Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First vs Meks Smart Author Widget
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
Meks Smart Author Widget leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #1,687, ahead of Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First at #25,927. Over the last 7 days Meks Smart Author Widget slipped 2 places and Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First slipped 377 places. Meks Smart Author Widget has the largest install base, roughly 500× the next: 10K+ active installs against 20+ for Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First. Downloads this week: Meks Smart Author Widget 349 and Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First 154. Ratings: Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First 5★ from 1 and Meks Smart Author Widget 4.5★ from 8 reviews.
| Metric | Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First | Meks Smart Author Widget |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #25,927 ▼ 377 | #1,687 ▼ 2 |
| Active installs | 20+ | 10K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 154 | 349 |
| Rating | 5★ (1) | 4.5★ (8) |
| Last updated | Oct 24, 2026 | Jul 23, 2024 |
| Current version | 1.7.5 | 1.1.5 |
| Best rank on record | #19,464 | #1,659 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Jul 2025 | Jan 2014 |
| Sites detected by our detector | 0 | 1 |
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
- Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First vs Username Changer
- Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First vs Controlled Admin Access
- Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First vs Login as User: See the Site as Any User
- Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First vs Manage Notification E-mails
- Meks Smart Author Widget vs WP User Avatars
- Meks Smart Author Widget vs Basic User Avatars
- Meks Smart Author Widget vs Gravatar Enhanced
- Meks Smart Author Widget vs One User Avatar
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First or Meks Smart Author Widget?
By active installs, Meks Smart Author Widget: 10K+ sites run it against 20+ for Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 26, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First or Meks Smart Author Widget?
Meks Smart Author Widget, at #1,687 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First at #25,927. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are Init User Engine – Gamified, Fast, Frontend-First or Meks Smart Author Widget 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.