404 to 301 vs Redirection (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, 404 to 301 and Redirection share a 3.0 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Redirection
Free WordPress plugin for managing 301 redirects and 404 errors
Free
Which one is for you
Pick 404 to 301 if
- Fits if a site move needs prefix or regex redirects for whole folders
- Works for admins who want 404 reports by email instead of checking a dashboard
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your site isn't on WordPress 6.6 or later
- Too light for your whole SEO setup, as titles, sitemaps and schema need another plugin
- Watch out: full-site and .htaccess redirect rules and Search Console crawl error data aren't included
- Watch out: the 404 logs record visitor IP addresses unless you switch on IP masking
Pick Redirection if
- Fits if you're moving a site or changing its URLs and need lots of redirects
- Works for anyone fixing 404 errors on a WordPress site without paying
Look elsewhere if
- Too light for your whole SEO setup, as titles, sitemaps and schema need another plugin
- Skip it if your site isn't on WordPress, as there's no standalone app
- Watch out: the current version needs WordPress 6.6 or later and PHP 7.4 or later
How we grade them
| 3.0GPA404 to 301Very good | 3.0GPARedirectionVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree with no license key or paid edition: redirect rules, the catch-all 404 redirect, logs, email reports, CSV import, REST API and WP-CLI all come from WordPress.org at no cost. | AFree, with no paid edition: the whole plugin, its logs, conditional rules, imports and exports, REST API and WP-CLI access come from WordPress.org at no cost. |
| Free plan and trial | AEvery feature ships free, so there's no cap or locked feature to run into. The listing points to AIOSEO Pro for the few things it leaves out. | AEverything is free and there's no premium version, so there's no cap or locked feature to run into. |
| Features | CExact, prefix and regex redirects with hit counters, a catch-all 404 redirect, merged 404 logs, email alerts and reports, slug change redirects and CSV import. It does redirects fully, but that's a smaller job: no titles, sitemaps or schema. | CRedirects with regex and conditions, automatic redirects when permalinks change, 404 logs, redirect logs and Apache or Nginx output. It does redirects fully, but that's a smaller job: no titles, sitemaps or schema. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. A catch-all redirect is quick, but prefix and regex rules and the log filters take some learning, and you still write each rule. | CNo rating on record. A simple redirect is quick, but regex, conditions and server rules take some learning, and you build every redirect yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, inside WordPress, with a REST API for every admin action, WP-CLI commands and WordPress Site Health. No standalone app. | BWeb only, inside WordPress, with a REST API, PHP hooks and WP-CLI. It writes to Apache .htaccess, exports Nginx rules and imports from other redirect plugins. |
| Best for | free redirect rules and 404 alerts in WordPress | free redirects and 404 tracking in WordPress |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: 404 to 301 and Redirection. How we grade
Price against what you get
404 to 301 has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Redirection has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other SEO plugins and apps on the chart, none scores higher than 404 to 301 for less, and none scores higher than Redirection for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- 404 to 301 also covers reports.
In commonFree planWebOpen sourcePublic API
At a glance
| 404 to 301 | Redirection | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Everything is free with no license key: exact, prefix and regex redirects, a catch-all 404 redirect, 404 logs with filters, email alerts and reports, CSV import, REST API and WP-CLI. | Everything is free: there is no premium version. Redirects, 404 tracking, logs, conditional rules, import and export, and the REST API and WP-CLI access. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | All in One SEO | John Godley |
| Price read from | wordpress.org | redirection.me |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
404 to 301
- It runs only inside WordPress and handles redirects and 404s only; titles, sitemaps and schema need an SEO plugin.
- Full-site and .htaccess redirect rules and Search Console crawl error data are not included; the listing points to AIOSEO Pro for them.
- 404 logs record visitor IP addresses unless IP masking is switched on.
- The current version needs WordPress 6.6 or later.
Redirection
- It runs only inside WordPress; there is no standalone app.
- It manages redirects and 404s only; titles, sitemaps and schema need a separate SEO plugin.
- The current version supports WordPress 6.6 or later and PHP 7.4 or later.
Key features
404 to 301
- Redirect rules
- Create 301, 302 or 307 redirects matched by exact path, prefix for moved folders, or regular expression, each with a hit counter and an on/off switch.
- Catch-all 404 redirect
- Send every 404 not covered by a rule to the homepage, a chosen page or any URL, with the redirect type you pick.
- 404 error logs
- Logs URL, referrer, IP, user agent and time, merges repeat hits into one row, and filters by referrer source, request type, status and date.
- Alerts and reports
- Email alerts when a broken URL passes a hit threshold, and daily, weekly or monthly reports with the log attached as a CSV.
- Slug change redirects
- Writes a redirect automatically when a post or page is renamed, and can stop WordPress guessing at the closest post for unknown URLs.
- Import, export and APIs
- Bulk CSV import with a preview and duplicate check, CSV log export, settings as JSON, a REST API for every admin action and WP-CLI commands.
Redirection
- Redirect manager
- Create redirects for any URL without editing Apache or Nginx, with regular expressions, query parameter matching and automatic redirects when permalinks change.
- Conditional redirects
- Redirect only for logged-in or logged-out users, a WordPress capability, browser, referrer, cookie, HTTP header, IP address, server or 404 pages.
- 404 tracking
- Logs every 404 error on the site, groups them to show where to focus, and lets them be redirected in bulk.
- Redirect logs
- Records each redirect with visitor, browser and referrer details and a hit count, with search, filters, export and controls to limit IP collection.
- Apache and Nginx output
- Redirects can be saved to .htaccess so Apache handles them, or exported as Nginx rewrite rules.
- Import, export and APIs
- Imports from other redirect plugins and .htaccess, exports to CSV, JSON and Nginx, and can be run through the WordPress REST API, PHP hooks and WP-CLI.
Plans
404 to 301
Free$0
The whole plugin from WordPress.org, with every feature included and no paid upgrade of its own.
Redirection
Free$0
The whole plugin from WordPress.org, with no paid features.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, 404 to 301 or Redirection?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both 404 to 301 and Redirection are free to use.
Which has a free plan, 404 to 301 or Redirection?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both 404 to 301 and Redirection have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.