News Bar Plus vs XML Sitemap & Google News
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
XML Sitemap & Google News leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #316, ahead of News Bar Plus at #43,142. Over the last 7 days XML Sitemap & Google News slipped 2 places and News Bar Plus climbed 990 places. XML Sitemap & Google News has the largest install base, roughly 10000× the next: 100K+ active installs against 10+ for News Bar Plus. Downloads this week: XML Sitemap & Google News 2,771 and News Bar Plus 22. Ratings: News Bar Plus 3.7★ from 3 and XML Sitemap & Google News 4.4★ from 85 reviews.
| Metric | News Bar Plus | XML Sitemap & Google News |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #43,142 ▲ 990 | #316 ▼ 2 |
| Active installs | 10+ | 100K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 22 | 2,771 |
| Rating | 3.7★ (3) | 4.4★ (85) |
| Last updated | May 26, 2012 | Jun 10, 2026 |
| Current version | 2.0.0 | 5.7.7 |
| Best rank on record | #34,135 | #308 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Apr 2012 | Sep 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
- News Bar Plus vs Ditty
- News Bar Plus vs Blog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News
- News Bar Plus vs GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds
- XML Sitemap & Google News vs GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds
- XML Sitemap & Google News vs Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google
- XML Sitemap & Google News vs Virtual Robots.txt
- XML Sitemap & Google News vs WP Robots Txt
- XML Sitemap & Google News vs Disable WP Sitemaps
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, News Bar Plus or XML Sitemap & Google News?
By active installs, XML Sitemap & Google News: 100K+ sites run it against 10+ for News Bar Plus, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 18, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, News Bar Plus or XML Sitemap & Google News?
XML Sitemap & Google News, at #316 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with News Bar Plus at #43,142. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are News Bar Plus or XML Sitemap & Google News 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.