Completely Delete vs Essential Widgets
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
Essential Widgets leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #1,819, ahead of Completely Delete at #22,091. Over the last 7 days Essential Widgets slipped 6 places and Completely Delete climbed 91 places. Essential Widgets has the largest install base, roughly 250× the next: 10K+ active installs against 40+ for Completely Delete. Downloads this week: Essential Widgets 702 and Completely Delete 16. Ratings: Completely Delete 5★ from 4 and Essential Widgets 3.5★ from 2 reviews.
| Metric | Completely Delete | Essential Widgets |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #22,091 ▲ 91 | #1,819 ▼ 6 |
| Active installs | 40+ | 10K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 16 | 702 |
| Rating | 5★ (4) | 3.5★ (2) |
| Last updated | Apr 11, 2015 | Jun 18, 2026 |
| Current version | 0.8.3 | 3.2.1 |
| Best rank on record | #20,287 | #1,767 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Dec 2013 | Nov 2017 |
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
More comparisons
- Completely Delete vs Display Posts
- Completely Delete vs No Page Comment
- Completely Delete vs Posts in Page
- Completely Delete vs Tag Pages
- Essential Widgets vs Post Tags and Categories for Pages
- Essential Widgets vs Tag Pages
- Essential Widgets vs Media Library Assistant
- Essential Widgets vs Visual Term Description Editor
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Completely Delete or Essential Widgets?
By active installs, Essential Widgets: 10K+ sites run it against 40+ for Completely Delete, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 26, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Completely Delete or Essential Widgets?
Essential Widgets, at #1,819 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with Completely Delete at #22,091. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are Completely Delete or Essential Widgets 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.