rtSocial vs Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons
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
Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #1,669, ahead of rtSocial at #23,058. Over the last 7 days Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons slipped 4 places and rtSocial slipped 6 places. Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons has the largest install base, roughly 333× the next: 10K+ active installs against 30+ for rtSocial. Downloads this week: Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 8,000 and rtSocial 24. Ratings: rtSocial 4.7★ from 9 and Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 4.9★ from 1,911 reviews.
| Metric | rtSocial | Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #23,058 ▼ 6 | #1,669 ▼ 4 |
| Active installs | 30+ | 10K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 24 | 8,000 |
| Rating | 4.7★ (9) | 4.9★ (1,911) |
| Last updated | Jul 24, 2024 | Oct 10, 2026 |
| Current version | 2.2.4 | 3.7.6 |
| Best rank on record | #20,987 | #1,659 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Oct 2011 | Apr 2015 |
| Sites detected by our detector | 0 | 1 |
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
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- rtSocial vs AddToAny Share Buttons
- Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons vs Genesis Simple Share
- Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons vs Shariff Wrapper
- Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons vs AddToAny Share Buttons
- Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons vs Buttonizer - Social Media Share Buttons, Social Icons, & Social Feeds
Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, rtSocial or Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons?
By active installs, Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons: 10K+ sites run it against 30+ for rtSocial, according to WordPress.org figures captured on October 17, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, rtSocial or Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons?
Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons, at #1,669 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with rtSocial at #23,058. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are rtSocial or Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 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.