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.6★ · 678 reviews 0y idle Backup

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.6★ across 678 reviews · actively maintained

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Loco Translate by Tim W Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.8★ · 452 reviews 0.1y idle Multilingual

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.8★ across 452 reviews · actively maintained

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File Manager by mndpsingh287 (7 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.6★ · 1,488 reviews 0.4y idle Uncategorized

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.6★ across 1,488 reviews · actively maintained · recent reviews souring

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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★ · 611 reviews 0y idle Page Builders

Why: 600K+ installs, 4.8★ across 611 reviews · actively maintained

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Code Snippets by Code Snippets Pro Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.7★ · 509 reviews 0y idle Uncategorized

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.7★ across 509 reviews · actively maintained

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

300K+ installs 4.7★ · 1,113 reviews 0.3y idle Social

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.7★ across 1,113 reviews · actively maintained

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

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 919 reviews 0y idle eCommerce

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 919 reviews · actively maintained

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SVG Support by Benbodhi (2 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.8★ · 356 reviews 0.1y 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★ · 395 reviews 1y idle Uncategorized

Why: 1M+ installs, 4.6★ across 395 reviews · last release 1.0y ago

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

300K+ installs 4.6★ · 488 reviews 0y idle Booking & Events

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.6★ across 488 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★ · 725 reviews 0y idle Uncategorized

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 725 reviews · actively maintained

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Happy Addons for Elementor by Leevio Healthy and safe

400K+ installs 4.8★ · 487 reviews 0y idle Page Builders

Why: 400K+ installs, 4.8★ across 487 reviews · actively maintained

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Header Footer Code Manager by DraftPress Team (10 plugins) Healthy and safe

600K+ installs 4.9★ · 309 reviews 0.1y idle Uncategorized

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

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Custom Post Type UI by webdevstudios (9 plugins) Healthy and safe

1M+ installs 4.6★ · 276 reviews 0.1y idle Uncategorized

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

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

300K+ installs 4.8★ · 521 reviews 0y idle Page Builders

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.8★ across 521 reviews · actively maintained

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Simple Custom Post Order by colorlibplugins (9 plugins) Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.7★ · 572 reviews 0y idle Uncategorized

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.7★ across 572 reviews · actively maintained

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Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes by Pär Thernström (10 plugins) Sleeper Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.9★ · 488 reviews 0y idle Booking & Events

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.9★ across 488 reviews · actively maintained

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Antispam Bee by pluginkollektiv (7 plugins) Healthy and safe

700K+ installs 4.8★ · 226 reviews 0y 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★ · 819 reviews 0y idle Performance

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.5★ across 819 reviews · actively maintained

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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

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

300K+ installs 4.7★ · 279 reviews 1.2y idle Uncategorized

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.7★ across 279 reviews · last release 1.2y ago

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WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes by Devin Walker (2 plugins) Healthy and safe

300K+ installs 4.9★ · 215 reviews 0.3y idle Uncategorized

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.9★ across 215 reviews · actively maintained

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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★ · 212 reviews 0.1y idle Performance

Why: 300K+ installs, 4.6★ across 212 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.