AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild vs SmartCrop
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
AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #1,044, ahead of SmartCrop at #23,059. Over the last 7 days AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild held its place and SmartCrop slipped 192 places. AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild has the largest install base, roughly 1000× the next: 30K+ active installs against 30+ for SmartCrop. Downloads this week: AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild 1,238 and SmartCrop 15. Ratings: AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild 4.8★ from 90 and SmartCrop 5★ from 1 reviews.
| Metric | AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild | SmartCrop |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #1,044 ▬ | #23,059 ▼ 192 |
| Active installs | 30K+ | 30+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 1,238 | 15 |
| Rating | 4.8★ (90) | 5★ (1) |
| Last updated | Sep 12, 2026 | Feb 19, 2018 |
| Current version | 2.2.1 | 1.0.0 |
| Best rank on record | #1,028 | #22,255 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Oct 2009 | Feb 2018 |
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
More comparisons
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- AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild vs XO Featured Image Tools
- AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild vs Default featured image
- AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild vs Perfect Images: Regenerate Thumbnails, Image Sizes, WebP & AVIF
- SmartCrop vs Force Regenerate Thumbnails
- SmartCrop vs Image Aspect Ratio Crop Field for Advanced Custom Fields
- SmartCrop vs XO Featured Image Tools
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild or SmartCrop?
By active installs, AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild: 30K+ sites run it against 30+ for SmartCrop, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 17, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild or SmartCrop?
AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild, at #1,044 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with SmartCrop at #23,059. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild or SmartCrop 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.