The best WordPress social image generators create a branded Open Graph image for every post automatically, so shared links show your title and logo instead of a random or missing preview. For most sites, start with MightyShare or Orshot, both free plugins with a free monthly allowance, or Branded Social Images if you want a free plugin that needs no account at all.
If you have ever shared a post on X, LinkedIn or Facebook and the preview was your logo or a broken placeholder, you have seen the problem. Designing a share image for every post in Canva or Figma works for one launch but not for a busy blog, which is the case for automating the whole job.
We built MightyShare, so weigh that pick accordingly. For this update we checked every tool’s WordPress.org listing, pricing page and documentation in November 2026, and took fresh screenshots. They are ranked by how well they fit a typical WordPress workflow: native plugins first, then the API platforms.
- A social image generator builds a branded Open Graph image for each post from a template, so you never design share images by hand.
- MightyShare and Orshot are free WordPress.org plugins backed by a hosted service with a free monthly allowance (50 and 100 images). Branded Social Images is free and renders images on your own server.
- Jetpack’s Social Image Generator needs a paid Jetpack Social plan, and it only works in the block editor.
- OMGIMG is a premium in-dashboard editor from $99 a year. Placid ($19 a month) and Bannerbear ($49 a month) are API-first platforms for bigger automation setups.
- Make share images 1200 x 630 pixels, the standard Open Graph size.
Quick comparison
| Tool | WordPress.org plugin | Free option | Paid plans from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MightyShare | Yes | 50 images a month | $5/mo (500 images) | Hands-off branded share images |
| Orshot | Yes | 100 images a month | $39/mo (1,500 images) | Featured and share images, plus wider automation |
| Jetpack Social | Yes | No (the generator is a paid feature) | $9.95/mo ($4.95 the first year, billed yearly) | Sites already auto-sharing with Jetpack |
| Branded Social Images | Yes | Free, no account | None | A free plugin that renders on your own server |
| OMGIMG | No (premium plugin) | 30-day money-back guarantee | $99/yr (2 sites) | A full image editor inside WordPress |
| Placid | No (own plugin) | Free trial | $19/mo (500 credits) | Templates across social, PDF and video |
| Bannerbear | Yes, but not updated since 2022 | Trial with 30 credits | $49/mo (1,000 credits) | Developers and API workflows |
MightyShare generates a branded share image for every post, putting your title, logo and branding on top of your featured image with one of its templates. Install the free plugin, paste in your API key, and it hooks into the og:image tag your site already outputs, so existing posts get images the next time they are shared.
What you get with MightyShare:
- Per post type controls, plus a template override on any single post from the editor sidebar.
- Images that render in the background when you publish (since plugin version 1.4.0), so they are ready before a social network asks for them.
- An option to turn it off for a post when you would rather upload a custom image.
- Developer hooks for custom setups, and any Google Font on paid plans.
The free plan covers 50 renders a month. Paid plans start at $5 a month for 500 renders and include every template and unlimited sites. A render only counts the first time an image is generated for a URL; after that it is served from cache.
2. Orshot
Orshot is a template-based platform for generating images, PDFs and video through an API, and its WordPress plugin, released in April 2026, brings the image side into your site. You connect your account from Settings > Orshot with a one-click OAuth flow, so there are no API keys to copy, then pick the templates you want to use.
Main features of the Orshot plugin:
- Auto featured images that render from a template when you publish, with the post title, excerpt and category filled in.
- Open Graph images generated on publish, with the plugin adding the
og:imageandtwitter:imagetags. - An Orshot Image block for generating and embedding an image inside any post or page.
- Per post type controls, so auto-generation can run on posts, pages or custom post types.
- Generated images saved to your media library as normal attachments.
One setup note: the plugin prints its own og:image tag. If Yoast or Rank Math already sets one, Orshot’s FAQ suggests turning off its Open Graph feature or filtering your SEO plugin’s output so you don’t end up with duplicate tags.
The free plan includes 100 credits a month (one credit renders one image) with no credit card, and paid plans start at $39 a month for 1,500 credits. Orshot also renders from Zapier, Make, n8n and its REST API, which makes it a good fit when your share images are one part of a bigger automation setup.
Jetpack’s Social Image Generator started as a standalone plugin, which Jetpack acquired in September 2021. It now lives inside Jetpack Social, Automattic’s tool for auto-sharing posts to Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, LinkedIn, Mastodon, Nextdoor and Tumblr.
Turn it on and it builds an image for each post from one of its templates, using your post title or a custom header, a font you pick, and your featured image, a custom image or a default image as the background. Since Jetpack 15.0, it also creates a default preview image automatically when you don’t choose one.
There are two catches. The Social Image Generator is only available on a paid Jetpack Social plan, at $9.95 a month or $4.95 a month for the first year when billed yearly. It also works only in the block editor, and it is built around Jetpack’s sharing: for the generated image to show on a shared post, you have to turn on Share as attachment.
Branded Social Images is the completely free option. It is a WordPress.org plugin that draws your Open Graph images on your own server (with PHP’s GD library), so there is no account, API key or monthly limit.
You design one image on its settings screen with a live preview: add your logo and a fallback background, then set the text color, font (or upload a .ttf or .otf file), position, size and text background. Every public post type gets an image automatically, and you can change the image or text on any single post. It takes post titles from whatever SEO plugin you use, and if you picked an Open Graph image in Yoast, it uses that as the background.
The trade-off is design range: you get one layout with your branding on it, not a library of templates. The plugin was last updated in July 2026 and lists WordPress 6.9 as the latest version it has been tested with.
5. OMGIMG
OMGIMG is a premium plugin that adds a full image editor to the WordPress dashboard. You build a template once, from a preset or from scratch, and it generates featured images and social images from your post title, excerpt and featured image as you publish. A Batch Generate option creates images for your existing posts and pages, and you can still design one-off images without a template.
For Open Graph images, it integrates with Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO, SEOPress, The SEO Framework and Squirrly SEO, and it can resize a template for Instagram, X, TikTok and Facebook.
OMGIMG is not on WordPress.org. Plans start at $99 a year for two sites, and it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
6. Placid
Placid is a creative automation platform that generates images, PDFs and video from your own templates, through its API or integrations like Zapier, Make, n8n, Airtable and Webflow. Its own WordPress plugin, which is not on WordPress.org, fills a template with page titles, author names and other post data, then sets your share image for Open Graph, Twitter and Pinterest.
You can configure automations separately for posts, pages, categories and custom post types, and Placid says the plugin plays nicely with Yoast and other metadata plugins without overriding images you already set.
Plans start at $19 a month for 500 credits (one image is one credit), unused credits roll over to the next month, and there is a free trial with no credit card.
Bannerbear is an API-first platform for generating images, video and PDFs from templates. It is built for developers and automation tools: you call its REST API or connect one of its 50+ app integrations, and it renders the result.
For WordPress there is an official plugin on WordPress.org, but it has not been updated since November 2022 and only lists WordPress 6.1 as tested, so expect to do more of the wiring yourself. Bannerbear’s tutorial on auto-generating Open Graph images in WordPress shows one way to set it up.
Plans start at $49 a month for 1,000 API credits, and the free trial includes 30 credits with no credit card.
Without one, a shared link usually shows your featured image, which may be the wrong shape and has no title on it, or a single site-wide default. A generator fixes that for every post:
- Every shared link carries your colors, logo and post title, so your posts look consistent in feeds.
- You skip opening Canva or Figma for each post, which adds up on a site that publishes often.
- Older posts get a proper image too, since most of these tools cover your whole archive.
- Images come out at 1200 x 630, the size Open Graph previews expect.
A generator is built for repeatable, on-brand cards from a template. If you want one-off artwork for a post instead, that is a job for an AI image generator.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a social image generator if my site already has Open Graph tags?
The OG tags tell social platforms what image to show. Without a social image generator, that image is usually your post’s featured image, which may be too small, the wrong aspect ratio, or not branded. A generator creates a purpose-built share image with your title, logo and template, then points the OG tags at it.
The Facebook debugger says a required property is missing. Did I break something?
Almost certainly not. After setting up share images, most people run a URL through the Facebook Sharing Debugger to check it, and the debugger often reports that the required property fb:app_id is missing. Despite the wording, it is a notice, not an error, and it does not stop your image or preview from working.
What size should social share images be?
1200 x 630 pixels (about 1.91:1) is the standard Open Graph size. It works for Facebook, LinkedIn and most messaging apps, and X’s large image card accepts the same image.
Are there free WordPress social image generators?
Yes. Branded Social Images is completely free and renders images on your own server. MightyShare and Orshot have free plugins with free monthly allowances of 50 and 100 images. Jetpack’s Social Image Generator, OMGIMG, Placid and Bannerbear are paid, though Placid and Bannerbear offer free trials and OMGIMG has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Do social image generators work with Yoast and Rank Math?
Mostly, yes. MightyShare hooks into the og:image tag your SEO plugin outputs, OMGIMG has integrations for Yoast, Rank Math and four other SEO plugins, and Branded Social Images takes post titles from any SEO plugin. Orshot prints its own og:image tag, so turn off its Open Graph feature or filter your SEO plugin’s output to avoid duplicate tags.
Can I use AI to generate social share images?
You can, but for share images the template approach is usually better. AI image models are great for one-off creative images, but they struggle with exact text, brand consistency and the speed you need across hundreds of posts. Templates win on cost, speed and consistency.
Which one should I pick if I want zero hassle?
If you don’t want to pay, start with MightyShare or Orshot on their free plans, or Branded Social Images if you would rather not sign up for anything. If you already pay for Jetpack Social, turn on its Social Image Generator. For a custom developer workflow, Placid’s or Bannerbear’s API is the better fit.
Wrapping up
For most WordPress sites, start with MightyShare or Orshot on their free plans, or Branded Social Images if you want everything to run on your own server. If you already pay for Jetpack Social, its generator is already there. Placid and Bannerbear make sense when share images are one small part of a bigger automation setup. A generator only handles the image, so if you also want share buttons on your posts, a lightweight sharing plugin like Novashare adds them with inline CSS and SVG icons and no JavaScript file.
If you publish a lot and want the rest of the workflow automated too, see RightBlogger’s roundup of AI social media tools for the content distribution side.
