Display Posts 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
Display Posts leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #549, ahead of Essential Widgets at #1,794. Over the last 7 days Display Posts slipped 1 place and Essential Widgets climbed 1 place. Display Posts has the largest install base, roughly 8× the next: 80K+ active installs against 10K+ for Essential Widgets. Downloads this week: Display Posts 634 and Essential Widgets 570. Ratings: Display Posts 4.8★ from 164 and Essential Widgets 3.5★ from 2 reviews.
| Metric | Display Posts | Essential Widgets |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #549 ▼ 1 | #1,794 ▲ 1 |
| Active installs | 80K+ | 10K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 634 | 570 |
| Rating | 4.8★ (164) | 3.5★ (2) |
| Last updated | Oct 14, 2024 | Jun 18, 2026 |
| Current version | 3.0.3 | 3.2.1 |
| Best rank on record | #540 | #1,767 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Jul 2011 | 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
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- Display Posts vs Insert Pages
- Display Posts vs No Page Comment
- Display Posts vs WP Admin UI Customize
- 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, Display Posts or Essential Widgets?
By active installs, Display Posts: 80K+ sites run it against 10K+ for Essential Widgets, according to WordPress.org figures captured on September 12, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Display Posts or Essential Widgets?
Display Posts, at #549 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with Essential Widgets at #1,794. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are Display Posts 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.