There is no magic safe number

Ten poorly maintained plugins can create more trouble than thirty focused, actively supported ones. Counting extensions is easy, but it says little about code quality, update history or whether several plugins are trying to solve the same problem.

Look for purpose and maintenance

Every plugin should have a reason to exist. Remove abandoned experiments, replace unsupported components and avoid installing several tools with heavily overlapping features. Fewer moving parts can make troubleshooting easier, but removal should be deliberate.

Review the list occasionally

A plugin that made sense two years ago may no longer be needed. Periodic review keeps WordPress simpler without turning “use fewer plugins” into an arbitrary rule.