Essential Widgets vs List category 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
List category posts leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #549, ahead of Essential Widgets at #1,813. Over the last 7 days List category posts climbed 2 places and Essential Widgets climbed 1 place. List category posts has the largest install base, roughly 8× the next: 80K+ active installs against 10K+ for Essential Widgets. Downloads this week: List category posts 3,473 and Essential Widgets 673. Ratings: Essential Widgets 3.5★ from 2 and List category posts 4.7★ from 254 reviews.
| Metric | Essential Widgets | List category posts |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #1,813 ▲ 1 | #549 ▲ 2 |
| Active installs | 10K+ | 80K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 673 | 3,473 |
| Rating | 3.5★ (2) | 4.7★ (254) |
| Last updated | Jun 18, 2026 | Jul 7, 2026 |
| Current version | 3.2.1 | 0.96.0 |
| Best rank on record | #1,767 | #544 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Nov 2017 | Aug 2008 |
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
- 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
- List category posts vs My-Plugins
- List category posts vs FV Top Level Categories
- List category posts vs VK Link Target Controller
- List category posts vs Cornerstone
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Essential Widgets or List category posts?
By active installs, List category posts: 80K+ sites run it against 10K+ for Essential Widgets, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 29, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Essential Widgets or List category posts?
List category posts, at #549 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with Essential Widgets at #1,813. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are Essential Widgets or List category 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.