AMP vs AF Companion 2026

At a glance

Plugin A

AMP

An easier path to great Page Experience for everyone. Powered by AMP.

Rating

3.8/5

Active Installs 400K+

Author Weston Ruter

Version v2.5.5

Last Updated Apr 2025

Source WordPress.org ↗

Plugin B

AF Companion – Starter Sites, Speed Booster & Growth Suite for Professional Publishing

One-Click Starter Sites, Performance Optimization, and Publisher Growth Tools

Rating

4.9/5

Active Installs 10K+

Author AF themes

Version v2.1.1

Last Updated May 2026

Source WordPress.org ↗

Full Comparison

📊 Data-Driven Review

Technical Specs

AMP vs AF Companion: Key Statistics
Metric	AMP	AF Companion
Requires WP	6.5+	5.0+
Tested up to WP	6.8.5	7.0.1
Plugin age	11 yrs	5 yrs

Quick Verdict

AF Companion wins this comparison. Its 94% five-star rating from user reviews signals strong satisfaction, while AMP sits at 61% five-star with 21% one-star. If you need starter sites, performance tools, and publisher growth features, AF Companion delivers. AMP focuses narrowly on Google's AMP framework for page experience. For most WordPress site owners, AF Companion is the smarter pick.

Feature Comparison: AMP vs AF Companion

Functional feature comparison between AMP and AF Companion
Feature	AMP	AF Companion
Primary focus	AMP framework integration for mobile page experience	Starter site demos, performance optimization, publisher growth tools
One-click demo import	Not available	One-click starter site imports for magazine and news layouts
Performance optimization	Built-in AMP caching and streamlined HTML delivery	Speed booster tools separate from AMP framework
Page experience tools	Core focus: Google Page Experience signals via AMP	Included as part of the growth suite
SEO tags	amp, mobile, optimization, page-experience, performance	demo-import, magazine, news, performance, seo
Starter site library	None	Curated starter sites for professional publishing
Mobile optimization method	Forces AMP framework on selected content	Performance tools that work with any theme
Growth suite features	Not applicable	Publisher-focused tools for audience growth

Who Should Use AMP

Teams building sites that must pass Google's Page Experience signals using the official AMP framework. AMP has 40x more installs than AF Companion, showing its legacy reach.
Developers who want a plugin with 61% five-star ratings from a large user base. The 21% one-star rate suggests the plugin works best for specific technical use cases.
Site owners who already understand AMP's limitations and need a direct implementation path. AMP's tag set includes "page-experience" as a core feature.

Who Should Use AF Companion

Publishers and news site owners who want one-click demo import for magazine layouts. AF Companion's starter sites target exactly this use case.
Anyone who values high user satisfaction: 94% of reviewers gave AF Companion five stars, with only 3% one-star. That rating is rare for any WordPress plugin.
Site owners who need performance optimization plus growth tools in a single plugin. The "speed booster" and "growth suite" tags show it combines both functions.

Community & Support

AMP's rating breakdown shows a polarized user base: 61% five-star reviews versus 21% one-star. That split suggests the plugin works well for some setups but frustrates others. AF Companion shows much stronger consensus: 94% five-star and just 3% one-star. Support thread counts for both plugins are too small to draw conclusions, so the ratings offer the clearest signal of user experience.

Verdict: AMP or AF Companion for WordPress sites?

Pick AMP if you must use the official AMP framework for Google Page Experience compliance. The plugin has 40x more installs, which means more community documentation exists. But be aware: 21% of reviewers gave it one star, indicating setup friction.

Pick AF Companion if you want starter sites, performance tools, and publisher growth features in one package. With 94% five-star ratings and only 3% one-star, it satisfies nearly everyone who tries it. For the typical WordPress site owner who wants a better site without rebuilding around AMP, AF Companion is the clear recommendation.

How this comparison was made

This comparison is AI-generated from live WordPress.org data. Install counts, ratings, versions and support statistics sync weekly, so the numbers on this page stay current. Content passes automated quality checks before publishing, and pages below our quality threshold are held for human review.

Read our full methodology

Frequently Asked Questions

Q How many people use AMP compared to AF Companion?

AMP has 400K+ active installs while AF Companion has 10K+, meaning AMP is used on more sites.

Q Which has better user ratings — AMP or AF Companion?

AF Companion averages 4.9/5 from 34 reviews, while AMP averages 3.8/5 from 367 reviews — AF Companion has the higher average rating.

Q Which is more actively maintained — AMP or AF Companion?

AF Companion was last updated on May 26, 2026 and AMP on Apr 10, 2025, so AF Companion received the more recent update.

Q Are AMP and AF Companion both free?

Yes — both AMP and AF Companion are free to install from the official WordPress.org plugin directory. Some features may require a paid upgrade offered by the plugin author.

Q Is AMP or AF Companion better for WordPress sites?

AMP is better if your main goal is making your site load fast on mobile devices, as it focuses on mobile optimization and page experience. AF Companion is better if you are building a magazine or news site and need a tool to import demo content and manage that specific layout. Your choice depends entirely on whether you prioritize mobile speed or a content-focused theme setup.

Q Which is easier to set up for a WordPress beginner — AMP or AF Companion?

AF Companion is easier for a beginner because it is designed to work with a specific theme and automatically imports demo content, so you get a finished site quickly. AMP requires you to configure mobile optimization settings and can be more technical for a new user to get right. Most beginners find the demo import process of AF Companion more straightforward than tuning AMP for performance.

Q What is the biggest feature difference between AMP and AF Companion?

AMP focuses entirely on speeding up mobile pages and improving your site's page experience for search engines. AF Companion is built around importing demo content and adding features for magazine and news layouts, with some performance and SEO tools on the side. The core difference is that AMP changes how your pages are served to mobile users, while AF Companion helps you build a specific type of site quickly.

Q Can you switch from AMP to AF Companion (or the other way) without losing data?

You can switch between them without losing your core WordPress content like posts and pages, because they work on different aspects of your site. However, any specific settings or layout configurations you made with one plugin will not transfer to the other. You should expect to reconfigure your mobile optimization settings if switching to AMP, or re-import demo content if switching to AF Companion.

Q Which type of site should choose AMP, and which should choose AF Companion?

AMP is the right choice for any site that needs to pass Google's mobile page experience tests, especially blogs and content sites where mobile traffic is high. AF Companion is built for magazine and news sites that want a pre-built design with demo content and specific layout tools. If you run a news or magazine site, pick AF Companion; for everything else focused on mobile speed, pick AMP.