Companion Auto Update

82 Quality Score

Active Installs

21/30

With 50,000 active installs, it sits well below category heavyweights but still shows meaningful adoption among update-conscious site owners.

Update Freshness

25/25

A perfect score here, last updated within days of this assessment and tested against WordPress 6.9.4, signals an actively maintained codebase.

User Rating

14/15

96 out of 100 across 105 ratings is exceptional and points to a strongly positive user experience.

Support Health

8/15

Only 2 support threads exist and none are marked resolved, which is a real concern if you run into trouble and need help.

WP Compatibility

15/15

Testing against WordPress 6.9.4 and supporting PHP 7.4+ covers the vast majority of current hosting environments with no friction.

Scores higher than 88% of indexed plugins

About

Manage all updates on your WordPress site. Stay in the know with several optional e-mail notifications and logs. For free.

Active Installs 40k+

Rating ★★★★½ 4.8/5

Last Updated 2026-03-21 12:42pm GMT

Requires WordPress 5.3.0+

Tested Up To 6.9.7

Requires PHP 7.4+

Security History

4 known vulnerabilities, all patched

1 Critical 2 High 1 Medium

Most recent: July 14, 2025

View details ▸

What It Does

Companion Auto Update centralizes control over WordPress core, theme, and plugin updates, letting site owners decide what auto-updates, what waits, and what gets skipped. It adds email notifications and a complete update log, giving administrators a clear audit trail of every change applied to the site.

Who It's For

This plugin fits small business owners, agencies managing multiple client sites, and anyone in a regulated environment who needs documented control over the update process rather than WordPress's default automatic behaviour. It is also a solid fit for ecommerce stores where an unexpected broken update could cost revenue.

Who Should Skip It

If you are comfortable with WordPress's built-in auto-update settings and never need an audit trail, this plugin is unnecessary overhead. Developers who prefer managing updates through Composer, Git workflows, or a dedicated staging pipeline will also find it redundant.

The Bottom Line

Companion Auto Update is a well-maintained, highly rated plugin that delivers exactly what its name promises with thoughtful logging and notification features. The only meaningful red flag is its track record of unresolved support threads, so lean on its documentation and test on staging before relying on it. Recommended for cautious site owners, agencies, and anyone needing documented update control.

Pick this when your priority is HTTPS enforcement and broad site hardening rather than granular update control.

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 97/100

Choose Wordfence if you need active firewall, malware scanning, and login protection well beyond what an update manager can offer.

Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth 94/100

Opt for Jetpack when you want security, backups, performance, and update management bundled into one subscription-based plugin.

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 91/100

AIOS makes more sense if you need a free security plugin that includes update management as part of a wider hardening suite.

Safe SVG 89/100

Safe SVG solves a completely different problem (SVG sanitization) and is only a relevant alternative if SVG handling is your actual gap.