Rate
Most ratings plugins contain too much code: inline JavaScript, messy markup, weird CSS. Rate is simple, hardly intrusive, and completely overridable.
Consider an alternative
Rate shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 40+ sites, is rated 4.3/5 and was last updated 11 years ago, and scores 33/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (40+ active installs)
- No update in 11 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 3.0 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
![Disable Comments – Remove Comments & Stop Spam [Multi-Site Support]](https://ps.w.org/disable-comments/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=2509854){kind=icon}
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Rate stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| comments | >100 |
| pages | >100 |
| posts | >100 |
| rate | >100 |
| ratings | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 from 6 reviews
About Rate
From the official readme · v0.4Description
Most ratings plugins contain too much code: inline JavaScript, messy markup, weird CSS. Rate is simple, hardly intrusive, and completely overridable.
A Post/Page/Custom Post Type’s rating is the average of all comment ratings. A user can leave a rating when commenting, and change that rating inline after leaving a comment (if logged-in or Cookie’d).
Don’t be afraid to play around and extend the code: drop a rate.css file in your theme directory and mine won’t even load (by default, Rate stars are transparent with a white border, so you can use background-color to set your stars’ colors)!
<?php
// in this version, you need to insert these functions into your theme for ratings to appear
// you don't have to use the_rating(), the comment_rating() will work by itself, but the_rating() will not
// for a Post, Page, or Custom Post Type (average of all comment ratings)
the_rating();
// for a comment
the_comment_rating();
?>
Read More: http://scottctaylor.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/new-plugin-rate/
Changelog
0.3
- Added jQuery as a required script – Whoops!
0.2.1.1
- Whoops, adds second argument to
rate_calculate($id = 0, $is_comment = false)for internal purposes
0.2.1
the_rating()now excludes ratings from comments that are awaiting moderation.the_rating($id = 0)will not take an argument of ID. Use it to show a rating anywhere.
0.2
- User can leave a rating while commenting now, can still edit rating inline after comment is posted
0.1.4
- I broke the rate.css path, oops!
0.1.2
- Got rid of Divide by Zero warning that PHP was throwing
- Does not count ratings of Zero or non-ratings in the Average Rating displayed by the_rating()
- Added screenshots to the Plugin page at WordPress.org
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 Rate alternatives
All comments plugins →
FAQ
Rate: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 1, 2026
Is Rate free?
Yes. Rate is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Rate safe to use in 2026?
Rate shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 40+ sites, is rated 4.3/5 and was last updated 11 years ago, and scores 33/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Rate?
Rate is active on 40+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 23,619 times since it launched in November 2010. It was downloaded 53 times in the last 30 days.
Does Rate work with WordPress 7.1?
Rate is officially tested up to WordPress 3.0.5, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Rate last updated?
The latest version, 0.4, was released on July 30, 2015 (11 years ago).
Who makes Rate?
Rate is developed and maintained by Scott Taylor.
What are the best alternatives to Rate?
The most popular alternatives to Rate are Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Pro… (5M+ installs), Disable Comments (1M+ installs) and Antispam Bee (700K+ installs).
Powered by PageForge
Want thousands of pages that rank like these? Build them in an afternoon.
This directory runs on the same engine as PageForge. Turn any spreadsheet, CSV or API into thousands of fast, SEO-ready WordPress pages — with schema, internal links and AI-written copy baked in.
- CSV, Google Sheets & API data sources
- AI content, schema & internal links per page
- Works with Elementor, Gutenberg, Yoast & Rank Math
- Free on WordPress.org — no credit card
