At a glance
User Role Editor
User Role Editor WordPress plugin makes user roles and capabilities changing easy. Edit/add/delete WordPress user roles and capabilities.
Selection Lite
The Selection Lite Elementor widgets pack of items! This is just the initial version of a huge product we're excited to bring to the world.
Full Comparison
Technical Specs
| Metric | User Role Editor | Selection Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Requires WP | 4.4+ | 5.0+ |
| Requires PHP | 7.3+ | 7.4+ |
| Tested up to WP | 7.0 | 7.0 |
| Plugin age | 16 yrs | 5 yrs |
Quick Verdict
User Role Editor is the clear winner for WordPress site owners who need to manage permissions. It has 700K+ active installs, which is 70x more installs than Selection Lite. Selection Lite serves a completely different purpose: it adds Elementor widgets, not user role management. If you need to edit user roles in WordPress, pick User Role Editor. If you need Elementor header and footer templates, pick Selection Lite. They are not direct competitors.
Feature Comparison: User Role Editor vs Selection Lite
| Feature | User Role Editor | Selection Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Primary function | Edit, add, and delete user roles and capabilities | Elementor widgets pack for headers, footers, and templates |
| Edit existing WordPress user roles | Yes, built-in | No |
| Add custom user role in WordPress | Yes, built-in | No |
| Delete user role in WordPress | Yes, built-in | No |
| Elementor header and footer builder | No | Yes, initial version of the pack |
| Elementor widgets pack | No | Yes, the core offering |
| User capability management | Yes, granular per-role control | No |
| Template-based design (Elementor) | No | Yes, header and footer templates |
Who Should Use User Role Editor
- Site owners with multiple contributors. If you run a membership site or a team blog, you need to restrict what each user can do. User Role Editor lets you add custom user role WordPress configurations with a few clicks. It is trusted by 700K+ sites.
- Developers building client sites. You can quickly create a "Client Editor" role that hides the plugin menu and settings pages. This saves hours of manual code. 85% of reviewers gave it 5 stars.
- Anyone managing WooCommerce permissions. You can assign specific product and order capabilities to shop managers without giving them full admin access. This is a common use case for user role editor for WooCommerce setups.
Who Should Use Selection Lite
- Elementor users who want a pre-built header and footer. Selection Lite provides an initial set of Elementor header and footer templates. You can import them and customize the look without starting from scratch. It has 10K+ installs.
- Designers building a site quickly. The plugin packs multiple Elementor widgets into one lightweight package. This is useful if you need to add a header footer in Elementor WordPress but don't want a bloated theme builder.
- Users testing a future premium product. The developer calls this "the initial version of a huge product." If you want early access to an Elementor custom header footer builder and plan to upgrade later, Selection Lite is a low-risk starting point.
Community & Support
User Role Editor has a strong community. Of its 287 total reviews, 85% are 5-star ratings and only 8% are 1-star. This indicates consistent satisfaction over time. Selection Lite has no review data available, so it is not possible to assess user sentiment or long-term reliability from ratings alone. Both plugins have very small support thread samples over the last 2 months, so no conclusions about response times or resolution rates can be drawn from that data.
Verdict: User Role Editor or Selection Lite for WordPress sites?
Pick User Role Editor if you need to edit user roles in WordPress. It has 700K+ active installs and an 85% 5-star rating. It is the standard tool for adding, editing, and deleting roles. Pick Selection Lite if your only need is an Elementor widgets pack for headers and footers. It has 10K+ installs and fills that niche. Do not use Selection Lite as a user role editor alternative, because it has no role management features at all. For permission control, User Role Editor is the data-driven winner.
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 methodologyFrequently Asked Questions
Q How many people use User Role Editor compared to Selection Lite?
User Role Editor has 700K+ active installs while Selection Lite has 10K+, meaning User Role Editor is used on more sites.
Q Which is more actively maintained — User Role Editor or Selection Lite?
User Role Editor was last updated on May 21, 2026 and Selection Lite on Mar 24, 2026, so User Role Editor received the more recent update.
Q Are User Role Editor and Selection Lite both free?
Yes — both User Role Editor and Selection Lite 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 User Role Editor or Selection Lite better for WordPress sites?
User Role Editor is better for most WordPress sites because it focuses on managing user permissions, which is a core need for any site with multiple users. Selection Lite is a template builder for Elementor, not a role management tool, so it solves a completely different problem. If you need to control who can edit or publish content, User Role Editor is the clear choice.
Q Which is easier to set up for a WordPress beginner — User Role Editor or Selection Lite?
User Role Editor is easier for a beginner because it works directly from your WordPress admin under Users, with a simple checkbox interface to grant or remove capabilities. Selection Lite requires you to already be using the Elementor page builder and understand template parts, which adds complexity. Most beginners find editing roles more straightforward than building custom headers and footers.
Q What is the biggest feature difference between User Role Editor and Selection Lite?
The biggest difference is that User Role Editor controls user permissions and security, while Selection Lite is a template pack for designing Elementor headers and footers. User Role Editor lets you create custom roles and edit existing ones, but Selection Lite has no role editing features at all. They serve entirely separate purposes on a WordPress site.
Q Can you switch from User Role Editor to Selection Lite (or the other way) without losing data?
You can switch between them without losing data because they do not overlap in functionality. User Role Editor stores role settings in the WordPress database, and Selection Lite stores Elementor templates, so uninstalling one does not affect the other. Just deactivate the plugin you are replacing and activate the new one, your existing content and user roles remain intact.
Q Which type of site should choose User Role Editor, and which should choose Selection Lite?
Choose User Role Editor for any site where you need to manage user access, like membership sites, WooCommerce stores, or multi-author blogs. Choose Selection Lite if you build sites with Elementor and want pre-designed header and footer layouts. A site with multiple users needs User Role Editor, while a site focused on visual design benefits from Selection Lite.
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