# Content Cleaner

> Content Cleaner has 40+ active installs and 79 downloads in the last 30 days. Health score 24/100, keyword rankings, version adoption and the best alternatives.

**Verdict: Consider an alternative.** Content Cleaner shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 40+ sites and was last updated 10 years ago, and scores 24/100 on our health check.

**The Content Cleaner plugin is an all-in-one tool for automatically removing non-printable characters from content and title fields. After building WordPress sites for many years, one problem that consistently plagues my…**

## Key facts

- **Overall rank:** —
- **Active installs:** 40+
- **Total downloads:** 1,632
- **Downloads (30 days):** 79 (+11.3% vs previous 30 days)
- **Rating:** No ratings yet
- **Health score:** 24/100 (At risk)
- **Version:** 1.0
- **Last updated:** Feb 15, 2017
- **Tested up to:** WordPress 4.7.37
- **Requires:** WordPress 4.2+
- **Support resolved:** 0 of 0 threads (last 2 months)
- **Developer:** colin3440 (https://pageforge.pro/directory/authors/colin3440/)
- **WordPress.org:** https://wordpress.org/plugins/content-cleaner/

## Category rankings

| Category | Rank | Plugins |
|---|---|---|
| [clean](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/tag/clean/) | #32 | 69 |
| [non-printable characters](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/tag/non-printable-characters/) | #1 | 1 |
| [sanitize](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/tag/sanitize/) | #11 | 18 |
| [unicode](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/tag/unicode/) | #5 | 20 |
| [utf-8](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/tag/utf-8/) | #4 | 7 |

## WordPress.org search positions

| Keyword | Position | Results |
|---|---|---|
| clean | >100 | 9,253 |
| non-printable characters | #36 | 36 |
| sanitize | >100 | 1,431 |
| unicode | >100 | 450 |
| utf-8 | >100 | 753 |

## Version adoption

- 1.0: 100%

## Alternatives

| # | Name | Active installs | Rating | Updated | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/advanced-database-cleaner/) | 100K+ | 4.9/5 (1,957) | Aug 20, 2026 | 88/100 |
| 2 | [Media Cleaner: Clean your WordPress!](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/media-cleaner/) | 90K+ | 4.6/5 (775) | Sep 26, 2026 | 88/100 |
| 3 | [Advanced WordPress Reset – Debug, Recover & Reset WP](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/advanced-wp-reset/) | 10K+ | 4.9/5 (1,233) | Aug 20, 2026 | 86/100 |
| 4 | [Database Cleaner](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/database-cleaner/) | 10K+ | 5/5 (151) | Sep 26, 2026 | 79/100 |
| 5 | [Unbloater](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/unbloater/) | 5K+ | 5/5 (17) | Jun 12, 2026 | 73/100 |
| 6 | [Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More!](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/media-hygiene/) | 4K+ | 4.2/5 (40) | Sep 14, 2026 | 89/100 |
| 7 | [wp_head() cleaner](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/wp-head-cleaner/) | 2K+ | 5/5 (6) | Aug 13, 2026 | 79/100 |
| 8 | [Easy WP Cleaner](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/easy-wp-cleaner/) | 2K+ | 5/5 (41) | Oct 8, 2025 | 60/100 |
| 9 | [Disable Login Language Switcher](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/disable-login-language-switcher/) | 1K+ | 5/5 (5) | May 19, 2022 | 39/100 |
| 10 | [Remove WordPress Overhead](https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/remove-wp-overhead/) | 1K+ | 5/5 (5) | Aug 4, 2024 | 39/100 |

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Content Cleaner free?
Yes. Content Cleaner is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.

### Is Content Cleaner safe to use in 2026?
Content Cleaner shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 40+ sites and was last updated 10 years ago, and scores 24/100 on our health check.

### How many websites use Content Cleaner?
Content Cleaner is active on 40+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 1,632 times since it launched in February 2017. It was downloaded 79 times in the last 30 days.

### Does Content Cleaner work with WordPress 7.1?
Content Cleaner is officially tested up to WordPress 4.7.37, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.

### When was Content Cleaner last updated?
The latest version, 1.0, was released on February 15, 2017 (10 years ago).

### Who makes Content Cleaner?
Content Cleaner is developed and maintained by colin3440.

### What are the best alternatives to Content Cleaner?
The most popular alternatives to Content Cleaner are Advanced Database Cleaner (100K+ installs), Media Cleaner: Clean your W… (90K+ installs) and Advanced WordPress Reset (10K+ installs).


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Source: live WordPress.org data · HTML version: https://pageforge.pro/directory/plugins/content-cleaner/ · Generated 2026-09-28 18:44 UTC by PageForge