Essential Widgets vs Query 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
Essential Widgets leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #1,813, ahead of Query Posts at #7,570. Over the last 7 days Essential Widgets slipped 5 places and Query Posts climbed 34 places. Essential Widgets has the largest install base, roughly 13× the next: 10K+ active installs against 800+ for Query Posts. Downloads this week: Essential Widgets 408 and Query Posts 48. Ratings: Essential Widgets 3.5★ from 2 and Query Posts 3★ from 4 reviews.
| Metric | Essential Widgets | Query Posts |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #1,813 ▼ 5 | #7,570 ▲ 34 |
| Active installs | 10K+ | 800+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 408 | 48 |
| Rating | 3.5★ (2) | 3★ (4) |
| Last updated | Jun 18, 2026 | Nov 28, 2017 |
| Current version | 3.2.1 | 0.3.2 |
| Best rank on record | #1,767 | #7,556 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Nov 2017 | Mar 2009 |
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
- Essential Widgets vs List category posts
- Query Posts vs Display Posts
- Query Posts vs SMK Sidebar Generator
- Query Posts vs Widgets on Pages
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Essential Widgets or Query Posts?
By active installs, Essential Widgets: 10K+ sites run it against 800+ for Query Posts, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 19, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Essential Widgets or Query Posts?
Essential Widgets, at #1,813 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with Query Posts at #7,570. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are Essential Widgets or Query 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.