Multiple Roles

78 Quality Score

Active Installs

17/30

At 5,000 active installs and a popularity score of 55, this is a niche plugin with a modest user base, nowhere near the 100,000-install alternatives listed below.

Update Freshness

25/25

Maintenance scores a perfect 100, with a recent update on July 14, 2026 and tested compatibility with WordPress 7.0.1, suggesting the author is actively keeping it current.

User Rating

14/15

User ratings are strong at 94 out of 100 from 15 reviews, so the people who do use it tend to be happy with the result.

Support Health

8/15

Support health sits at 50 because there are zero support threads and zero resolutions, which is neutral rather than negative given the small install base.

WP Compatibility

15/15

Compatibility is a perfect 100, tested with WordPress 7.0.1, requiring only WordPress 3.1 and PHP 5.4, so it runs on essentially any modern or legacy setup.

Scores higher than 66% of indexed plugins

About

Allow users to have multiple roles on one site.

Active Installs 5k+

Rating ★★★★½ 4.7/5

Last Updated 2026-07-14 1:10pm GMT

Requires WordPress 3.1+

Tested Up To 7.0.6

Requires PHP 5.4+

Security History

2 known vulnerabilities, all patched

1 High 1 Medium

Most recent: July 26, 2022

View details ▸

What It Does

Multiple Roles lets a single WordPress user account hold more than one role at the same time, for example Editor and Subscriber on the same account. It adds an interface for assigning multiple roles when editing a user profile. The plugin keeps all the standard WordPress role capabilities intact across the assigned roles.

Who It's For

This is a good fit for small sites and membership setups where one person genuinely needs the permissions of two roles, such as a content writer who also moderates comments, or a shop manager who is also a regular author. It also suits developers building simple internal sites where layered role logic is needed without installing a full access-control suite.

Who Should Skip It

If you only need to tweak what a role can do, or you manage a single-role site, you do not need this plugin. Sites needing deep capability editing, content restrictions, or menu control should use a broader access management plugin instead.

The Bottom Line

Multiple Roles is a focused, well-maintained plugin that does one thing and does it well, earning an overall quality score of 78.17. It is a sensible pick for small sites that genuinely need multi-role users, but larger projects will outgrow it and should move to PublishPress Capabilities or Advanced Access Manager. The 5,000 installs and 94/100 rating suggest a loyal but narrow audience.

Pick this when you also need to edit capabilities, restrict content, or control admin menus, not just assign multiple roles.

Advanced Access Manager – Access Governance for WordPress 82/100

Choose this for enterprise-style access governance with content, menu, and URL restrictions layered on top of role management.

Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles 78/100

Pick this if your only real need is hiding the admin bar for specific roles, which is a much lighter solution.

Different Menu in Different Pages – Conditional Menu 68/100

Choose this when you need different navigation menus shown to different user roles on a per-page basis.

Menu By User Roles 61/100

Pick this if your main goal is restricting nav menu visibility by role rather than letting a user hold two roles at once.

Use Cases

membership sites online learning platforms WooCommerce stores subscription services community forums corporate intranets nonprofit organizations event management sites multi-vendor marketplaces classified ads websites