Plugin profile · observed daily since 02 Aug 2026
PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress
Active installs300,000+ rounded
Current authorSyed Balkhi
Owner changesNone while we have been watching
Last release3 months ago 14 Aug 2026
Support0 / 3 resolved, last 2 months
Releases on record47
Rating4.7 /5 · 529
Added to directory21 Jan 2015
Requires WP6.6
Requires PHP7.4
Version lag0 up to date
Tested up toWP 7.1.4 up to date
PluginsPedia reports published data and observable changes. It does not rate plugin quality or safety, infer intent, or make recommendations. These are observations rather than a verdict. How this works
Ownership
Held by Syed Balkhi throughout, with no change of ownership observed since daily tracking began on 02 Aug 2026.
Full observed history, including every field transition
Committing accounts
Read from the plugin’s public release log, so these predate this registry. A committing account is not an owner. Thirty accounts commit to WooCommerce and it has never changed hands.
| Account | Releases | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| danlester | 23 | 22 Jan 2015 | 30 Mar 2018 |
| levertechadmin | 9 | 21 Aug 2018 | 12 Apr 2021 |
| dimensionmedia | 1 | 04 Nov 2021 | 04 Nov 2021 |
| chrisakelley | 2 | 08 Jun 2022 | 22 Mar 2023 |
| slaFFik | 11 | 21 Feb 2024 | 25 May 2026 |
This registry did not observe a transfer; it read these names off a public log. Whether that reflects a change of ownership is not something the directory publishes.
Adoption
How widely the plugin is installed, and what the people running it think of it. WordPress.org rounds install figures to one significant digit, so they describe an order of magnitude rather than a headcount.
Very widely adopted: 300,000+ active installs. In the top tier of the directory by install count.
1,524 downloads a day over the last 7 days, falling 18% against the 7 days before. Downloads are counted exactly and without a ceiling, so they show movement the rounded install figure cannot.
11 Sep 2026peak 3,549/day31 Oct 2026
17 ratings left in the last 82 days, averaging 4.8 out of 5 against a lifetime average of 4.7 (1 of them one or two stars). Recent ratings are in line with the lifetime figure.
From recent reviews
What reviewers wrote on wordpress.org between 15 Jun 2026 and 03 Sep 2026: 16 reviews, counted by theme. Every count links to the reviews behind it.
Reviewers of PDF Embedder frequently highlight how little friction the plugin adds to a WordPress site, with 5 of 16 reviews crediting the setup and everyday use as simple, quick, or effectively set-and-forget. Alongside that ease, 4 of 16 reviewers report the plugin functioning correctly with no problems surfacing once it was running, describing PDFs rendering as expected. A smaller share, 2 of 16 reviews, single out compatibility specifically, noting PDFs displaying properly across different browsers and devices as well as within WordPress itself.
- 5 of 16 mention easy, quick setup or day-to-day use, including set-and-forget experiences. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
- 4 of 16 report the plugin functioning correctly with no issues after installation. [1] [2] [3] [4]
- 2 of 16 specifically mention compatibility across browsers, devices, or WordPress itself. [1] [2]
Counted from the public review forum on 13 Sep 2026. The reviews are their authors’ own words and their own claims; the counts are ours.
Daily record
Every field we record, one column per observation. Fields that never moved are named once rather than repeated across every column. A row of identical numbers would be padding.
| Field | 18 Oct | 19 Oct | 20 Oct | 21 Oct | 22 Oct | 23 Oct | 24 Oct | 25 Oct | 26 Oct | 27 Oct | 28 Oct | 29 Oct | 30 Oct | 31 Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downloads that day | — | 532 | 1,569 | 1,442 | 2,223 | 3,549 | 2,866 | 1,444 | 990 | 1,472 | 1,924 | 1,436 | 1,876 | 1,525 |
| Ratings total | 526 | 526 | 526 | 526 | 526 | 527 | 528 | 528 | 528 | 528 | 528 | 528 | 529 | 529 |
| Support threads | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Unchanged throughout: active installs (300,000+) · version (5.0.2) · threads resolved (0)
91 days of observation, most recent 14 shown.
Maintenance
When it was last released, and how far its declared compatibility has drifted from current WordPress.
Added to directory11 years ago 21 Jan 2015
Requires WP6.6
Requires PHP7.4
Version lagcurrent
Is anyone still maintaining this?
- Last released 14 Aug 2026, 86 days ago.
- Declares compatibility with WordPress 7.1.4, which is current.
- 0 of 3 support threads answered in the last two months.
- The same account maintains 99 other plugins, 47 of which were updated in the last 90 days. the account is active.
A plugin that does one thing correctly may need no changes for years; a long gap is not, by itself, evidence of neglect.
History
Everything dated that this registry holds about the plugin, most recent first. Releases carry the author’s own release date; everything else is dated to when it was observed.
Entries marked from the release log predate this registry, and daily observation began 02 Aug 2026. They were read from the plugin’s public SVN history after the fact, not watched as they happened. Everything else was observed directly.
- 14 Aug 20263 months agoVersion 5.0.2 released
- 02 Aug 20263 months agoFirst observed by PluginsPediaDaily snapshots of this plugin’s directory record begin here. Everything above this line is observed; anything before it comes from fields the API itself reports.
- 25 May 20265 months agoVersion 5.0.1 released
- 14 May 20266 months agoVersion 5.0.0 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by slaFFik.
- 30 Dec 202510 months agoVersion 4.9.3 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by slaFFik.
- 25 Apr 202518 months agoVersion 4.9.2 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by slaFFik.
- 24 Apr 202518 months agoVersion 4.9.1 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by slaFFik.
- 22 Jan 202522 months agoVersion 4.9.0 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by slaFFik.
- 01 Nov 20242 years agoVersion 4.8.2 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by slaFFik.
- 07 Jun 20242 years agoVersion 4.8.1 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by slaFFik.
- 04 Jun 20242 years agoVersion 4.8.0 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by slaFFik.
- 21 Feb 20242.5 years agoVersion 4.7.0 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by slaFFik.
- 21 Feb 20242.5 years agoVersion 4.7.1 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by slaFFik.
- 22 Mar 20233.5 years agoVersion 4.6.4 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by chrisakelley.
- 08 Jun 20224 years agoVersion 4.6.2 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by chrisakelley.
- 22 Jan 201511 years ago33 earlier releasesfrom the release logBetween 22 Jan 2015 and 04 Nov 2021. Listed individually in the public release log rather than here.
- 21 Jan 201511 years agoAdded to the WordPress.org directoryReported by the plugin API as the date this plugin was added.
Media coverage
Writing about this plugin elsewhere, collected by this registry. The links go to the sources; what they claim is theirs.
- 27 May 2026 · CVE-2026-7526 - PDF Embedder - Information ExposureCleanTalk
- 27 Jun 2024 · WordPress PDF Embedder Plugin <= 4.7.1 - Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) VulnerabilityPatchstack
- 21 Jul 2021 · LionSher Technologies Announces New Acquisitions and Becomes Parent Company of Popular WordPress BrandsLionSher
What we know, and what we don’t
Everything on this page in one place, including the gaps, so that nothing here is mistaken for a clean bill of health.
What we know
- It has been held by Syed Balkhi for all 91 days we have observed it.
- It was last released 3 months ago (14 Aug 2026).
- Its author declares it tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, which is current.
- WordPress.org reports 300,000+ active installs.
- It carries 529 ratings, averaging 4.7 out of 5.
- 0 of 3 support threads in the last two months are marked resolved.
Every record on this site, this one included, works under the same limits. We read what WordPress.org publishes about a plugin, never the plugin’s own code, so nothing here says whether a plugin is well built or safe. Install counts reach us already rounded; a change smaller than a band step doesn’t show. We don’t track security advisories yet. For anything older than our first observation we rely on the plugin’s public release log, where one exists. What this registry can and cannot see
Similar plugins
Plugins that share this one’s tags and talk about the same things in their own descriptions. Distinctive tags count for far more than broad ones. Sharing hover means something, sharing woocommerce does not, and a plugin that never mentions the subject matter is left out however its author tagged it. Among close matches, more widely installed plugins are listed first. This is a grouping rather than a ranking of quality.
PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page
Embed PDF files in WordPress with a responsive PDF viewer, flipbook, shortcode and Gutenberg block, plus print, download and view analytics.
20,000+ installs4.5★ (149)updated 29 Oct 2026
far fewer installs
Document Embedder – let visitors read files without downloading
Embed PDF, Word, Excel & PowerPoint in WordPress. PDF viewer, 3D flipbook and document library with Gutenberg block & Elementor widget.
9,000+ installs4.9★ (120)updated 18 Oct 2026
far fewer installs
PDF Embed Block – share documents right inside your posts
Easily embed PDF files in your WordPress posts and pages with the PDF Embed Block plugin.
4,000+ installs5.0★ (2)updated 27 Oct 2026
far fewer installs
Embed Any Document – Embed PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel Files
Embed PDF, DOC, PPT and XLS documents easily on your WordPress website with the help of Google Docs Viewer or Microsoft Office Online.
50,000+ installs4.2★ (92)updated 07 Aug 2026
DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer
DearFlip creates a PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF viewer, PDF embed for WordPress sites. Create impressive and realistic 3D flipbooks with PDFs.
200,000+ installs4.9★ (194)updated 09 Sep 2026
CatFolders Document Gallery & PDF Library
Display WordPress PDF gallery and file gallery from folders. Comes with a clean, searchable & sortable list/grid layout.
3,000+ installs4.5★ (15)updated 23 Aug 2026
far fewer installs
Grouped from the tags each author chose for their own plugin, so the grouping is only as good as those tags.
Reach out about this record
Corrections, missing context, or anything else about PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress: a person reads every submission, and corrections get a reply within 5 business days.