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PluginCanary

Better Search Replace

by WP Engine · 1,000,000+ active installs · Checked 3 Nov 2026
Healthy

Healthy: Better Search Replace is maintained, has no open risk signals and no unpatched vulnerabilities.

91/ 100 Canary Score
Sub-scores for Better Search Replace
Ownership100
Maintenance100
Security100
Support70
Reputation70

How the score works

Active signals

Facts we detected, with links to the source.

No open risk signals. Signals appear here when we detect an ownership change, closure, vulnerability or decline.

Ownership timeline

Who commits to the plugin's code on wordpress.org, over time.

Committers and their active periods
deliciousbrains3 May 2016 to 25 Aug 2026, 58 commits

1 committer recorded. No ownership changes recorded since 3 Nov 2026.

Maintenance

Last release
2 months ago
Releases, 24 months
2
Tested up to
7.1 current
Requires PHP
8.1 supported 8.2+
Releases per quarter for Better Search Replace
Q1 20241
Q2 20242
Q3 20240
Q4 20240
Q1 20251
Q2 20250
Q3 20250
Q4 20250
Q1 20260
Q2 20261
Q3 20260
Q4 20260

Last release 25 Aug 2026. Tested with WordPress 7.1 (current).

Support

0% of 3 support threads resolved in the last 2 months.

Security record

PublishedIssueCVSSAffectedFixed inDays to patch
24 Jan 2024Better Search Replace <= 1.4.4 - Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection8.8<= 1.4.41.4.50
1 Aug 2022Better Search Replace <= 1.4 - Authenticated (Administrator+) SQL Injection7.2<= 1.41.4.10

Source: Wordfence Intelligence.

Reputation

Average rating per quarter for Better Search Replace
Q3 20244.0
Q4 20245.0
Q1 20254.0
Q2 20255.0
Q3 20255.0
Q4 20251.0
Q1 20263.3
Q2 20263.0
Q3 20261.0
Q4 20265.0

Average rating rose from 4.0 to 5.0 between Q3 2024 and Q4 2026.

Rating distribution
5 star432
4 star15
3 star11
2 star17
1 star71
Latest low reviews

Momentum

1,000,000+ active installs. History builds with each weekly snapshot.

Weekly downloads, last 27 weeks
Weekly downloads for Better Search Replace
4 May 202611,765
11 May 202624,369
18 May 202626,012
25 May 202622,555
1 Jun 202623,339
8 Jun 202623,161
15 Jun 202622,954
22 Jun 202622,236
29 Jun 2026380,017
6 Jul 2026166,706
13 Jul 202674,746
20 Jul 202671,385
27 Jul 202660,288
3 Aug 202651,433
10 Aug 202642,917
17 Aug 202642,887
24 Aug 202645,666
31 Aug 202641,489
7 Sep 202636,333
14 Sep 202637,378
21 Sep 202638,405
28 Sep 202636,268
5 Oct 202636,756
12 Oct 202635,781
19 Oct 202657,444
26 Oct 202645,524
2 Nov 20266,610

Weekly downloads over the last 4 weeks are 34% below the 27-week average.

Healthier alternatives

Same category, higher Canary Score. Never sponsored.

No healthier plugin in the same category yet.

Facts

Version1.4.11
AuthorWP Engine
Added6 Jan 2015
Last updated25 Aug 2026
Active installs1,000,000+
Requires WordPress6.2
Tested up to7.1.4
Requires PHP8.1
CategorySite Administration & Utilities > URL Redirects & 301 Management
Tagssearch replace, update live url, search and replace, update database urls, search replace database

Other plugins by this author: Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®), WP Migrate Lite - Migration Made Easy, PHP Compatibility Checker, Database Backup for WordPress, WP Offload Media Lite for Amazon S3, DigitalOcean Spaces, and Google Cloud Storage, WP Offload SES Lite, Amazon Web Services, SQL Buddy - Database Management Made Easy, Faust.js, Gutenberg Blocks - ACF Blocks Suite, WP Engine GeoTarget, Image Processing Queue

Questions

Is Better Search Replace still maintained?

Better Search Replace was last updated on 25 Aug 2026. Its Canary status is Healthy.

Is Better Search Replace safe?

Better Search Replace has no open unpatched vulnerabilities on record. 0 vulnerabilities were published in the last 24 months. Its Canary status is Healthy.

Who owns Better Search Replace?

The wordpress.org author is WP Engine. Recent committers: deliciousbrains, mattshaw, ExpandedFronts, plugin-master. We have recorded no ownership change.

What can I use instead of Better Search Replace?

We have no healthier plugin in the same category on record yet.

Data: wordpress.org Plugins API, plugins SVN and Trac, wordpress.org reviews, Wordfence Intelligence.Plugin data refreshed 3 Nov 2026.Report a data issue