Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) vs Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) turns WordPress sites into a fully-fledged content management system by giving you all the tools to do more with your data. Use the ACF plugin to take full control of your WordPress edit screens, custom field data, and more. Add fields on demand. The ACF field builder allows you to quickly and easily add fields to WP edit screens with only the click of a few buttons! Whether it’s something simple like adding an “author” field to a book review post, or something more complex like the structured data needs of an ecommerce site or marketplace, ACF makes adding fields to your content model easy. Add them anywhere. Fields can be added all over WordPress including posts, pages, users, taxonomy terms, media, comments and even custom options pages! It couldn’t be simpler to bring structure to the WordPress content creation experience. Show them everywhere. Load and display your custom field values in any theme template file with our hassle-free, developer friendly functions! Whether you need to display a single value or generate content based on a more complex query, the out-of-the-box functions of ACF make templating a dream for developers of all levels of experience. Any Content, Fast. Turning WordPress into a true content management system is not just about custom fields. Creating new custom post types and taxonomies is an essential part of building custom WordPress sites. Registering post types and taxonomies is now possible right in the ACF UI, speeding up the content modeling workflow without the need to touch code or use another plugin. Simply beautiful and intentionally accessible. For content creators and those tasked with data entry, the field user experience is as intuitive as they could desire while fitting neatly into the native WordPress experience. Accessibility standards are regularly reviewed and applied, ensuring ACF is able to empower as close to anyone as possible. Documentation and developer guides. Over 10 plus years of vibrant community contribution alongside an ongoing commitment to clear documentation means that you’ll be able to find the guidance you need to build what you want. Features Simple & Intuitive Powerful Functions Over 30 Field Types Extensive Documentation Millions of Users Links Website Documentation Support ACF PRO PRO The Advanced Custom Fields plugin is also available in a professional version which includes more fields, more functionality, and more flexibility. The ACF PRO plugin features: The Repeater Field allows you to create a set of sub fields which can be repeated again, and again, and again. ACF Blocks, a powerful PHP-based framework for developing custom block types for the WordPress Block Editor (aka Gutenberg). Define, create, and manage content with the Flexible Content Field, which provides for multiple layout and sub field options. Use the Options Page feature to add custom admin pages to edit ACF fields. Build fully customisable image galleries with the Gallery Field. Unlock a more efficient workflow for managing field settings by reusing existing fields and field groups on demand with the Clone Field. Upgrade to ACF PRO

Manage all your custom content needs in one location with the Pods Framework. Create content types including Custom Post Types, Custom Taxonomies, and our special Advanced Content Types (ACTs get their own custom tables) Extend and customize content types including Posts, Pages, Categories, Tags, Users, and Media with one easy click Create custom settings pages easily within seconds Add custom fields to any content type Conditionally show fields based on the value of other fields with Conditional Logic Group your fields however you’d like into their own sections and add additional headings to help organize Show your fields anywhere using our blocks, shortcodes, widgets, or the non-coder Pods Template approach along with our automatic theme integration Create connections between any of your content with relationship fields to keep your content organized Let Pods help you grow your development and site building skills so that you can manage content beyond the standard WordPress Posts & Pages. Want to check it out? Give Pods a test drive with our new One-click Demo. Check out our Documentation, Support Forums, and our Live Community Slack Chat for assistance building your dream project with Pods. Introduction Content types that evolve with your needs Create any type of content that you want — small or large — we’ve got you covered. Every content type created with Pods gets all the love it needs to grow up big and strong. You’ll get an easy-to-use interface that lets you manage field groups, custom fields, and how your content type will look or function. Create new content types With Pods, you can create entirely new content types and settings pages. Every Field Type, FREE If you choose to use Pods for your custom fields, you’ll get every field type you need, free of charge. Pods works great alongside other custom field plugins like Advanced Custom Fields too. We have an extensive collection of over 25 different input types to choose from on 20+ different field types for any content structure. Each field type comes with their own additional options to help you customize content entry and display. You can also control visibility by role/capability and other advanced options. Repeatable Fields: Turn almost any field into a repeatable field with multiple values Text: Plain Text, Website, Phone, Email, Password Paragraph: Plain Paragraph Text, WYSIWYG (Visual Editor), Code (Syntax Highlighting) Date / Time: Date and Time, Date, Time Number: Plain Number, Currency (30+ international currencies) Relationships / Media: File / Image / Video (Media library and basic upload options available), Avatar (for extended Users), oEmbed, Relationship (Dropdown, Multi Select, Autocomplete, Checkboxes, Radio Buttons, and List View available) Checkbox (Yes / No) Color Picker Layout Fields: Heading text, HTML content Relationships to rule the world with The power is in your hands with our comprehensive support to relate your content to anything. Custom defined lists of text options Relate to any Post Type or Taxonomy posts / terms Relate to any User profile Relate to User Roles or Capabilities Relate to any Comment And many other relationships are also available including: Image Sizes Navigation Menus Relate to content within any Database Table Countries (predefined) US States (predefined) Canadian Provinces (predefined) Calendar – Days of Week (predefined) Calendar – Months of Year (predefined) And many more! Optional Components to do even more You can enable some of our included components to extend your WordPress site even further: Types-only Mode – On our Pods Settings page, you can choose to disable creating custom fields for a performance boost if you only want to use Pods for content types or you plan on using it alongside of other custom field plugins Pods Templates – Use our template engine to create templates that can be handed off to clients for care-free management Markdown Syntax – Parses Markdown Syntax for Paragraph Text / WYSIWYG fields Advanced Relationships – Add even more relationship objects including Database Tables, Multisite Networks, Multisite Sites, Themes, Page Templates (in the theme), Sidebars, Post Type Objects, and Taxonomy Objects Table Storage – Enable table-based database storage for custom fields on Post Types, Media, Users, and Comments Roles and Capabilities – Create or edit Roles for your site and customize what they have access to Advanced Content Types – Create entirely custom content types that have their own database table, and they will exist outside the normal WordPress context avoiding meta database tables Pods Pages – Create custom pages that function off of your site’s URL path with wildcard support and choose the Page Template in the theme to use — most useful paired with Advanced Content Types Plugins that integrate with Pods Advanced Views Lite – Lets you build templates (views) and queries (cards) so that you can manage your content rendering with less code. (Disclaimer: We have an affiliate link to them to help support our project) Bricks Builder Codepress Admin Columns using premium Admin Columns Pro Pods integration Conductor Elementor Pro Polylang has direct integration in Pods itself Timber WPGraphQL has direct integration in Pods itself WPML has direct integration in Pods itself YARPP has direct integration in Pods itself Themes that integrate with Pods Genesis (StudioPress) has direct integration in Pods itself Extend Pods with Free Add-Ons Pods Beaver Themer Add-On – Integrates Pods with Beaver Themer Pods Gravity Forms Add-On – Integrates Pods with Gravity Forms Pods Alternative Cache Add-On – Speed up Pods on servers with limited object caching capabilities Pods SEO Add-On – Integrates Pods Advanced Content Types with Yoast SEO Pods AJAX Views Add-On – Adds new functions you can use to output template parts that load via AJAX after other page elements Extend Pods with Free Third-party Add-Ons Paid Memberships Pro – Pods Add On – Integrates Pods with Paid Memberships Pro to extend PMPro objects with custom fields added by Pods Panda Pods Repeater Field Add-On – Lets you add groups of fields that repeat and are stored in their own custom database table (Advanced setup required) Pods Pro by SKCDEV Premium Add-Ons List Tables Add-On – A new block and shortcode to list/filter content from Pods in a table format Page Builder Toolkit Add-On – Integrates Pods with Beaver Builder, Beaver Themer, Conditional Blocks Pro, Divi Theme, Elementor, GenerateBlocks, Oxygen Builder, and Stackable Blocks (premium) Advanced Relationships Storage Add-On – Advanced options for relationship storage TablePress Integration Add-On – Integrates Pods with TablePress Advanced Permalinks Add-On – Advanced permalink structures and taxonomy landing pages How can I translate Pods into my own language? Many thanks go out to the fine folks who have helped us translate the Pods plugin into many other languages. Join us in further translating the Pods interface on the official Translating WordPress dashboard We are also available through our Live Community Slack Chat to help our translators get started and to support them on the process. Are you looking to translate your Pods and Fields themselves? You’ll want to enable the “Translate Pods” component from Pods Admin > Components. Contributors Pods really wouldn’t be where it is without all the contributions from our donors and code/support contributors.