Better Admin Bar
The WordPress Admin Bar reimagined. Replace the default WordPress admin bar and provide logged-in users the user experience they deserve.
Use with caution
Better Admin Bar works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 3K+ sites, is rated 4.8/5 and was last updated 10 months ago, and scores 54/100 on our health check.
- Momentum — downloads up 18.6% vs the previous 30 days
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.8 (latest is 7.1)
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 Better Admin Bar stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| admin bar | #14 |
| adminbar | #10 |
| margin | #76 |
| quick edit | #57 |
| Replace Admin Bar | #5 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 from 19 reviews
About Better Admin Bar
From the official readme · v4.1.4Description
The WordPress Admin Bar reimagined. Replace the default WordPress admin bar and provide logged-in users the user experience they deserve.
Better Admin Bar allows you to quickly navigate to the key areas of your website like the theme customizer, your WordPress dashboard and edit the current page/post/custom post type.
🚀 Features
- Add an intuitive Quick Access Panel to your site
- Hide Admin Bar for all users or specific user roles
- Auto-hide the WordPress Admin Bar
- Remove 32px top gap
- Fix overflowing menu items in the Admin Bar
- Hide Admin Bar from smaller screens
- Change the opacity of the Admin Bar
- Change the opacity of the Admin Bar (on hover)
For more features, check out Better Admin Bar PRO.
🏆 Better Admin Bar PRO
Better Admin Bar PRO brings super-powers to your Quick Access Panel with features such as:
- Custom Links
- Page Builder Support
- Limit User Role Access
- Custom Post Type Support
- Sign-Out Widget
- WordPress Multisite Support
- WooCommerce Support
Learn more about Better Admin Bar PRO
What’s next?
If you like Better Admin Bar, you will love our other, free WordPress products:
- Page Builder Framework – A fast & minimalistic WordPress theme designed for the new WordPress era.
- Ultimate Dashboard – The #1 WordPress plugin to customize your WordPress dashboard and admin area.
Installation
- Download the better-admin-bar.zip file to your computer.
- Unzip the file.
- Upload the swift-control folder to your
/wp-content/plugins/directory. - Activate the plugin through the Plugins widget in WordPress.
Changelog
4.1.4
- Fixed: HTML entity escaping in inline JavaScript and CSS that broke the Auto Hide Admin Bar feature
4.1.3
- Fixed: Various code improvements and escaping issues for better security and coding standards compliance
4.1.2
- Tested up to WordPress 6.8
4.1.1
- Fixed: Adjust the animation in the quick access panel preview when items are reordered
4.1
- New: Preview the quick access panel from within the WordPress backend to see all your changes in real-time
4.0.7
- Tested up to WordPress 6.4
Screenshots
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 Better Admin Bar alternatives
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FAQ
Better Admin Bar: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 27, 2026
Is Better Admin Bar free?
Yes. Better Admin Bar is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Better Admin Bar safe to use in 2026?
Better Admin Bar works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 3K+ sites, is rated 4.8/5 and was last updated 10 months ago, and scores 54/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Better Admin Bar?
Better Admin Bar is active on 3K+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 99,718 times since it launched in June 2014. It was downloaded 625 times in the last 30 days.
Does Better Admin Bar work with WordPress 7.1?
Better Admin Bar is officially tested up to WordPress 6.8.10, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Better Admin Bar last updated?
The latest version, 4.1.4, was released on November 17, 2025 (10 months ago).
Who makes Better Admin Bar?
Better Admin Bar is developed and maintained by David Vongries.
What are the best alternatives to Better Admin Bar?
The most popular alternatives to Better Admin Bar are Hide Admin Bar Based on Use… (20K+ installs), Hide Admin Bar (20K+ installs) and Hide Admin Bar from Non-Adm… (10K+ installs).
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