Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes
View on WordPress.orgScores higher than 97% of indexed plugins
About
Track changes and user activities on your WordPress site. See who created a page, uploaded an attachment, and more, for a complete audit trail.
Security History
What It Does
Simple History logs user actions across your WordPress site, capturing events like post edits, login attempts, plugin activations, and media uploads into a filterable feed you can view in the dashboard or export. The plugin records who did what, when, and from where, giving site administrators a working audit trail without requiring external services or SaaS connections.
Who It's For
This plugin is a good fit for multi-author blogs, editorial teams, agencies managing client sites, and any organization that needs visibility into who is changing content on their WordPress installation. Compliance-conscious businesses in healthcare, legal, and education will also find value in having a long-term record of administrative and content actions.
Who Should Skip It
If you run a single-author site where you trust every user or you only need basic Google Analytics-style visitor stats, the audit focus of Simple History adds little value. Site owners looking for full SIEM-grade security monitoring or real-time alerting should look at heavier solutions like WP Activity Log instead.
The Bottom Line
Simple History earns an overall quality score of 86.73 because it combines a large install base, near-perfect user ratings, and current maintenance with broad compatibility. It is the best default choice for site owners who want a free, self-contained audit log without paying for premium tiers. The only weak signal is the thin public support thread count, though the high resolution rate and recent activity reduce that concern.
Related Plugins
Choose WP Activity Log if you need deeper security-focused monitoring, email alerts, and hooks for integrations beyond the default WordPress event set.
Pick Activity Log (Aryo) when you want a lighter interface with strong user session tracking and a simpler settings page.
Select this alternative only if you specifically need a visual Elementor timeline widget on the front end rather than a backend audit log.
Consider Stream if you prefer a dashboard widget-style display of activity and run a sites network where the per-site feed model matters.
Cool Timeline is a front-end storytelling widget, not an audit tool, so it only applies if you need a visual timeline on public pages.