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Avatar Manager

By CÄtÄlin Dogaru

User Management & Authentication / User Profiles & Avatars

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Avatar Manager Review - In-Depth Analysis

Avatar Manager for WordPress allows users to store avatars locally and choose between Gravatar or self-hosted images. It enhances user profiles with improved workflow and custom permissions.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.86/10

User Rating

4.9/5 (based on 39+ reviews)

Active Installations

5,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

Avatar Manager for WordPress is a sweet and simple plugin for storing avatars locally and more. Easily.

Enhance your WordPress website by letting your users choose between using Gravatar or a self-hosted avatar image right from their profile screen. Improved workflow, on-demand image generation and custom user permissions under a native interface. Say hello to the Avatar Manager plugin.

Avatar Manager is a user-driven project, and all developments and enhancements depend on users like you! Become a contributor or make a donation, and get your name featured in front of a growing audience.

Thank you for choosing to contribute to Avatar Manager!

Comparing to Alternatives

Avatar Manager is a well-regarded plugin with several alternatives available that offer similar avatar management features.

Top alternatives

Strengths

High user rating with 92.3% five-star reviews
No known security vulnerabilities
Supports avatar management without relying solely on Gravatar
Lightweight and does not cause large image downloads
Simple and effective for author avatar display

Weaknesses

Some features missing or not working as expected, such as options on the Discussion settings page
Recent updates may cause compatibility issues with other plugins like User Submitted Posts Pro
Uncertainty about ongoing support and updates
Limited advanced features compared to some alternatives

User Sentiment Analysis

User reviews are overwhelmingly positive with a 4.9 average rating and no low-star reviews, indicating strong satisfaction overall.

Positive highlights

Great! Thanks for this plugin. Very helpful! - wndrlstuser
Excellent plugin. I use it on all of my sites that have posts that show the author. It is magic! - newsblaze
Very useful plugin, thank you! - fiftin
Works well in WP 6.4.2, supports Gravatar by default - Dennis Bareis

Common complaints

Weaknesses

Lack of options on the Settings > Discussion page as noted by some users
Recent update caused issues with User Submitted Posts Pro plugin preventing logged-in users from submitting posts
Uncertainty about active maintenance and support

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users looking for a simple, reliable avatar management plugin that integrates well with author posts and avoids Gravatar dependency.

Not ideal for

Users needing advanced avatar customization features or those requiring guaranteed compatibility with all other plugins, especially if relying on User Submitted Posts Pro.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers core avatar management features sufficient for most users, including avatar uploads and display without Gravatar dependency.

Final Verdict

Avatar Manager stands out with its high user satisfaction and solid security record, making it a dependable choice for managing user avatars in WordPress. Its simplicity and effectiveness are praised, though some users report minor feature gaps and occasional compatibility issues.

While it lacks a pro version and some advanced features, its free offering provides excellent value. Users seeking a straightforward avatar solution without complex needs will find it suitable, but those requiring extensive customization or assured plugin compatibility may want to consider alternatives.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Avatar Manager plugin.

Avatars

Gravatar

Profile

Screenshots

FAQ

Yes, you can choose between your Gravatar and your custom avatar under the Users Your Profile Screen.

Yes, you can easily add your own by adding a filter to the avatar_defaults hook. After uploading the new image to your theme files, add this to your theme’s function.php file:

<?php function custom_avatar_defaults ( $avatar_defaults ) {     $avatar_url = get_bloginfo( 'template_directory' ) . '/images/avatar-default.png';     $avatar_defaults[$avatar_url] = __( 'Custom Default Avatar', 'mytextdomain' );      return $avatar_defaults; }  add_filter( 'avatar_defaults', 'custom_avatar_defaults' ); ?>

Now, go to Settings Discussion Screen and select your new avatar from the list.