Front-end Categories vs FV Top Level Categories
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
FV Top Level Categories ranks #1,315 on the popular list; Front-end Categories is outside the top 500 we capture daily. FV Top Level Categories has the largest install base, roughly 2000× the next: 20K+ active installs against 10+ for Front-end Categories. Downloads this week: FV Top Level Categories 263 and Front-end Categories 9. Ratings: Front-end Categories 5★ from 3 and FV Top Level Categories 4.4★ from 23 reviews.
| Metric | Front-end Categories | FV Top Level Categories |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | outside top 500 | #1,315 ▼ 1 |
| Active installs | 10+ | 20K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 9 | 263 |
| Rating | 5★ (3) | 4.4★ (23) |
| Last updated | Aug 20, 2014 | Sep 3, 2025 |
| Current version | 0.2.2 | 1.9.1 |
| Best rank on record | #31,205 | #1,312 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Jan 2013 | Mar 2011 |
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
- Front-end Categories vs List category posts
- Front-end Categories vs Post Tags and Categories for Pages
- Front-end Categories vs Essential Widgets
- Front-end Categories vs Hide Categories and Products for Woocommerce
- FV Top Level Categories vs List category posts
- FV Top Level Categories vs Post Tags and Categories for Pages
- FV Top Level Categories vs Custom Permalinks
- FV Top Level Categories vs Custom Post Type Permalinks
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Front-end Categories or FV Top Level Categories?
By active installs, FV Top Level Categories: 20K+ sites run it against 10+ for Front-end Categories, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 17, 2026.
Are Front-end Categories or FV Top Level Categories 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.