Force Regenerate Thumbnails 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
Force Regenerate Thumbnails leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #229, ahead of SmartCrop at #23,059. Over the last 7 days Force Regenerate Thumbnails slipped 1 place and SmartCrop slipped 192 places. Force Regenerate Thumbnails has the largest install base, roughly 6667× the next: 200K+ active installs against 30+ for SmartCrop. Downloads this week: Force Regenerate Thumbnails 3,931 and SmartCrop 15. Ratings: Force Regenerate Thumbnails 4.7★ from 186 and SmartCrop 5★ from 1 reviews.
| Metric | Force Regenerate Thumbnails | SmartCrop |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #229 ▼ 1 | #23,059 ▼ 192 |
| Active installs | 200K+ | 30+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 3,931 | 15 |
| Rating | 4.7★ (186) | 5★ (1) |
| Last updated | Feb 17, 2026 | Feb 19, 2018 |
| Current version | 2.3.0 | 1.0.0 |
| Best rank on record | #226 | #22,255 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Aug 2012 | 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
- Force Regenerate Thumbnails vs Regenerate Thumbnails
- Force Regenerate Thumbnails vs XO Featured Image Tools
- Force Regenerate Thumbnails vs Multiple Post Thumbnails
- Force Regenerate Thumbnails vs Regenerate Thumbnails Advanced
- Force Regenerate Thumbnails vs AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild
- SmartCrop vs Image Aspect Ratio Crop Field for Advanced Custom Fields
- SmartCrop vs XO Featured Image Tools
- SmartCrop vs Multiple Post Thumbnails
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Force Regenerate Thumbnails or SmartCrop?
By active installs, Force Regenerate Thumbnails: 200K+ sites run it against 30+ for SmartCrop, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 17, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Force Regenerate Thumbnails or SmartCrop?
Force Regenerate Thumbnails, at #229 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 Force Regenerate Thumbnails 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.