WordPress stores all website data using the MySQL database management system. This data includes usernames, passwords, posts, pages, and comments. As such, it’s essential to maintain your WordPress database’s optimal performance.

WordPress database plugins allow you to do maintenance tasks like cleaning up the database, creating a backup, and resetting it.

Plenty of database plugins are equipped with different features. To help you pick the right one, this article will discuss the 10 best WordPress database plugins to optimize your site.

How to Choose the Best WordPress Database Plugin

In most web hosting environments, you can manage the WordPress database from the phpMyAdmin interface. It lets you create backups and modify database tables.

However, phpMyAdmin is less practical than some of the WordPress plugins that let you do these tasks more easily.

Most WordPress database plugins are built to perform at least one of the following tasks:

• Database cleanup. Helps you clear unnecessary data from the database. This saves storage space and prevents unwanted errors caused by cluttered data or corrupted files.
• Database backup. While there are specialized WordPress backup plugins, some let you create and schedule a backup specifically for the database.
• Database reset. In case of any errors, use WordPress database plugins to reset the database to its original state.

These plugins have specific features, so it’s vital to pick a plugin that suits your current needs. Using the right WordPress database plugin can give the following benefits:

• Faster website performance. The database can be cluttered over time, making the website load slower and increasing the risk of potential WordPress errors. WordPress database plugins let you speed up your WordPress site by cleaning and optimizing the database.
• Optimizing your resources. Cleaning up the database removes unused data and frees up your server resources.
• Keep the data safe. WordPress database plugins let you create database backups, keeping all the data safe in case of server issues.
• User-friendly. Managing the database using a WordPress plugin is much easier than doing it manually via phpMyAdmin.

Top 10 WordPress Database Plugins

We’ve picked the 10 best WordPress database plugins that cover various uses. All these plugins are available in the WordPress plugin repository, where you can download and use them for free. If you need advanced features, premium options are also available.

1. UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin

Plugin stats:

• Downloads: 3+ million
• Rating: 4.8/5
• Best for: creating a database backup
• Price: freemium (paid plans start from $70/year, and paid add-ons start from $10/year)

UpdraftPlus is the most popular WordPress backup plugin that integrates with various cloud storage platforms.

The scheduled backups for website files and the database have seperate settings. Thus, you can set a different backup frequency for the database.

The premium version offers the incremental backups feature. It stores new changes to existing backup files instead of creating entirely new backups to save time.

UpdraftPlus supports integration with various cloud platforms, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive.

However, you can choose more than one cloud storage option with the premium version. The plugin will automatically send the backup files to the selected storage.

The premium version also provides database encryption, securing backups on the storage and during the transfer. This is a great security feature because the database contains usernames and passwords.

Another premium feature is the Migrator, which lets you replace the database. This is useful for importing databases from other WordPress websites. The plugin will fix the references in the database, making it work on the new website.

Key Features

• Separate automated backups for website files and databases.
• Plenty of cloud storage integration, including Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and UpdraftPlus Vault.
• Incremental backups only store new changes to the existing backup files, saving time compared to repeatedly creating a complete backup of the entire site.
• Encrypted database backups to maximize security, including during cloud storage transfer.
• The UpdraftPlus Migrator makes it easy to import databases from other WordPress sites.

Cons

• Advanced plugin features such as database encryption and multisite support are included only in the premium version or require dedicated add-ons.

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2. WP-Optimize

Plugin stats:

• Downloads: 1+ million
• Rating: 4.8/5
• Best for: database cleanup and optimization
• Price: freemium (paid plans start from $49/year)

WP-Optimize is an all-in-one WordPress performance plugin that includes database cleaning, image compression, and caching.

To access the database optimization feature, navigate to WP-Optimize -> Database on your WordPress dashboard.

This plugin features 12 optimization tasks that you can run individually or simultaneously. They include table optimization, post revision cleanup, and unapproved comments removal.

WP-Optimize’s scheduler lets you choose daily, weekly, fortnightly, or monthly auto-optimization. It also allows you to pick which tasks to perform during the auto-optimization.

However, you need to get the premium version to get the more flexible scheduler system which lets you set the optimization schedule at an exact date or time of day.

The Tables tab shows all the tables in your database, along with the records, data size, and overhead. Being able to see all the tables you can optimize without accessing phpMyAdmin is also helpful.

WP-Optimize works seamlessly with UpdraftPlus to provide database backup and optimization for WordPress sites.

Key Features

• An all-in-one plugin for optimizing your WordPress site, letting you optimize its database, compress images, and cache pages.
• Run individual or bulk optimization tasks.
• Shows all the database tables on the plugin’s dashboard.
• Lets you keep the most recent revisions.

Cons

• Advanced scheduling and reporting features are only available on the premium version.

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3. BackWPup

Plugin stats:

• Downloads: 700,000+
• Rating: 4.4/5
• Best for: database backup
• Price: freemium (starts from $69 for the first-time fee and $39/year for each renewal)

BackWPup lets you download the database backup in just a single click. Navigate to BackWPup -> Dashboard and click Download database backup to download the backup file to your computer.

The plugin requires you to create a backup job first. Select up to five tasks for each job, including database and file backup, WordPress XML export, installed plugins list, and tables check.

For the database backup, open the DB Backup tab and select the tables to back up.

Specify whether you want to back up tables with wp_ prefix only or all the custom tables. There’s also an option to use GZIP file compression.

The scheduler lets you choose between the basic or advanced setup. With the advanced setup, select any month, day of the week and month, hour, and minute to fine-tune the backup times.

The free version lets you integrate the plugin with Dropbox, Amazon S3, and Microsoft Azure. Get the premium version to link your Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive account.

Key Features

• Choose specific files and database tables to back up.
• Create a detailed backup schedule with the advanced scheduler.
• Supports GZIP compression.

Cons

• The plugin dashboard is not as user-friendly as other plugins in this list.

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4. Database Backup for WordPress

Plugin stats:

• Downloads: 100,000+
• Rating: 4.5/5
• Best for: database backup
• Price: free

Database Backup for WordPress is a free plugin to back up your WordPress database. It has a straightforward plugin interface and few configuration options, making it truly beginner-friendly.

The plugin will back up the entire database by default. However, there are options to exclude spam comments and post revisions, making the backed-up file that much cleaner. You can also back up additional custom tables in a separate column.

When you’re ready to run the backup, choose between downloading the backup file to your local computer or sending the file to your email. Unfortunately, this plugin doesn’t have any cloud storage integration.

The scheduler lets you select additional custom tables for the scheduled backup. It will send the backup file to your email.

Key Features

• An option to exclude spam comments and post revisions in the backup.
• Include selectable custom tables in the backup.

Cons

• No cloud storage integration. It only lets you download the database backup file or send it directly to your email.

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5. Optimize Database After Deleting Revisions

Plugin stats:

• Downloads: 100,000+
• Rating: 4.5/5
• Best for: database optimization
• Price: free

Optimize Database After Deleting Revisions is a free plugin that helps you quickly delete revisions and perform other optimization tasks.

Navigate to Settings -> Optimize Database to open the plugin dashboard and configure cleanup settings. At the top, select the post types and revisions you want to remove.

If you don’t want to delete all revisions, use the Delete revision older than option. You can also keep a certain amount of the most recent revisions per post.

In addition, you can select other data such as trashed items, spam comments, unused tags, and transients. There is also a checklist to exclude specific tables from the optimization.

The scheduler lets you set an automatic cleanup in hourly, twice a day, daily, weekly, or monthly intervals.

Once you’ve saved the cleanup settings, click the Go To Optimizer button to run the cleanup and optimization process. You can also analyze the database first to see how much free space you get after cleaning it.

If you enable the one-click link on the admin bar, you can easily optimize the database from anywhere on the WordPress admin page.

Key Features

• Removing unused WordPress database items like revisions, trash, and spam comments in a few clicks.
• The scheduler provides five frequency options for deleting revisions automatically.
• Keep the recent revisions by setting up a revision limit per post or the number of days.
• Enable the one-click feature link to optimize the WordPress database easily from the admin panel.

Cons

• You need to check the Delete revision older than option even if you want to delete all revision data. Otherwise, the plugin may not detect some removable revisions.

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6. Better Search Replace

Plugin stats:

• Downloads: 1+ million
• Rating: 4.5/5
• Best for: data search and replace
• Price: freemium, paid plans start from $59/year

When migrating a WordPress website or database, the URLs, links, and media files may not have the correct references. Better Search Replace is a great plugin to perform search-and-replace tasks for your database.

You can find the plugin interface in Tools -> Better Search Replace, where you’ll be able to input the search and replace values. You can also select specific tables for the search and replace action.

The plugin supports serialized data and works seamlessly with any WordPress database table. The search function is case-sensitive by default, but there’s an option to use a case-insensitive search.

The dry-run feature analyzes the tables and shows how many fields will be affected before running the program.

The premium version provides detailed reports of the changes, including each table’s exact rows and columns. Database backup and import features are also available in the paid version.

Key Features

• The search and replace function makes it easy to fix the WordPress database after migration.
• Dry-run lets you know what changes will be made before executing the program.
• Supports serialized data.
• Detailed reporting is available in the premium version, where you can see all the changes after running the plugin.

Cons

• Advanced plugin features like database backup and import are only included in the paid version.

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7. WP Reset

Plugin stats:

• Downloads: 400,000+
• Rating: 5/5
• Best for: WordPress site and database reset
• Price: freemium (paid plans start from $39/year)

There may be cases when you need to reset the entire WordPress site and its database to its original state. The WP Reset plugin is the perfect solution for that.

To use the plugin, navigate to Tools -> WP Reset from your WordPress dashboard and open the Reset tab to execute a site reset.

The paid version supports options reset, which restores the default values of WordPress core settings. In addition, it supports nuclear site reset, which deletes all site data, including themes and plugins, and all database information, including custom tables with the wp_ prefix.

Use the Create Snapshot feature to copy the database and restore it later. Use other WordPress backup plugins to create a separate backup file.

This plugin offers several stand-alone tools to do specific tasks like purging cache, deleting or emptying custom tables, and removing transients. However, the custom table deletion tool only works with custom tables with the wp_ prefix.

Key Features

• The site reset feature lets you restore an entire website and database to its original state in a few clicks.
• Its snapshot feature creates a copy of your database that you can restore after the site reset.
• Individual tools like custom table purge, cache purge, and transients removal let you optimize the WordPress site further.

Cons

• The automated snapshot feature is only available on the premium version. Therefore, free version users should create a backup beforehand to prevent accidental resets.

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8. Participants Database

Plugin stats:

• Downloads: 10,000+
• Rating: 4.9/5
• Best for: database creation
• Price: free

Participants Database is a relational database plugin. It lets you embed a form on your site and gather information in a dedicated database which you can export later.

However, this plugin requires quite some time to set up. We recommend using the official setup guide by navigating to Participants Database -> Setup Guide on your WordPress dashboard. You must first modify the plugin data folder’s permissions in your WordPress installation.

The plugin’s settings page lets you customize the signup and record forms. There’s also a duplicate checker feature to prevent users from filling out the form multiple times. The plugin also supports custom CSS for further visual customization.

The default database fields include names, addresses, and contact information. You can modify them on the Participants Database -> Manage Database Fields page.

Although the database will gather data from the front-end form, you can add a participant list from the dashboard.

It’s also possible to import CSV files to add data from an external database. Once you’ve gathered all the information in the database, you can export the data as a CSV file.

The list display shortcode also lets you embed a list of records from the participant database. However, be mindful that this feature will display data submitted by the users. Avoid using it if you’re gathering sensitive customer information.

Key Features

• Built-in subscription form system that inputs entries into a dedicated database.
• A data duplication checker prevents users from submitting identical data.
• Supports CSV files to import data from an external database.

Cons

• More suitable for advanced WordPress users since it’s rather difficult to set up and may require greater technical knowledge.

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9. Advanced Database Cleaner

Plugin stats:

• Downloads: 90,000+
• Rating: 5/5
• Best for: database cleanup and optimization
• Price: freemium (paid plans start from $39)

Advanced Database Cleaner is an optimizer plugin for cleaning up WordPress databases. It lets you manage up to 14 different elements, including revisions, auto drafts, spam comments, and orphaned data.

The plugin’s dashboard shows how many items can be deleted from each element. See further details by clicking the View icon. Then, choose which items you want to remove.

The scheduler lets you run the database cleanup automatically. Select elements to include in the schedule, choose between six execution frequencies and define the execution’s time of day. You can also make schedules to automate specific tasks at different times.

The Tables tab on the plugin dashboard shows all your site’s database tables with each row and database size. The paid version also detects and categorizes the tables based on the creator, whether it’s a theme, plugin, or even an orphaned table.

Key Features

• The scheduler lets you create many automated tasks with different run times.
• Detailed view for each element to see the items you can delete.
• The table detection feature organizes themes, plugins, and orphan tables.

Cons

• Getting the premium version is highly recommended to get the most out of this plugin.

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10. WP-DBManager

Plugin stats:

• Downloads: 90,000+
• Rating: 4.4/5
• Best for: simple database management
• Price: free

WP-DBManager is a free all-in-one WordPress database plugin that adds simple-to-use tools for backup, repair, and optimization.

The main plugin dashboard shows you the database and table information. The table list includes data such as table records, data usage, and table overhead.

In the default settings, the database backup tool includes all tables and supports GZIP compression. You can find all the backup files on the Manage Backup DB plugin page. Choose whether to restore or send backup files to your email.

The database optimization and repair tools use a one-click system. It includes all tables by default, but you can use the radio buttons to configure it further. Finally, simply click a button to start the program.

Its Empty/Drop Tables tool lets you remove all rows in any selected tables or delete them entirely. However, these actions are not reversible, so you should tread carefully before making any changes.

Key Features

• This all-in-one WordPress database plugin offers user-friendly tools for database backup, optimization, and repair. It can also perform SQL queries.
• GZIP compression support lets you create many database backups without taking up too much storage space.

Cons

• Doesn’t support integration with cloud storage for backups.
• Fewer options to configure the database backup and optimization.

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Conclusion

These 10 best WordPress database plugins are handy for various database management tasks such as backup, cleanup, and optimization. However, these plugins specialize in specific tasks, so it’s crucial to pick one that’s right for your needs.

To recap, here are our plugin recommendations for WordPress database management:

• UpdraftPlus – best WordPress plugin for database and website backup.
• WP-Optimize – best WordPress database plugin for cleanup and optimization. It also integrates well with the UpdraftPlus plugin.
• Better Search Replace – best WordPress plugin for fixing databases after a migration.
• WP Reset – best WordPress plugin for database and website reset.
• WP-DBManager – a free, all-in-one WordPress database plugin with basic functionality.

It’s also worth mentioning that Hostinger’s hPanel has tools to manage the WordPress database. These tools are available to use with our shared, WordPress, or cloud web server hosting plans.

We hope this article helped you pick the right WordPress database plugin for your site. You can check out our WordPress tutorial if you want to learn more. Leave a comment below and let us know your pick!