WPMelon Advanced Bulk Edit vs Smart Manager
Smart Manager (see their screenshots on WordPress.org) manages your whole store. Advanced Bulk Edit focuses on products, does more in its free version, and Pro costs about a third as much.
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The short answer
Both are spreadsheet-style editors that run inside your WordPress admin. They are built for different jobs.
Choose Smart Manager if
- You need to edit orders, customers, coupons, subscription records, posts or pages from one grid.
- You need bulk edits that run on a schedule, or order exports that run on their own.
Choose Advanced Bulk Edit if
- Your work is products and variations.
- You want real bulk editing in the free version, with no cap on inline edits.
- You want Pro for less money and on more sites: $69 a year for 3 sites, against $199 a year for 1.
Feature by feature
Free next to free, Pro next to Pro. Smart Manager’s free version is called Lite.
| Feature | Smart Manager Lite | Smart Manager Pro | Advanced Bulk Edit Free | Advanced Bulk Edit Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inline edits | Up to 3 records at a time, then save | Unlimited | No limit | No limit |
| Bulk edit across many products | No | YesSet, append, prepend, increase or decrease by % or amount, search and replace | YesSet, increase or decrease by % or amount, find and replace, append, prepend | YesAdds regex find and replace, price rounding and SKU templates |
| Variations in the grid | YesThrough “Show Variations” | Yes | YesChild rows under each parent | YesAdds per-variation attribute editing |
| Search and filters | YesSimple search, advanced search with AND, date and column filters | YesAdds OR conditions, saved searches and AI-powered search | YesCategory, tags, type, stock, price, SKU, attributes, dates and more | YesAdds custom field, ACF and custom taxonomy filters |
| Saved views (filters and columns) | No | YesCustom views and saved searches | Yes | Yes |
| CSV export | Product stock columns only | YesAll columns, for products, orders, users and other post types | YesEvery column in your view | YesAdds custom field, ACF and taxonomy columns |
| CSV import of products | Yes | Yes | No | No CSV import. Paste from Excel updates existing products. |
| Saved bulk edit presets | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Undo after saving | No | YesUndo and edit history | NoUnsaved edits can be discarded | YesOperation History (off by default) |
| Custom fields and ACF | Custom fields inline, up to 3 at a time | YesIncluding ACF, Pods and Meta Box | No | YesDetected automatically, including ACF (common field types). You choose which to show. |
| WPML | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Orders | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Customers and users | No | Yes | No | No |
| Coupons | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Posts and pages | Posts | YesPosts and pages | No | No |
| Subscription, membership and booking records | No | Yes | No | No |
| Scheduled bulk edits | No | Yes | No | No |
| Automated exports | No | YesScheduled CSV exports of orders | No | No |
| Entry price | Free | $199/yr for 1 site | Free | $69/yr for 3 sites |
Smart Manager details are from its WordPress.org page and storeapps.org, checked on the date at the top. The sources are listed at the end of this page.
Prices
Both have a free version on WordPress.org. Both Pro versions sell yearly and lifetime licences.
Smart Manager Pro
Free version: Smart Manager Lite
Yearly
- 1 site$199/yr$199 per site per year
- 5 sites$249/yr$49.80 per site per year
Lifetime
- 1 site$549
- 5 sites$599
Advanced Bulk Edit Pro
Free version: Advanced Bulk Edit Free
Yearly
- 3 sites$69/yr$23 per site per year
- 10 sites$129/yr$12.90 per site per year
- 25 sites$229/yr$9.16 per site per year
Lifetime
- 3 sites$249
- 10 sites$449
- 25 sites$799
What one store pays per year: Advanced Bulk Edit Pro $69 (3-site plan) Smart Manager Pro $199 (1-site plan)
What five stores pay per year: Advanced Bulk Edit Pro $129 (10-site plan, the smallest that covers 5) Smart Manager Pro $249 (5-site plan)
Regular prices in US dollars, before tax, as listed on storeapps.org and wpmelon.com on the date at the top of this page. Each plugin’s own site has the current price. Advanced Bulk Edit pricing
Where Smart Manager is the better choice
If any of these is the main reason you’re looking, Smart Manager is the better fit.
Your whole store in one grid
Orders, coupons and posts in the free version, plus customers, users, pages and media in Pro, next to your products.
Scheduled bulk edits
Plan a price drop or a restock and let it run later, for example for a seasonal sale. Pro only.
Automated exports
Scheduled CSV exports of your orders, sent weekly, monthly or when you choose. Pro only.
Subscriptions, memberships and bookings
Edit the records of WooCommerce Subscriptions, Memberships and Bookings, and other post types with their custom fields. Pro only.
Where Advanced Bulk Edit is the better choice
If your work is the product catalog, these are the differences you’ll notice.
The free version is a real tool
No cap on inline edits. Bulk price changes by percentage or amount, find and replace, append and prepend, bulk categories and tags, saved views, and a CSV export of every column in your view.
Built for large catalogs
A virtualized grid that draws only the rows on screen, sorting that orders the whole catalog across pages, and page sizes up to 10,000 products.
Variations inline
Expand a variable product and edit its variations as child rows. Sorting keeps every variation under its parent.
Spreadsheet tools in Pro PRO
Paste from Excel or Google Sheets, Edit mode (one cell edit applied to every selected product), saved Bulk Edit presets, and Operation History to restore values after you save. Operation History is off until you turn it on.
Every edit through WooCommerce
Saves go through WooCommerce’s own product code, the same path the product editor uses, so hooks fire, caches clear and your other plugins stay in step.
WooCommerce bulk editing since 2014
From the makers of the original WooCommerce Advanced Bulk Edit, trusted by 14,000+ stores. This is its complete rebuild.
Switching from Smart Manager
Both plugins edit the same WooCommerce products, so there’s nothing to migrate: no export, no import, no sync.
Install the free version next to Smart Manager. Both can stay active while you compare.
Open WooCommerce → Bulk Edit and try it on your own catalog: filter, edit a few prices, save.
Set up your views. Smart Manager’s saved searches and column sets don’t carry over, so save the filters and columns you use as views.
New to the plugin? The getting started guide takes about five minutes, and the rest of the docs cover prices, variations and spreadsheets.
Questions
Is Advanced Bulk Edit a Smart Manager alternative?
For products and variations, yes. Both edit WooCommerce products in a spreadsheet-style grid inside your WordPress admin. Smart Manager also edits orders, coupons, users, posts and other post types; Advanced Bulk Edit edits products only.
Can Advanced Bulk Edit edit orders or customers?
No. It edits WooCommerce products and their variations only, in both the free version and Pro. If you need to bulk edit orders, customers, coupons or posts, Smart Manager covers them.
Is Advanced Bulk Edit free?
Yes. The free version is on WordPress.org, with no cap on inline edits, bulk edits across many products, saved views and CSV export. Pro adds paste from Excel, Edit mode, Bulk Edit presets, Operation History, custom fields and ACF, WPML and more.
How do the prices compare?
Advanced Bulk Edit Pro starts at $69 a year for 3 sites. Smart Manager Pro starts at $199 a year for 1 site, or $249 a year for 5 sites. Both also sell lifetime licences.
Does Advanced Bulk Edit handle variable products?
Yes. Variations appear as child rows under their parent product, and you edit their prices, stock, SKUs and other fields inline or in bulk. Sorting keeps every variation under its parent.
Can I use both plugins on the same site?
Yes. They edit the same WooCommerce products and keep their own settings, so you can run them side by side while you compare, then deactivate the one you don’t need.
Sources
Every Smart Manager detail on this page comes from these pages, checked on the date at the top. If something has changed, tell us and we’ll correct it.
Try it free on your own catalog
Install the free version from WordPress.org, open WooCommerce → Bulk Edit, and edit your first products in a few minutes.