Pz-DirectHTML vs Shortcoder
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
Shortcoder ranks #428 on the popular list; Pz-DirectHTML is outside the top 500 we capture daily. Shortcoder has the largest install base, roughly 10000× the next: 100K+ active installs against 10+ for Pz-DirectHTML. Downloads this week: Shortcoder 3,193 and Pz-DirectHTML 11.
| Metric | Pz-DirectHTML | Shortcoder |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | outside top 500 | #428 ▬ |
| Active installs | 10+ | 100K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 11 | 3,193 |
| Rating | no ratings | 4.9★ (227) |
| Last updated | Jan 20, 2017 | Sep 14, 2026 |
| Current version | 1.0.0 | 6.6 |
| Best rank on record | #34,136 | #426 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Jan 2017 | May 2010 |
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
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Pz-DirectHTML or Shortcoder?
By active installs, Shortcoder: 100K+ sites run it against 10+ for Pz-DirectHTML, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 18, 2026.
Are Pz-DirectHTML or Shortcoder 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.