Simple Local Avatars

84 Quality Score

Active Installs

23/30

100,000 active installs is a solid mid-tier footprint, trailing several direct competitors but still widely trusted in the avatar niche.

Update Freshness

25/25

Last updated May 2026 and confirmed compatible with WordPress 7.0, the maintenance signal is excellent and the code is clearly kept current.

User Rating

14/15

89 ratings producing a 92 out of 100 score points to strong, consistent user satisfaction with very few reported problems.

Support Health

8/15

One open support thread with a 0 percent resolution rate is a small sample concern, though low overall traffic to support may simply reflect a reliable plugin.

WP Compatibility

15/15

Requires PHP 7.4 and WordPress 6.6 or higher, and is tested with the latest WordPress 7.0, so compatibility is firmly in the green.

Scores higher than 93% of indexed plugins

About

Adds an avatar upload field to user profiles. Generates requested sizes on demand just like Gravatar!

Active Installs 100k+

Rating ★★★★½ 4.6/5

Last Updated 2026-08-19 11:27pm GMT

Requires WordPress 6.6+

Tested Up To 7.1

Requires PHP 7.4+

Security History

6 known vulnerabilities, all patched

1 High 4 Medium 1 Low

Most recent: August 11, 2025

View details ▸

Simple Local Avatars <= 2.8.4 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Avatar Migration Medium

August 11, 2025 Patched in ["2.8.5"] CVE-2025-8482

Simple Local Avatars <= 2.7.11 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) User Cache Clearing Medium

November 15, 2024 Patched in ["2.8.0"] CVE-2024-10786

Simple Local Avatars <= 2.7.10 - Cross-Site Request Forgery via save_default_avatar_file_id() Medium

August 7, 2024 Patched in ["2.7.11"] CVE-2024-43116

simple-git < 3.16.0 - Remote Code Execution High

February 23, 2023 Patched in ["2.7.4"] CVE-2022-25860

http-cache-semantics < 4.1.1 - Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) Medium

February 23, 2023 Patched in ["2.7.4"] CVE-2022-25881

terser (JS Package) < 5.14.2 - Denial of Service Low

July 14, 2022 Patched in ["2.6.0"] CVE-2022-25858

What It Does

Simple Local Avatars adds an avatar upload field directly to the WordPress user profile screen, letting site members use a custom profile photo instead of (or in addition to) their Gravatar. Uploaded images are automatically cropped and resized into all the sizes WordPress requests on the fly, so they display correctly across comments, bbPress forums, BuddyPress profiles, and admin areas without extra configuration.

Who It's For

This plugin is best for community-driven sites where members are resistant to signing up for Gravatar, including forums, multi-author blogs, membership sites, online course platforms, and team directories where consistent local profile photos matter. It suits site owners who want a lightweight, focused solution rather than a full user profile overhaul.

Who Should Skip It

If you are happy relying on Gravatar, run a single-author site with no commenting community, or need advanced profile features like custom registration fields and role editing, this plugin is overkill. Consider User Profile Builder or User Switching instead for those broader use cases.

The Bottom Line

Simple Local Avatars earns a 83.69/100 quality score by doing one thing, avatars, very well, with near-perfect maintenance and user ratings. The thin support thread history is the only mild flag, but for 100,000 sites that has not been a barrier. For straightforward local avatar uploads on a community site, this remains one of the safest, lightest choices available.

Related Plugins

User Profile Builder 90/100

Pick this when you also need user registration forms, custom profile fields, and role editing beyond just avatars.

User Switching 86/100

Choose this if your priority is letting admins instantly switch into other user accounts to troubleshoot, since it pairs nicely with a separate avatar plugin.

One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 84/100

Pick this if you want a direct competitor with similar scope, comparable install count, and a slightly higher quality score (83.99).

Co-Authors Plus 82/100

Choose this when your main need is assigning multiple bylines to posts rather than managing local profile photos.

User Profile Picture 82/100

Pick this if you need a freely compatible alternative from a different developer, though its 40,000 installs trail Simple Local Avatars by a wide margin.