Category Posts Widget vs Crop Thumbnails
Two WordPress plugins head to head: ranking, active installs, downloads and ratings, from our daily tracking of the WordPress.org directory.
These aren’t all alternatives to each other — they do different jobs — so this page compares popularity only, not features.
At a glance
Crop Thumbnails leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #810, ahead of Category Posts Widget at #880. Over the last 7 days Crop Thumbnails held its place and Category Posts Widget slipped 1 place. Category Posts Widget has the largest install base: 40K+ active installs against 40K+ for Crop Thumbnails. Downloads this week: Category Posts Widget 1,521 and Crop Thumbnails 1,454. Ratings: Category Posts Widget 4.5★ from 79 and Crop Thumbnails 4.6★ from 67 reviews.
| Metric | Category Posts Widget | Crop Thumbnails |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #880 ▼ 1 | #810 ▬ |
| Active installs | 40K+ | 40K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 1,521 | 1,454 |
| Rating | 4.5★ (79) | 4.6★ (67) |
| Last updated | Sep 21, 2026 | Dec 3, 2025 |
| Current version | 5.1.1 | 1.9.7 |
| Best rank on record | #867 | #807 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Oct 2007 | Nov 2012 |
Highlighted cells mark the strongest figure in each row. Rank and installs are from the latest WordPress.org capture; downloads are the last seven captured days.
Ranking history Lower is better
Active installs
Downloads per day
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- Crop Thumbnails vs Regenerate Thumbnails
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Category Posts Widget or Crop Thumbnails?
By active installs, Category Posts Widget: 40K+ sites run it against 40K+ for Crop Thumbnails, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 18, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Category Posts Widget or Crop Thumbnails?
Crop Thumbnails, at #810 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with Category Posts Widget at #880. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are Category Posts Widget or Crop Thumbnails alternatives to each other?
Not all of them. Some of these plugins do different jobs and many sites run more than one. This page compares their popularity, not their features.
Where do these numbers come from?
WordPress.org publishes each plugin’s active install count and its position on the popular list. This site records both every day, along with per-day downloads and ratings, so the charts above show how the plugins have moved over time rather than a single day.