79
PDF.js Viewer
A solid viewer currently stumbling through some rocky version updates.
HealthyGrowing
79/100
A formerly reliable viewer recently suffered a major update that broke rendering for many users.
Active installs
~25,000
our estimate · wp.org shows 20k+
Rating
4.4★
53 ratings
Trend · vs a year ago
+235%
Growing fast
60 → 201 installs/day
Downloads over time
real new installs per day · release spikes shown separately from the trend2025-04-302025-08-082025-11-162026-02-232026-06-03
organicrelease spikerelease tailorganic trend · 14d rolling median
Growing fast · +235% in the last year
60/day a year ago→201/day today
Reviews
what people actually sayPDF.js Viewer is a long-standing, generally well-regarded PDF embedding plugin for WordPress, but its version 2.2 update introduced a significant breakage that left PDFs failing to display for multiple users.
What people like
- +Reliable long-term performance before the v2.2 update, with users reporting years of trouble-free use×3
- +Simple to set up and use×3
- +Fast PDF rendering
- +Works with page builders such as Divi via shortcode
- +Offers useful options like fullscreen and tab controls
Common complaints
- −Version 2.2 broke PDF display — files stop rendering, leaving only the plugin border/structure visible (since 2.2)×4
- −Plugin cannot be reactivated after deactivation on WordPress 6.5.5 following the v2.2 update (since 2.2)
- −Does not work in Microsoft Edge
- −"Add PDF" button does not work inside Divi modules
- −"Fullscreen Links in New Tabs" setting does not function as expected — PDFs still open in the same tab
Review trustMostly organic
- 4.40★Verified rating — holds steady vs the raw 4.40★
- 9%One-shot reviewers — most reviewers are active community members
- past spikeReview timing — up to 50% of all reviews landed in a single month
Reviews per month · 5★ vs lower
2024-05-152025-06-092026-06-04
5★ reviews1–4★ reviews
All-time ratings · 53 total
Latest reviews · 53 analyzed
- 2025-08-26★★★★★Never failedcengoguven
- 2025-03-03★★★★★Excellent PDF EMbedderKeithRowley
- 2024-07-09★★★★★Great SupportHub5050
- 2024-07-06★★★★★Not workingfulibaba
- 2024-06-30★★★★★Not workingludvakh
- 2024-06-15★★★★★version 2.2 not workinggmspb
- 2024-06-14★★★★★Plugin not working since you updatedexceldigital
- 2024-05-02★★★★★Awesomeasrarehsan
- 2023-04-21★★★★★اعجبنيموقع حل دروسي
- 2023-01-24★★★★★Great Out-of-the-Box!Known Universe
Releases
recent versions from WordPress.org SVNFor developers & the curious
the raw signals behind the grade — none of this is on the friendly summary aboveDownload signals
Baselines are computed on organic days only — release spikes and their tails are excluded, so they're not inflated by the auto-update wave.
160
Baseline · median of last 7 organic days
183
Prior 7-day baseline
124
Floor · 25th percentile over 14 days
204
Latest day · 2026-06-03(organic)
-12.6%
Week-over-week organic trend
Review signals
Concentration and drive-by metrics drive the review-burst and fake-review flags. 30–40% solo reviewers is normal; we only flag the extremes.
50%
Max month share · biggest single 30-day window
2.67
Distribution CV · <0.6 even, >1.5 bursty
70%
5★ share in analyzed sample
9%
Solo reviewers · only this one wp.org activity
—
Volume velocity · last 6mo vs prior 6mo
4.40 → 4.40★
Sample avg · raw → solo-filtered