Highlighting Code Block vs Parse Markdown
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
Highlighting Code Block ranks #1,713 on the popular list; Parse Markdown is outside the top 500 we capture daily. Highlighting Code Block has the largest install base, roughly 500× the next: 10K+ active installs against 20+ for Parse Markdown. Downloads this week: Highlighting Code Block 361 and Parse Markdown 12.
| Metric | Highlighting Code Block | Parse Markdown |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #1,713 ▬ | outside top 500 |
| Active installs | 10K+ | 20+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 361 | 12 |
| Rating | 4.5★ (20) | no ratings |
| Last updated | Jul 1, 2026 | Aug 19, 2020 |
| Current version | 2.2.1 | 1.0.1 |
| Best rank on record | #1,700 | #25,249 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Dec 2018 | Aug 2020 |
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
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- Parse Markdown vs WP Coder – Insert & Manage Code Snippets
- Parse Markdown vs Advance Custom HTML – Show Off Code Snippets with Live Preview
- Parse Markdown vs Code Snippets
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Highlighting Code Block or Parse Markdown?
By active installs, Highlighting Code Block: 10K+ sites run it against 20+ for Parse Markdown, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 18, 2026.
Are Highlighting Code Block or Parse Markdown 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.