Advanced Custom Fields vs Native Custom Fields – Custom Content Types and Meta Fields
Two WordPress plugins head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
These aren’t all alternatives to each other — they do different jobs — so this page compares popularity only, not features.
At a glance
Advanced Custom Fields leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #28, ahead of Native Custom Fields – Custom Content Types and Meta Fields at #32,035. Over the last 7 days Advanced Custom Fields held its place and Native Custom Fields – Custom Content Types and Meta Fields slipped 2,298 places. Advanced Custom Fields has the largest install base, roughly 200000× the next: 2M+ active installs against 10+ for Native Custom Fields – Custom Content Types and Meta Fields. Downloads this week: Advanced Custom Fields 119,570 and Native Custom Fields – Custom Content Types and Meta Fields 88.
| Metric | Advanced Custom Fields | Native Custom Fields – Custom Content Types and Meta Fields |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #28 ▬ | #32,035 ▼ 2298 |
| Active installs | 2M+ | 10+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 119,570 | 88 |
| Rating | 4.5★ (1,440) | no ratings |
| Last updated | Sep 10, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Current version | 6.8.10 | 1.4.6 |
| Best rank on record | #28 | #29,532 |
| Days in the top 50 | 91 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Mar 2011 | Mar 2026 |
| Sites detected by our detector | 5 | 0 |
Highlighted cells mark the strongest figure in each row. Rank and installs are from the latest WordPress.org capture; downloads are the last seven captured days.
Ranking history Lower is better
Active installs
Downloads per day
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Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Advanced Custom Fields or Native Custom Fields – Custom Content Types and Meta Fields?
By active installs, Advanced Custom Fields: 2M+ sites run it against 10+ for Native Custom Fields – Custom Content Types and Meta Fields, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 23, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Advanced Custom Fields or Native Custom Fields – Custom Content Types and Meta Fields?
Advanced Custom Fields, at #28 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with Native Custom Fields – Custom Content Types and Meta Fields at #32,035. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are Advanced Custom Fields or Native Custom Fields – Custom Content Types and Meta Fields alternatives to each other?
Not all of them. Some of these plugins do different jobs and many sites run more than one. This page compares their popularity, not their features.
Where do these numbers come from?
WordPress.org publishes each plugin’s active install count and its position on the popular list. This site records both every day, along with per-day downloads and ratings, so the charts above show how the plugins have moved over time rather than a single day.