BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP vs LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking
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
BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #1,301, ahead of LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking at #9,389. Over the last 7 days BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP held its place and LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking slipped 10 places. BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP has the largest install base, roughly 50× the next: 20K+ active installs against 400+ for LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking. Downloads this week: BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 2,734 and LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking 447. Ratings: BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 4.8★ from 85 and LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking 5★ from 19 reviews.
| Metric | BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP | LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #1,301 ▬ | #9,389 ▼ 10 |
| Active installs | 20K+ | 400+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 2,734 | 447 |
| Rating | 4.8★ (85) | 5★ (19) |
| Last updated | Oct 14, 2026 | Oct 22, 2026 |
| Current version | 3.1.5 | 1.8.3 |
| Best rank on record | #1,289 | #9,146 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Jan 2021 | Oct 2024 |
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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- BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP vs Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison
- BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP vs 301 Redirects & 404 Error Log
- BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP vs Redirection
- LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking vs URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener
- LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking vs Pretty Links
- LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking vs Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP or LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking?
By active installs, BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP: 20K+ sites run it against 400+ for LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 29, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP or LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking?
BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP, at #1,301 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking at #9,389. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP or LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking 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.