14 Best WordPress Database Plugins (Clean and Optimize Your DB)

A website is only as good as its database. Everything from comments, posts, user information to spam is stored in your WordPress database. Some of it is crucial for your site to function, so the removal of those elements could make your site crash or malfunction.

Others, like old drafts, bad tables, and spam comments only weigh down your database and slow your site. That’s why you may need a WordPress database plugin!

Database plugins come in many forms. Some are strictly meant to backup your database before making changes, like with a migration. Others serve to clean the database of junky files on a weekly or monthly basis.

So, you’re either cleaning up your database or saving it just in case you need to restore content later. The whole point of these plugins is optimization, striving for faster speeds, cleaner data, and better performance overall.

Why Is It Important to Have a Fast WordPress Database?

A fast database offers several benefits:

• You get to ensure that your website runs fast.
• It helps by giving customers a more efficient user experience.
• It improves your chances of ranking higher on search engines.
• A fast database typically means you’re only using necessary data, so there’s less of a strain on your servers.

It’s also essential to backup or migrate your database on occasion. This way, you’re prepped and ready with backup files if you get hacked or cause trouble on your server.

Regardless of the situation, a healthy database is required for a successful WordPress website. Especially if you run a website with high database usage.

Start with Your Host

Database optimization plugins are great, but your best bet is to start improving your database with a superior host.

For instance, Kinsta offers weekly automatic database optimization and backups. This way, you don’t need most database plugins, to begin with. In addition, managed hosting with Kinsta eliminates the need for you to check the backups and manage the optimization. It’s all done for you.

What to Look for in a WordPress Database Plugin

All database plugins are different, but here are the steps you should go through and the features to seek out:

• Begin by signing up for a host with database backups and optimizations.
• Check out some of the best WordPress database plugins (listed below) for additional features that may not be included with your host. For instance, some people may want to store backups in Google Drive or Dropbox.
• Utilize database migration plugins when the time comes to move your site to another server. You can also talk to your hosting customer support.
• Consider installing a database cleaning plugin so that your database remains fresh at all times.
• Most database plugins are free with upgrades. Stick to what you need in addition to what your host offers. If a must-have feature requires a payment, go for it. Most of the premium plugins are extremely cheap.

The Best WordPress Database Plugin Options in 2023

Keep reading to learn more about our favorite database plugins. Some of them are great for migrations, while others are more for backups or cleaning the database. We’ll talk about the main features, pricing, and who should think about installing each plugin.

1. WP Database Reset

The WP Database Reset plugin gives you the ability to reset every part of your WordPress database with one click. As an alternative, it also provides settings for choosing one or two tables in the database to clear out. This is a simple, secure option for going back to a point in time where your database may not be as cluttered.

The entire process only takes one click. All of the settings are configured on one page, where you type in the tables you want to be deleted, along with a security code to ensure it’s you. It’s recommended that you backup your database prior to running this plugin.

 

Pricing

Free.

Features That Make WP Database Reset a Great Choice

• The plugin is lightweight and secure, allowing you to complete a fairly complex task with the click of a button.
• You have options for selecting to clear your entire WordPress database or get rid of just a few tables.
• There is an option to reset your databases by using the command line.
• The plugin provides security measures so that you don’t accidentally hit the Reset button.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

Here’s a plugin that looks appealing to plugin and theme developers who want to completely cleanse the database after testing certain products. You also might want to use this as a one-time fix for reverting back to a clean database.

2. WP Database Backup

The WP Database Backup plugin is best when paired with a plugin for cleaning your database. Sometimes this is a great plugin for security, but sometimes you simply want to have a backup of your data prior to cleaning everything out.

The plugin offers two basic features, one to back up your data and the other is for restoring. You can download the backups and have automated email notifications sent out whenever a backup is completed. We like how user-friendly it is, especially considering you can set a backup schedule and leave it for the future.

Pricing

The core plugin is free to download. You can pay for the premium version, starting at $22 for one license.

Features That Make WP Database Backup a Great Choice

• The plugin has a one-click database backup button for you to save all of your data prior to completing a database cleaning.
• The automated backups are great for securing your site from attacks or file problems.
• You’re able to download the backup files to your computer.
• Several storage destinations are available, including Dropbox and Google Drive.
• Feel free to exclude a table from the database backup.
• The plugin has tools for searching the database.
• Reports are emailed to your inbox to make sure you understand what’s happening on the backend.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

Every website needs a backup of its database. Kinsta hosting already provides backups, but this can come in handy as a secondary backup or if you have a host that doesn’t offer the functionality.

3. Contact Form 7 Database Addon

The Contact Form 7 Database Addon is perfect for those who would like to automatically log all of their contact form submission information into one database. This way, there’s no need to hope that your email inbox will save everything for you.

In addition, you’re able to search for messages in this database. There’s no configuration, but you will have to be using the Contact Form 7 plugin to make this work. Some of the features involve importing and exporting messages, deleting past messages, and more.

Pricing

The Contact Form 7 Database Addon plugin is available as a free download. You can opt for other premium addons like for popup messages or exporting PDF files.

Features That Make Contact Form 7 Database Addon a Great Choice

• It integrates directly with the Contact Form 7 plugin for an easy installation.
• You don’t have to configure any settings. A database is automatically created, which begins logging all of the messages sent in through the form.
• You have the option to display all of the messages created through the form.
• Export all of the messages and put them in a different program.
• You can integrate with some other powerful addons like a drag and drop file upload tool and a database switcher.
• This is an extremely lightweight plugin that doesn’t cause any problems or slow down your site.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

Not everyone needs to save messages coming in from online contact forms. However, this makes it so much easier than hoping that you can find old messages in your email inbox. So, if you have trouble remembering contacts, or finding past emails, this might be a good tool for you.

4. WP-Optimize

WP-Optimize works by cleaning, compressing, and caching your WordPress database. The all-in-one plugin ensures that there’s no need to install additional tools for optimizing your database the best you can. The caching is a nice bonus feature since you’re able to speed up your site and optimize the database without having to think about it.

Your entire WordPress database gets cleaned on a schedule and you’re even able to compress images with the help of the WP-Optimize plugin. As for the database optimization, WP-Optimize removes all of the unnecessary files, while completing tasks like compacting tables and retaining the backups.

Pricing

A free version is available. The premium versions include the following plans:

• Starter – $39 per year for one to two sites.
• Business – $59 per year for five sites.
• Unlimited – $149 per year for unlimited sites.

Features That Make WP-Optimize a Great Choice

• The free version is available to install on as many sites as you want. It provides some excellent tools for site caching, database cleaning, and image compression.
• The plugin automatically optimizes your database with the help of a calendar.
• View database optimization stats in the plugin.
• Several weeks of database backups are maintained inside of the plugin.
• You have options for multisite support.
• The plugin lets you remove unwanted images and optimize the ones that you would like to keep.
• You can optimize individual tables instead of the entire database.
• WP-Optimize provides multilingual integrations.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

Go with WP-Optimize if you’d like your database optimization tool to complete the following three functions: cleaning your database, compressing images, and caching pages.

There aren’t many other database plugins that compress images and cache pages for you like this one.

5. WP-DBManager

WP-DBManager is one of the simplest of WordPress database plugins. It allows for the optimization of your database from the start, using additional features to backup and restore the files. Most of the work is done for you upon installation, seeing as how the admin module has just a few pages of settings for you to configure.

WP-DBManager helps with dropping empty tables and running selected queries. You can also repair broken files or tables, all with the simple click of a button. Some might find the plugin settings a little confusing, but you typically only have to set it and forget it.

Pricing

Free. The developer manages the plugin with the help of donations.

Features That Make WP-DBManager a Great Choice

• It’s a simple plugin for optimizing your database and making sure that an extra plugin isn’t going to weigh down your site.
• The primary purpose is to automatically backup your database and log the files.
• You can examine tables in your database and decide whether or not to keep them.
• Admin database information is shown on the dashboard for you to see what might be going wrong with your database.
• All of your database backups are stored in a list for you to manage and potentially use in case of an attack or server problem.
• You get to select which tables and files are optimized.
• Running a database repair is done with the click of a button.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

The WP-DBManager plugin looks like a winner for those who want a simple, uncluttered tool for cleaning and backing up the database. Some beginners may find the settings confusing, but you typically don’t have to change any of the default settings.

6. Participants Database

The Participants Database plugin sets up a separate part of your site to generate a database of contacts, visitors, or any list of users you may need. You have options for individually typing in the contacts or importing them with a CSV file.

What’s great about this plugin is that any type of information can be stored in the database, and it’s given a sleek, separate interface for you to manage on the WordPress dashboard. You can also display the list of contacts on your website, with the use of shortcodes.

For such a simple tool it actually includes a long list of features that could come in handy for running a database outside of your WordPress site database.

Pricing

The plugin is free, with the option to upgrade with paid addons.

Features That Make Participants Database a Great Choice

• It’s free!
• The “participant database” is loaded on your dashboard after the installation. It provides prefilled fields for standard items like name and address.
• You can manage large amounts of information on the dashboard.
• Importing an external database is done with a CSV.
• The plugin lets you set validation rules for fields.
• Use shortcodes to include sign up forms on your website and list the people in your database. Although I can’t think of many instances where displaying personal information would be a good idea.
• You’re given signup form templates to start designing.
• Users have the ability to edit their records from the frontend of your site.
• The admin can edit records on the backend as well.
• The plugin has a growing list of translations.
• Several paid add-ons are available, such as directory tools, member payments, and location mapping.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

The Participants Database isn’t your typical backup and optimization tool for your WordPress database. Instead, it’s a great solution if you plan on generating a list of contacts and would rather have them in your WordPress dashboard.

It works similar to email marketing services like Mailchimp, except without features for sending emails.

7. Advanced Database Cleaner

The Advanced Database Cleaner focuses on deleting items in your database that are either unnecessary or causing problems on the server. For instance, it deletes old revisions that are no longer needed. The plugin also deletes items like trackbacks, pending comments, and old drafts.

Most website owners don’t usually think about all of the trash that accumulates in a database, so that’s why having the Advanced Database Cleaner is so beneficial. The tool provides a basic settings module as well, with options for setting how often you would like to clean the database and if you want to exclude any files from the cleaning.

Pricing

The core plugin is free. Go for one of the premium plans if you require additional site licenses:

• Starter – $39 for one to two sites.
• Business – $59 for five sites.
• Unlimited – $149 for unlimited sites.

Features That Make Advanced Database Cleaner a Great Choice

• The plugin saves you time by getting rid of unwanted database items in the background.
• It cleans your database on a regular basis, making for a faster site and less clunky database.
• There’s a long list of cleaning options, with opportunities to clean things like pingbacks, orphan data, old auto drafts, and more.
• You can schedule when you want the auto cleaning to occur.
• View the database information on your screen before making any decisions.
• The plugin has tools for automatically cleaning tables.
• You can repair corrupted or damaged tables.
• There’s multisite support.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

Here’s a plugin for everyone. It’s often forgotten that cleaning your database is so important, but once you install Advanced Database Cleaner it becomes a simple process. And you should notice the difference.

8. WP Reset

WP Reset taps into your WordPress database and deletes certain items that you deem useless. Sometimes these plugins make sense if you’re trying to clean up the entire site and start from scratch. Other times we’ve seen it used for clearing out demo posts and media.

Regardless of your needs, the WP Reset plugin scans for tables, posts, comments, and other database details. After that, you have full control over which of them you want to delete. Keep in mind that this is a permanent solution for completely ridding your site of certain parts.

Pricing

Free.

Features That Make WP Reset a Great Choice

• WP Reset is a handy development tool that non-developers can use.
• It’s completely free.
• It allows you to restore your WordPress environment and clean out your database with one click.
• Everything can be deleted, from posts to pages, and media entries, to users.
• You can delete entire WordPress database tables.
• WP Reset has settings for removing specific items from the deletion. For instance, you may not want to delete all images.
• Choose to leave all of your theme and plugin files untouched.
• All basic site settings like your WordPress address and site title are left as is.
• You can create a snapshot of your site to backup and restore your database if something goes wrong with the deletion.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

The WP Reset plugin has a few real-world uses. First of all, you may be testing themes, plugins, or different database elements. In that case, WP Reset comes in handy for deleting the database content for new installations.

The plugin also looks useful for picking parts of your database to delete, like if you discover that most of your blog posts are demo content and you could get rid of them.

9. Better Search Replace

Better Search Replace provides a need for companies migrating their websites to new servers. You wouldn’t have this plugin installed on your website at all times. However, it does a wonderful job of helping with a migration, seeing as how your database usually needs to go through a few modifications during the process.

For instance, your links and media items may not have the right address. In addition, you may discover that some of your tables need fixing. Regardless of the situation, the Better Search Replace plugin is here to help out.

Pricing

The main plugin is free. You can upgrade to the Pro version starting at $59.

Features That Make Better Search Replace a Great Choice

• The plugin analyses all database tables before a migration and lets you select tables you’d like to modify.
• You can update fields in your tables before the migration.
• Better Search Replace includes a feature for completing a “dry run,” or a test, prior to actually running the program.
• It supports multisite installations.
• Search and replace actions are done with the click of a button. After that, it only takes a few seconds to finish.
• The plugin supports a handful of languages.
• The premium version has priority support, and it’s not that expensive.
• You can backup the database while running the search and replace tool.
• Importing the database can also be done.
• It allows you to save the search and replace profiles, just in case you’d like to run the exact same process in the future.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

Most search and replacement is done by experienced developers. Therefore, we wouldn’t recommend messing with your database like this unless you have the experience required.

Outside of that, the Better Search and Replace plugin is excellent for developers who want to bulk replace different parts of the database prior to a migration.

10. WP-Sweep

WP-Sweep is another database scrubbing plugin for cleaning up areas like comments, post metadata, and revisions. As discussed earlier, your database builds up all sorts of junk that is either logged as an archive or simply left around because there’s no official trash tool when it comes to the WordPress database.

In short, there’s no reason not to clean up that database on a monthly basis and you can do it all with the help of the WP-Sweep plugin. From unused terms to deleted comments, you can clear out all of them for improved performance and decreased strain on your server.

That’s all this plugin does, so it serves as a lightweight, effective way to sweep up the mess.

Pricing

Free.

Features That Make WP-Sweep a Great Choice

• There aren’t any addons or special prices. It’s all free.
• This is a sleek, simple plugin with one function. You get to set what the plugin cleans up. There aren’t any other complicated settings to worry about.
• The plugin cleans comment items like spammed, deleted, and unapproved comments.
• Get rid of metadata like comment, term, and user data.
• The plugin does a great job of locating duplicate content and data. It then eliminates the duplicates.
• WordPress delete functions are used instead of MySQL queries, which could cause problems with performance.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

Go for the WP-Sweep plugin if you have any interest in cleaning out the unnecessary parts of your database. This cleaning should be done on a monthly basis. What’s great is that you don’t have to keep this plugin installed at all times. Only install it when needed.

11. Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions

Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions is another solid WordPress database plugin for taking out the trash that accumulates inside your database. For instance, you may want to delete unused tags, spam comments, or trash posts.

Here’s a plugin that does it all for you with the simple click of a button. Some of the other similar plugins require you to walk through more complicated procedures, but the Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions plugin only has the one button.

Running the analysis is simple, and you can always go in there to exclude certain elements beforehand.

Pricing

Free.

Features That Make Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions a Great Choice

• The plugin finds and deletes some of the more stubborn database junk such as the OEMBED cache, database tables, and expired transients.
• It takes care of the common clutter, like posts and pages.
• All of the archived and trash content is thrown away.
• The plugin is about as simple as it can be, with a one-click button and only a few settings to configure upon installing the plugin.
• You can schedule the database optimization to happen on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis.
• Link up the plugin to your multisite network.
• All database optimizations get logged into a list for later reference.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

Most websites only need this type of database cleaning from time to time, so you probably don’t need to install this plugin for good. However, it does have an automated cleaning schedule that could prove useful.

Overall, a database cleaning plugin like this is sometimes required for all types of websites.

12. WP Clean Up Optimizer

WP Clean Up Optimizer can boost the speed of your site, cleans out unused data, and optimizes the entire database. All of this is important for improving performance. Some of the items to delete include obsolete records, corrupt tables, and unused space.

Orphan data is a constant problem as well, making the WP Clean Up Optimizer plugin so important, even when it may seem like there’s nothing wrong with your database.

This database cleaning plugin itemizes all of the potential spots where you can clear up space and speed up your site. Applying an action is done with one button, but in this case, you can delete items individually.

Pricing

There’s a free version, as well as premium plans:

• Pro – €29.99 per year ($34).
• Developer – €69.99 per year ($78).
• Agency – €99.99 per year ($112).

Each plan adds a few features. All of them allow for an unlimited number of sites.

Features That Make WP Clean Up Otpimizer a Great Choice

• Clean up Optimizer clears out your database by identifying items that you don’t need anymore.
• It minifies media and data to ensure that your site is loading fast.
• You can get rid of things like pingbacks, revisions, and spam comments.
• Unique removals are possible, with options for purging oEmbed caches, unused terms, and orphaned term relationships.
• It lets you manually clean up your database or set automated tools.
• All versions of the plugin can be used in multiple languages.
• It sends out email notifications based on how the cleaning process is going.
• You can view all of your cleaning jobs in one spot.
• Login security is provided, along with a maximum number of login attempts.
• The plugin has a feature for previewing the tables prior to cleaning. This way, you don’t make any mistakes.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

WP Clean Up Optimizer looks like a solid choice when trying to clean out your database, while also having some security tools for logins. It’s also great for minifying your data, which is not typically included with a database optimization plugin.

That being said, Kinsta customers have access to a quick and easy way to minify code by using the code minification feature that is built into the MyKinsta dashboard. This feature allows customers to enable automatic CSS and JavaScript minification with a single click.

13. Smart Cleanup Tools

As with many WordPress plugins, you find that it’s best to install options that include multiple functionalities. For example, many of the plugins we talked about in this article do far more than cleaning databases. The same can be said about the Smart Cleanup Tools plugin, which is more of a suite of database optimization tools than a “one-task wonder.”

The plugin is a simple tool for cleansing your database with almost 40 settings. In short, the plugin cuts out the items you don’t need in your database. Sometimes this is done with the one-click full cleanup, but other times you’ll want to decide on the tables and data items you want to delete.

Pricing

A one-time fee of $30. Upgrade for additional support if you need it.

Features That Make Smart Cleanup Tools a Great Choice

• The cleaning plugin integrates with many other plugins that work to optimize your database.
• It gathers an impressive amount of statistical data whenever a cleanup is completed.
• You can schedule your cleanings or have them run on the default schedule.
• Some tools are there for only deleting items one by one.
• A quick access menu is shown in the WordPress dashboard so that you don’t forget about your cleanings.
• Several reset tools are provided for removing things like sidebars, rules, and plugin data.
• A long list of removal tools is there for everything from unapproved comments, to drafts, and post records.
• You can walk through a solid list of database cleanup tools, like options for removing orphaned data, WooCommerce sessions, and more.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

The Smart Cleanup Tools plugin appears to cover all of the cleanup tasks offered by other comparable plugins. So, think about this plugin if you like the idea of only paying a one-time fee, yet would still like premium support and excellent features for database optimization.

14. WP Cleaner Pro

WP Cleaner Pro is an affordable instant cleaning solution with scheduling tools and a backup of your entire database. Over 25 types of data items can be cleaned and you can optimize your database to ensure that it doesn’t slow down your site.

Most of the optimization takes place in the background, so all you have to do is install the plugin and forget about it. You can also filter database items and decide on the ones you’d like to clean.

Along with a clean interface and plenty of documentation, the WP Cleaner Pro plugin looks like the right choice for many types of businesses.

Pricing

This plugin requires a $19 one-time payment, with options for upgrading the customer support.

Features That Make WP Cleaner Pro a Great Choice

• It’s one of the cheapest premium database plugins.
• Your database is instantly optimized and cleaned after installing the plugin.
• The plugin also backs up your database to ensure that you can restore your files in case any problem arises.
• You have options for scheduling all of the cleanings in the future. The plugin is optimized for speed, so it won’t weigh down your site, and all of the tasks completed speed up your site.
• It targets orphan data in particular, which is often completely useless to the functionality of your site.
• Some of the instant cleanings are for pingbacks, bad comments, orphan data, and duplicate content.

Who Should Consider This For a WordPress Database Plugin?

If you like scheduled database cleaning, numerous filters, and a low price (for a premium product,) the WP Cleaner Pro plugin might be for you. We recommend it for beginners in particular since it’s super easy to configure.

In fact, there’s no reason to change any settings. All of the optimization and cleaning is done right after you install and activate the plugin.

Which Is the Best WordPress Database Plugin for You?

Database backups and optimizations should be provided when you opt for a high-quality managed WordPress host.

However, there are some situations where you’d still want a WordPress database plugin. For instance, we suggest considering a scheduled database cleaning plugin to clear out the junk data that builds up on your server.

You also may think about getting an advanced migration or search and replace tool if you’re in the process of migrating a website from server to server.

Overall, start with a good host, then test out some of these recommendations for the best WordPress database plugin options.