Smart Maintenance Mode vs WP Maintenance Mode
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Smart Maintenance Mode v1.5.3 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 3.2/5 Visit Details | WP Maintenance Mode v2.6.24 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.3/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 1,000+ | 400,000+ |
| Last updated | April 16, 2025 | September 29, 2026 |
| Editions | Smart Maintenance Mode | LightStart |
| Pros | Custom HTML, messages and countdown on the maintenance page; Role and IP range bypass for the live site; No paid tier or external service | Free, with maintenance and coming soon pages; Subscriber list stored in the database; Login form shortcode for visitors; Setup wizard with page templates via Otter Blocks |
| Cons | Visitors see a page, not the site, while it is on; Stores IP and role rules in a custom table and serialized options | The setup wizard can install and activate Otter Blocks; Usage tracking is offered in the setup wizard; Subscriber data is kept in the site database, not in an external service |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 3 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | IP and IP-range bypass for the live site, User roles that can view the live site, Countdown to launch on the maintenance page, Custom heading and HTML on the maintenance page, Preview of the maintenance page for admins | Maintenance and coming soon page, Subscriber list table, Login form shortcode, Shortcode wrapper for page content, Setup wizard with template choice, Google Analytics code on the page, Abilities API registration |
| Integrations | ||
| Analytics | — | Google Analytics, ThemeIsle SDK telemetry |
| Plugins | — | Otter Blocks |
| Requires WordPress | 3.0 | 4.7 |
| Requires PHP | — | 7.1 |
| Tested up to | 6.8 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | Only if you agree |
| External services | — | api.themeisle.com, translations.themeisle.com |
| Custom tables | — | 1 |