Every WordPress site generates a continuous stream of changes: logins, plugin updates, content edits, settings tweaks, and failed authentication attempts. Without a dedicated activity log plugin, these events vanish into a black box. When something breaks or a security concern surfaces, administrators have no trail to follow.
Activity log plugins record every meaningful action on your WordPress site, creating an audit trail that answers questions like who changed that page?, when was this plugin deactivated?, and why are there login attempts from an unfamiliar IP? For agencies managing client sites, WooCommerce stores handling transactions, or any multi-user WordPress installation, this visibility is no longer optional.
This comparison evaluates the four strongest WordPress activity log plugins in 2026 across real-world criteria: tracking depth, notification capabilities, pricing, performance impact, and compliance readiness.
Quick Comparison Table
| Feature | WP Activity Log | Simple History | Stream | User Activity Tracking and Log |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developer | Melapress | Jeager | XWP | Moove Agency |
| Active Installs | 200,000+ | 300,000+ | 100,000+ | 30,000+ |
| Free Version | Yes (full logging) | Yes (full logging) | Yes (full logging) | Yes (basic tracking) |
| Premium Starting Price | $139/year | $79/year | Free (Pro via WordPress.com) | Paid add-on (varies) |
| Default Log Retention | Unlimited (configurable) | 60 days (configurable) | Configurable | Configurable |
| Email Alerts | Premium | Premium | Pro | Premium add-on |
| SMS/Slack Alerts | Premium (Twilio + Slack) | Premium (Slack, Discord, Telegram) | Slack/IFTTT | No |
| WooCommerce Tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited |
| Multisite Support | Yes (network-wide) | Limited (per-site in free) | Yes (network-wide) | No |
| External Database | Enterprise ($189/year) | No | No | No |
| SIEM Integration | Enterprise (Splunk, AWS CloudWatch) | Premium (Syslog, Datadog, Webhook) | Papertrail | No |
| Best For | Security teams, compliance-driven sites | Solo admins, agencies wanting simplicity | Multisite networks on a budget | Basic user session monitoring |
WP Activity Log: The Enterprise-Grade Audit Trail
WP Activity Log by Melapress is the most comprehensive option in this comparison. The free version records every action on a WordPress site with no artificial limits on logging depth. Posts, pages, custom post types, taxonomy changes, widget modifications, user account events, login attempts, plugin and theme lifecycle events, and WordPress core settings changes are all captured with detailed metadata including timestamps, user roles, and IP addresses.
What separates WP Activity Log from lighter alternatives is its third-party plugin coverage. The free version includes built-in sensors for WooCommerce, Gravity Forms, Yoast SEO, ACF, bbPress, MemberPress, LearnDash, and over a dozen other popular plugins. Each sensor captures plugin-specific events. For example, the Gravity Forms sensor logs form edits, entry submissions, notification changes, and confirmation modifications. The WooCommerce sensor tracks order processing, product changes, coupon creation, and webhook configuration.
Premium ($139/year for a single site) adds the features most teams actually need: advanced search filters for isolating specific events across large logs, real-time email and SMS notifications through Twilio, Slack integration for channel-based alerts, automated reporting with scheduled delivery, and user session management that lets administrators see who is logged in and terminate sessions remotely. Reports can be exported in HTML or CSV with white-label branding for agencies.
Enterprise ($189/year) unlocks external database storage and SIEM integration. Activity logs can mirror in real time to Splunk, AWS CloudWatch, Loggly, or Papertrail. For organizations running WordPress alongside other infrastructure, this centralized log aggregation is essential for correlating WordPress events with broader security monitoring.
Strengths
- Deepest event coverage of any WordPress activity log plugin
- Real-time session management with remote session termination
- SIEM integration for enterprise security operations
- Extensive third-party plugin sensors (Gravity Forms, WooCommerce, ACF, Yoast, and more)
- Supports GDPR, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and SOX compliance documentation
Limitations
- Premium pricing is higher than alternatives ($139/year vs $79/year for Simple History)
- Configuration complexity can overwhelm solo administrators
- Multisite licensing requires coverage of all network sites
Simple History: Zero-Configuration Logging That Just Works
Simple History takes the opposite approach to WP Activity Log. Instead of exposing every configuration option, it begins logging the moment you activate it. No setup wizard, no API key, no configuration screen. Install it, and within seconds you have a working activity log on your WordPress dashboard.
The free version tracks posts, pages, custom post types, attachments, categories, tags, comments, widgets, menus, user accounts, login and logout events, failed login attempts, plugin and theme changes, and WordPress settings modifications. It also includes built-in support for Jetpack, Advanced Custom Fields, WP Crontrol, Enable Media Replace, Limit Login Attempts, Redirection, Duplicate Post, and Beaver Builder.
A February 2026 update (version 5.23.0) added two notable features. First, forced security updates pushed by WordPress.org are now labeled distinctly from manual or automatic updates, so administrators can immediately identify when WordPress applied an emergency patch. Second, failed login attempts are now categorized separately: wrong password from a known user versus login attempt with a non-existent username. This distinction matters for identifying brute-force attacks versus legitimate users who mistyped their credentials.
The main limitation is the 60-day default log retention in the free version. Older events are automatically purged to manage database size. For many sites this window is sufficient, but organizations with compliance requirements will need the premium version or a code-level workaround using the simple_history/db_purge_days_interval filter.
Simple History Premium starts at $79/year for a single site, with volume pricing that drops to $2.40/site/year for 500-site agency licenses. Premium adds configurable log retention (including unlimited), CSV/JSON export, stealth mode to hide the log from certain users, full IP address storage (instead of anonymized), Google Maps login geolocation, the new Alerts feature (email, Slack, Discord, Telegram notifications), and Stats and Summaries dashboards. Premium 1.9.0 also introduced log forwarding to Remote Syslog with TLS encryption, Datadog, and generic webhooks.
Strengths
- True zero-configuration deployment
- 4.9/5 star rating with over 450 reviews
- Lightweight with minimal performance impact
- Automatic history backfill on installation (imports recent activity)
- Aggressive agency pricing ($2.40/site/year at 500-site tier)
Limitations
- 60-day log retention in free version
- No real-time alerts in free version (added in Premium 1.9.0)
- No external database storage option
- Limited multisite support in free version (per-site, not network-wide)
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Stream: Free Multisite Logging by XWP
Stream is maintained by XWP, the team behind WordPress.com VIP engineering. Its primary advantage is free network-wide multisite support. On a WordPress Multisite installation, Stream provides a unified activity view across all network sites from a single dashboard.
The plugin tracks user activity, content changes, theme and plugin modifications, menu edits, and WordPress settings updates. Third-party integrations include WooCommerce, Gravity Forms, Yoast SEO, ACF, BuddyPress, and Jetpack. Every event is filterable by user, role, context, action, or IP address, and the entire log is searchable through the admin interface.
Stream requires connecting to a WordPress.com account during setup, which may be a consideration for sites that prefer fully self-hosted solutions. The core plugin remains free, with a Pro tier available through WordPress.com that adds extended history retention and email/SMS notifications.
WP-CLI support allows querying activity records from the command line, which appeals to developers managing sites through terminal-based workflows. Stream also integrates with Slack, IFTTT, and Papertrail for external notifications and log forwarding.
Strengths
- Free network-wide multisite activity logging
- Backed by XWP (WordPress.com VIP engineering team)
- Strong WP-CLI integration for developer workflows
- Slack, IFTTT, and Papertrail integrations included
Limitations
- Requires WordPress.com account connection
- Smaller active install base (100,000+) compared to WP Activity Log and Simple History
- Fewer third-party plugin sensors than WP Activity Log
- Pro features tied to WordPress.com subscription model
User Activity Tracking and Log: Session-Focused Monitoring
User Activity Tracking and Log by Moove Agency focuses on user session behavior rather than comprehensive site-wide event logging. It tracks which users are online, their last active times, pages visited, and session durations.
For sites primarily concerned with understanding user behavior patterns rather than maintaining a full audit trail, this plugin fills a specific niche. It works well alongside a more comprehensive logging plugin when you need both event-level auditing and session-level user tracking.
The free version provides basic activity tracking, while premium add-ons extend functionality with time-on-site tracking, detailed session analytics, email notifications, and data export. However, it lacks the depth of event logging, third-party plugin integration, and compliance features that characterize the other three options in this comparison.
Strengths
- Focused session and user behavior tracking
- Lightweight and simple interface
- Complements full audit trail plugins
Limitations
- Not a full activity log replacement
- No WooCommerce, Gravity Forms, or ACF integration
- No multisite support
- No SIEM or external log forwarding
Which Plugin Fits Your WordPress Site?
The right choice depends on your site’s complexity, team size, and compliance requirements.
Choose WP Activity Log if you run a WooCommerce store processing transactions, manage a WordPress site under regulatory compliance (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS), operate a large multisite network, or need SIEM integration with tools like Splunk or AWS CloudWatch. The premium and enterprise tiers justify their cost for organizations where audit trails are a business requirement rather than a convenience.
Choose Simple History if you want reliable activity logging without configuration overhead. It is the strongest choice for solo administrators, small teams, and agencies that install a standard plugin stack across client sites. The free version handles most use cases, and the premium tier offers exceptional value at the agency level.
Choose Stream if you operate a WordPress Multisite network and need free, network-wide activity visibility. The WordPress.com connection requirement is a trade-off for getting multisite logging at no cost, and the developer-friendly WP-CLI integration makes it particularly appealing for technical teams.
Choose User Activity Tracking and Log if your primary concern is monitoring user session behavior (time on site, pages visited, active status) rather than maintaining a comprehensive event audit trail. Consider pairing it with one of the other three plugins for complete coverage.
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Performance and Database Considerations
All four plugins store activity data in the WordPress database by default, which means log accumulation directly affects database size. On high-traffic sites with dozens of active users, activity logs can grow to millions of rows within months. If database performance is already a concern for your site, this is worth factoring into your decision.
WP Activity Log addresses this at the Enterprise tier with external database storage, separating log data from the production WordPress database. Simple History handles it through its 60-day automatic purge in the free version and configurable retention in premium. Stream and User Activity Tracking and Log rely on configurable retention settings to manage growth.
In practice, all four plugins have minimal impact on front-end page load times. Activity logging occurs during admin actions and background processes, not on visitor-facing requests. Simple History specifically optimizes by loading logger messages only when needed, eliminating unnecessary overhead on pages where the log interface is not displayed.
GDPR and Privacy Compliance
Simple History anonymizes IP addresses by default (replacing the final octet with zero), stores no cookies or browser local storage, and supports WordPress privacy data export and erasure requests. WP Activity Log provides selective data anonymization for GDPR compliance, with Enterprise-tier log segregation supporting data isolation requirements. Stream logs IP addresses with user consent considerations left to site administrators. User Activity Tracking and Log provides basic privacy controls appropriate for its focused tracking scope.
No plugin guarantees GDPR compliance on its own. Compliance depends on how the plugin is configured, how access to logs is restricted, what privacy notices are provided to users, and whether appropriate legal basis exists for collecting activity data. Each plugin provides tools to support compliance, but the organizational responsibility remains with the site administrator. For more on WordPress compliance, see our GDPR cookie consent plugin comparison.
Final Verdict
For most WordPress sites in 2026, the decision comes down to WP Activity Log versus Simple History. WP Activity Log wins on depth: more events tracked, more third-party sensors, more enterprise integration options, and more granular control. Simple History wins on simplicity and value: zero configuration, lighter footprint, aggressive agency pricing, and a free version that covers the core needs of most WordPress administrators.
If you are unsure which to choose, start with Simple History. Its zero-configuration approach means you can have a working activity log in under a minute. If you later need deeper event coverage, real-time session management, or SIEM integration, WP Activity Log is the natural upgrade path.