Disable Block Editor vs Essential Blocks
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 Blocks leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #282, ahead of Disable Block Editor at #7,537. Over the last 7 days Essential Blocks held its place and Disable Block Editor slipped 10 places. Essential Blocks has the largest install base, roughly 250× the next: 200K+ active installs against 800+ for Disable Block Editor. Downloads this week: Essential Blocks 138,616 and Disable Block Editor 42. Ratings: Disable Block Editor 5★ from 7 and Essential Blocks 4.9★ from 215 reviews.
| Metric | Disable Block Editor | Essential Blocks |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #7,537 ▼ 10 | #282 ▬ |
| Active installs | 800+ | 200K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 42 | 138,616 |
| Rating | 5★ (7) | 4.9★ (215) |
| Last updated | Feb 24, 2019 | Oct 19, 2026 |
| Current version | 1.0.0 | 6.5.1 |
| Best rank on record | #7,440 | #272 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Dec 2018 | Dec 2018 |
| Sites detected by our detector | 0 | 8 |
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
- Disable Block Editor vs Classic Editor
- Disable Block Editor vs Disable Gutenberg
- Disable Block Editor vs PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions
- Disable Block Editor vs BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library
- Essential Blocks vs Classic Editor
- Essential Blocks vs Disable Gutenberg
- Essential Blocks vs PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions
- Essential Blocks vs BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Disable Block Editor or Essential Blocks?
By active installs, Essential Blocks: 200K+ sites run it against 800+ for Disable Block Editor, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 20, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Disable Block Editor or Essential Blocks?
Essential Blocks, at #282 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with Disable Block Editor at #7,537. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are Disable Block Editor or Essential Blocks 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.