Confused by the ACF / SCF situation?

You're not alone. In October 2024, a dispute between WP Engine (who owns Advanced Custom Fields) and WordPress.org led to WordPress.org forking ACF into Secure Custom Fields (SCF). If you searched WordPress.org for ACF recently, you may have installed SCF without realizing it. And if you're trying to figure out whether to stay on commercial ACF, move to free SCF, or look at alternatives — you're in the middle of the most confusing moment in the WordPress custom fields ecosystem in 15 years. Field Forge is the clear third option. Fully compatible with both ACF and SCF (your theme code keeps working), with a modern architecture ACF hasn't updated in years, AI features neither plugin has, and a one-click migration path from either. Read the complete ACF vs SCF vs Field Forge guide →

Field Forge — Modern WordPress Custom Fields Plugin

Q: Ready to modernize your WordPress custom fields?

Get Field Forge — from $35/year → 14-day refund. One-click migration from ACF and SCF. Beta/manual mapping paths for Meta Box, CMB2, Carbon Fields, Pods, and Toolset.

Features

32 field types for every WordPress use case

Not just an ACF clone — a ground-up rebuild with custom table storage, typed APIs, and AI schema generation.

Basic

text, textarea, number, range, email, url, password

Content

image, file, wysiwyg, oembed, gallery

Choice

select, checkbox, radio, true/false, button group

Relational

relationship, post object, page link, taxonomy, user

jQuery

date picker, time picker, color picker

Layout

tab, accordion, message

Pro compound

repeater, group, flexible content, clone

Blocks

PHP-rendered Gutenberg blocks

Field Library

32 field types. One builder.

From a plain text field to a full repeater — every data shape you need, already built in.

Text

Textarea

Number

Email

URL

Image

Gallery

File

Repeater

Group

Relationship

Post Object

Taxonomy

User

Select

Checkbox

Radio

Toggle

Range

Color

Date

Time

Date-Time

WYSIWYG

Code

Map

oEmbed

Link

Password

Button Group

Message

Tab

+ 32 field types ready to use

Model anything. Query everything.

Post

Text

Number

Relationship

Repeater

GraphQL

Define your data model once — query it over REST, PHP, and GraphQL without writing a line of resolver code.

Developer experience

Query your fields any way you ship.

Every field is exposed over REST, PHP and a fully typed GraphQL schema — no resolver boilerplate. Same data, in your stack's idiom.

GraphQL Explorer 200 OK

QUERY

query {
  post(id: 42) {
    title
    fields {
      hero
      price
      gallery
    }
  }
}

RESPONSE

{

"title": "Product Launch"

"fields": {

"hero": "hero-2026.jpg"

"price": 49

"gallery": [3]

}

Performance

Custom-table storage = speed.

Postmeta hammers the DB with 12 JOINs for every field read. Field Forge queries a single purpose-built table — the difference is visceral.

Legacy postmeta 12 JOINs 840ms

Field Forge custom table 68ms

≈ 12× faster queries
vs. standard postmeta

How it works

What makes Field Forge different

No configuration wizards. No bloat. Install, define, build.

01

Custom table storage that actually scales

Every other WordPress custom fields plugin — ACF, SCF, Meta Box, Pods — stores field values in wp_postmeta. This works fine for small sites, but on sites with 1,000+ posts or heavy use of repeaters and flexible content, the N+1 query problem starts eating performance. A page that loads 20 posts with 10 fields each can fire 200+ SQL queries.

02

A full ACF compatibility layer

Field Forge ships with implementations of every major ACF template function: get_field(), the_field(), get_fields(), have_rows(), the_row(), get_sub_field(), get_row_index(), get_row_layout(), update_field(), delete_field(), get_field_object(). Plus support for acf_register_block_type() for PHP-rendered Gutenberg blocks.

03

AI schema generation — a plugin first

Describe the field group you want in plain English, and the AI generates it. "Hero section with title, subtitle, background image, and CTA button" → a complete field group with 4 fields, correct types, and sensible defaults. Field Forge ships with 12 built-in templates (hero, FAQ, testimonials, features, pricing, team, CTA, gallery, contact, product, SEO, quicklinks) and falls back to an AI call for custom descriptions.

04

Built for headless WordPress

Field Forge auto-generates TypeScript type definitions (.d.ts) for every field group in your site. Plus GraphQL SDL output. Plus auto-registration with WPGraphQL if it's installed. For teams using Next.js, Astro, Nuxt, or any JavaScript frontend against WordPress as a CMS, this turns custom fields from a type-safety nightmare into a fully-typed API.

Pricing

Simple, transparent pricing

Every plan includes all 32 field types, custom table storage, the ACF compat layer, AI schema generation, TypeScript and GraphQL generation, the visual builder, local JSON sync, schema versioning, and every integration.

Personal

All features included

$35 /year

1 site

32 field types (all of them)

Custom table storage

ACF compatibility layer

AI schema generation

Visual field group builder

Repeater, Group, Flexible Content

Options pages

TypeScript generation

GraphQL generation + WPGraphQL

REST API

Local JSON sync

Schema versioning & rollback

ACF / SCF / Meta Box importer

Object cache integration

Batch loading API

PHP blocks (Gutenberg)

Priority support

Unlimited updates

14-day refund

Get Personal

Frequently asked questions

Is Field Forge really ACF-compatible?

Yes. Field Forge implements the full set of ACF template functions (get_field(), the_field(), have_rows(), etc.) and supports acf_register_block_type() for PHP blocks. Theme code written for ACF or SCF keeps working after migration without changes.

What's the difference between Field Forge, ACF, and SCF?

ACF is the original commercial plugin, owned by WP Engine since 2022. SCF is WordPress.org’s free fork of ACF created in October 2024 during the WP Engine / WordPress.org dispute. Field Forge is a completely new plugin with modern architecture (custom table storage, AI features, TypeScript/GraphQL) that’s compatible with both. Complete comparison →

Does Field Forge work with Elementor / Gutenberg / WPGraphQL?

Yes to all three. Elementor dynamic tags read Field Forge values natively. Gutenberg custom blocks can use get_field() in render callbacks. WPGraphQL auto-registers Field Forge types when both plugins are active.

Can I keep using my existing ACF field groups?

Yes — the ACF importer copies your field groups into Field Forge’s own storage, then runs a batched migration of all existing field values. After import, you deactivate ACF and Field Forge takes over. Your theme code is unchanged.

Do I need to bring an OpenAI API key for AI features?

No. AI features route through our managed backend. Your first paid Forge activation grants the shared welcome credit pack once per account, and you can buy non-expiring top-up packs when needed.

Is there a free version?

Yes. Field Forge Free is on WordPress.org with unlimited field groups, 24 field types (including relationship, post object, taxonomy, and user), the visual builder, location rules, and the ACF compatibility layer. Paid plans unlock AI, TypeScript/GraphQL, the compound field types (repeater, flexible content, group, clone), options pages, and value migration tools.

Ready when you are