Automatic Featured Images from Videos
If a YouTube or Vimeo video embed exists near the start of a post, we'll automatically set the post's featured image to a thumbnail of the video.
Solid choice
Automatic Featured Images from… is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 7K+ sites, is rated 4.6/5 and was last updated 2 months ago, and scores 78/100 on our health check.
- Loved by users — 4.6/5 from 36 reviews
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Automatic Featured Images f… stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| automatic-featured-image | #2 |
| featured images | #5 |
| video | #59 |
| vimeo | #56 |
| youtube | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 from 36 reviews
About Automatic Featured Images from Videos
From the official readme · v1.2.9Description
When placing a YouTube or Vimeo video within the first 4000 characters of a post, the thumbnail of that video will automatically be uploaded and set as the featured image for the post as long as the post does not already have a set featured image.
In addition, after setting the video thumbnail as the featured image, an “is_video” post meta field is updated to allow for the use of conditional statements within your loop.
Pluginize was launched in 2016 by WebDevStudios to promote, support, and house all of their WordPress products. Pluginize is not only creating new products for WordPress all the time, but also provides ongoing support and development for WordPress community favorites like CPTUI, CMB2, and more.
Installation
From your WordPress dashboard
- Visit ‘Plugins > Add New’.
- Search for ‘Automatic Featured Images from Videos’.
- Activate Automatic Featured Images from Videos from your Plugins page.
From WordPress.org
- Download Automatic Featured Images from Videos.
- Upload the ‘Automatic Featured Images from Videos’ directory to your ‘/wp-content/plugins/’ directory.
- Activate Automatic Featured Images from Videos from your Plugins page.
Changelog
1.2.9
- Updated: confirmed compatibility with WP 7.0
1.2.8
- Fixed: reported security vulnerability around bulk processing.
1.2.7
- Fixed: more edits around checking for 2 or more items vs 1 item to process
- Fixed: Fatal error on Comment screen with add_meta_boxes callback.
1.2.6
- Fixed: bulk processing if only 0ne post was found needing processing. Originally needed 2 or more
- Fixed: missed textdomain
- Bumped required PHP to 7.4
- Confirmed compatibility with WordPress 6.9
1.2.5
- Updated: added nonce verification to bulk processing cron scheduling request.
1.2.4
- Fixed: Better file naming of incoming images, based on youtube/video title value.
- Confirmed compatibility with WordPress 6.6.x
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Automatic Featured Images fro… alternatives
All automatic-featured-image plugins →FAQ
Automatic Featured Images from Vide…: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 26, 2026
Is Automatic Featured Images from… free?
Yes. Automatic Featured Images from… is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Automatic Featured Images from… safe to use in 2026?
Automatic Featured Images from… is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 7K+ sites, is rated 4.6/5 and was last updated 2 months ago, and scores 78/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Automatic Featured Images from…?
Automatic Featured Images from… is active on 7K+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 145,569 times since it launched in July 2014. It was downloaded 955 times in the last 30 days.
Does Automatic Featured Images from… work with WordPress 7.1?
Automatic Featured Images from… is officially tested up to WordPress 7.0.6, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Automatic Featured Images from… need?
Automatic Featured Images from… requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Automatic Featured Images from… last updated?
The latest version, 1.2.9, was released on July 14, 2026 (2 months ago).
Who makes Automatic Featured Images from…?
Automatic Featured Images from… is developed and maintained by webdevstudios.
What are the best alternatives to Automatic Featured Images from…?
The most popular alternatives to Automatic Featured Images from… are Auto Featured Image from Ti… (1K+ installs), Smart Featured Image (10+ installs) and Defaultify Featured Image (<10 installs).
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