40
reGenerate Thumbnails Advanced
It regenerates thumbnails and user resentment in equal measure.
DecliningPoor rating
40/100
Former users feel betrayed by the sudden paywall on previously free features.
Active installs
~75,000
our estimate · wp.org shows 70k+
Rating
3.2★
59 ratings
Trend · vs a year ago
-26%
Declining fast
202 → 149 installs/day
What to watch out for
- MAJORverified rating is 3.18★
- MINORreviews unevenly distributed over time
- MINORdownloads down 26% vs a year ago
- MINORnot updated in 6 months
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
Declining fast · -26% in the last year
202/day a year ago→149/day today
Reviews
what people actually sayreGenerate Thumbnails Advanced (by ShortPixel) has a deeply damaged reputation due to a widely-criticized move that locked previously free features behind a paid subscription, with the Pro version offering no meaningful new functionality beyond what users already had for free.
What people like
- +Pro version works reliably for bulk thumbnail regeneration, even at large scale (e.g. 20,000 images)×3
- +Support is responsive and has fixed bugs quickly for Pro users×2
- +Pro version is included in some ShortPixel subscription bundles
Common complaints
- −Previously free features (e.g. deleting unused/unregistered thumbnail sizes) were moved behind a paid Pro subscription with no warning, widely described as a 'money grab' (since 2.4.1)×13
- −Pro version is not included for existing paying ShortPixel customers (image optimizer or CDN subscribers), requiring a separate $50/year purchase×4
- −Free version is considered nearly useless for most use cases beyond basic regeneration×6
- −The plugin's changelog falsely advertised 'exciting new Pro features' when the Pro tier only contained features that had previously been free×3
- −Inconsistent results when regenerating individual images
Review trustReviews look organic
- 3.18★Verified rating — holds steady vs the raw 3.20★
- 7%One-shot reviewers — most reviewers are active community members
Reviews per month · 5★ vs lower
2023-08-192025-01-102026-06-04
5★ reviews1–4★ reviews
All-time ratings · 59 total
Latest reviews · 59 analyzed
- 2026-02-04★★★★★Super plugin and supportcosiek
- 2025-11-15★★★★★Worked Perfectlyvideoopp
- 2025-10-31★★★★★PredatoryPrzemek
- 2025-08-07★★★★★Useless: this plugin can only regenerate thumbnails for free, nothing elseBeeCee
- 2025-01-29★★★★★free version is uselessRadim
- 2025-01-21★★★★★They paywalled previously free featuresRockYourBlog
- 2024-11-10★★★★★Disgraceful paywallwpdev89
- 2024-10-08★★★★★Free features now pro onlyhatisenang
- 2024-09-12★★★★★Compatibilitybigshipsalvage
- 2024-08-31★★★★★complete disastervlad4x
Releases
recent versions from WordPress.org SVNAlternatives to reGenerate Thumbnails Advanced
Top Media plugins, ranked by score.For 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.
168
Baseline · median of last 7 organic days
129
Prior 7-day baseline
113
Floor · 25th percentile over 14 days
178
Latest day · 2026-06-03(organic)
+30.2%
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.
20%
Max month share · biggest single 30-day window
1.55
Distribution CV · <0.6 even, >1.5 bursty
51%
5★ share in analyzed sample
7%
Solo reviewers · only this one wp.org activity
-67%
Volume velocity · last 6mo vs prior 6mo
3.17 → 3.18★
Sample avg · raw → solo-filtered