BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP vs Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker
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 #1,299, ahead of Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker at #21,657. Over the last 7 days BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP held its place and Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker slipped 896 places. BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP has the largest install base, roughly 500× the next: 20K+ active installs against 40+ for Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker. Downloads this week: BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 8,724 and Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker 196.
| Metric | BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP | Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #1,299 ▬ | #21,657 ▼ 896 |
| Active installs | 20K+ | 40+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 8,724 | 196 |
| Rating | 4.8★ (85) | no ratings |
| Last updated | Oct 14, 2026 | Sep 27, 2026 |
| Current version | 3.1.5 | 2.0.15 |
| Best rank on record | #1,289 | #20,577 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Jan 2021 | Jan 2026 |
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
- BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP vs Pretty Links
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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
- Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker vs Pretty Links
- Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker vs URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener
- Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker 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 Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker?
By active installs, BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP: 20K+ sites run it against 40+ for Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 17, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP or Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker?
BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP, at #1,299 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker at #21,657. 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 Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker 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.