Category Posts Widget vs PE Recent Posts
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
Category Posts Widget leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #880, ahead of PE Recent Posts at #4,988. Over the last 7 days Category Posts Widget held its place and PE Recent Posts climbed 5 places. Category Posts Widget has the largest install base, roughly 20× the next: 40K+ active installs against 2K+ for PE Recent Posts. Downloads this week: Category Posts Widget 15,861 and PE Recent Posts 60. Ratings: Category Posts Widget 4.5★ from 79 and PE Recent Posts 4.9★ from 11 reviews.
| Metric | Category Posts Widget | PE Recent Posts |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #880 ▬ | #4,988 ▲ 5 |
| Active installs | 40K+ | 2K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 15,861 | 60 |
| Rating | 4.5★ (79) | 4.9★ (11) |
| Last updated | Oct 19, 2026 | Sep 2, 2021 |
| Current version | 5.1.2 | 1.2 |
| Best rank on record | #867 | #4,969 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Oct 2007 | Aug 2015 |
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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- PE Recent Posts vs Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails
- PE Recent Posts vs Multiple Post Thumbnails
- PE Recent Posts vs Force Regenerate Thumbnails
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Category Posts Widget or PE Recent Posts?
By active installs, Category Posts Widget: 40K+ sites run it against 2K+ for PE Recent Posts, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 24, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Category Posts Widget or PE Recent Posts?
Category Posts Widget, at #880 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with PE Recent Posts at #4,988. 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 PE Recent Posts 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.