Crop Thumbnails vs Image Placeholders
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
Image Placeholders leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #659, ahead of Crop Thumbnails at #810. Over the last 7 days Image Placeholders slipped 3 places and Crop Thumbnails held its place. Image Placeholders has the largest install base, roughly 1.5× the next: 60K+ active installs against 40K+ for Crop Thumbnails. Downloads this week: Image Placeholders 2,899 and Crop Thumbnails 1,454. Ratings: Crop Thumbnails 4.6★ from 67 and Image Placeholders 3.5★ from 2 reviews.
| Metric | Crop Thumbnails | Image Placeholders |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #810 ▬ | #659 ▼ 3 |
| Active installs | 40K+ | 60K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 1,454 | 2,899 |
| Rating | 4.6★ (67) | 3.5★ (2) |
| Last updated | Dec 3, 2025 | Aug 26, 2026 |
| Current version | 1.9.7 | 1.3.0 |
| Best rank on record | #807 | #643 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Nov 2012 | Oct 2023 |
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, Crop Thumbnails or Image Placeholders?
By active installs, Image Placeholders: 60K+ sites run it against 40K+ for Crop Thumbnails, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 17, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Crop Thumbnails or Image Placeholders?
Image Placeholders, at #659 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with Crop Thumbnails at #810. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are Crop Thumbnails or Image Placeholders 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.