Download Monitor
by WPChill
Manages downloadable files with versioning, access rules and download statistics.
This link may earn us a commission. It never changes our rating.
What Download Monitor does
Manages downloadable files with versioning, access rules and download statistics.
It sits in the downloads part of a WordPress stack and is sold by WPChill on a freemium basis. We recommend it in our downloads guides because it does that one job well without asking you to rebuild the rest of the site around it.
Every plugin adds work to a page request, so treat this as a decision with a cost. Record a speed test before you install it and run the same test afterwards, on the same page, so you know exactly what it charged you.
Real user ratings
Score
4.5/5
Reviews
524
Active installs
80,000+
Downloads
7.2M
Latest version
5.2.9
Last updated
2026-09-07
These figures come straight from the public WordPress.org plugin directory API for version 5.2.9, not from us. Check them yourself on the WordPress.org listing. Our own editorial score is 4.5/5.
Where Download Monitor ranks elsewhere
Download Monitor does not appear in the published "best of" lists we track from WPBeginner, TechRadar, Kinsta, Themeisle and similar sites. That is not a mark against it - those roundups are short and skew towards the biggest names.
What changed in the latest version
- Fixed: Minor translation issue. Fixed: Insert Download button not working in some editors.
- Fixed: PayPal checkout could fail without showing an error message. Fixed: Shop currency list limited to currencies supported by PayPal.
- Fixed: Hardened the XHR download logging endpoint against unauthorized log entries.
Release notes are the developer's own words, published on WordPress.org. Read the full changelog
Pros and cons
- Tracks who downloads what
- A free tier you can trial before paying
- Actively maintained and used on production sites we test
- Gating needs paid extensions
- The features most sites need sit in the paid tier
How to use it
- 1Install on a staging copy first if the site takes money.
- 2Work through the setup wizard and connect any external accounts it needs.
- 3Configure the one feature you installed it for, and leave the rest off.
- 4Test the result as a logged-out visitor on both mobile and desktop.
- 5Re-run our speed test to confirm the plugin has not cost you load time.
How it compares
Other downloads plugins we recommend, with their rating and pricing model.
| Plugin | Our rating | WordPress.org | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Download Monitor | 4.5 | 4.5 (524) | Freemium | Tracks who downloads what |
This is the only plugin we currently recommend for this job.
