Simple Social Icons vs Social Media Widget
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
Simple Social Icons leads the WordPress.org popular list today at #438, ahead of Social Media Widget at #1,078. Over the last 7 days Simple Social Icons climbed 1 place and Social Media Widget slipped 1 place. Simple Social Icons has the largest install base, roughly 3.3× the next: 100K+ active installs against 30K+ for Social Media Widget. Ratings: Simple Social Icons 4.3★ from 92 and Social Media Widget 3.9★ from 84 reviews.
| Metric | Simple Social Icons | Social Media Widget |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank today | #438 ▲ 1 | #1,078 ▼ 1 |
| Active installs | 100K+ | 30K+ |
| Downloads, last 7 days | 2,572 | — |
| Rating | 4.3★ (92) | 3.9★ (84) |
| Last updated | Jul 27, 2026 | Jun 10, 2024 |
| Current version | 4.1.0 | 4.0.9 |
| Best rank on record | #438 | #1,067 |
| Days in the top 50 | 0 | 0 |
| On WordPress.org since | Feb 2012 | May 2010 |
| Sites detected by our detector | 3 | 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
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Frequently asked questions
Which is more popular, Simple Social Icons or Social Media Widget?
By active installs, Simple Social Icons: 100K+ sites run it against 30K+ for Social Media Widget, according to WordPress.org figures captured on September 12, 2026.
Which ranks higher on WordPress.org, Simple Social Icons or Social Media Widget?
Simple Social Icons, at #438 on the WordPress.org popular plugins list today, with Social Media Widget at #1,078. The ranking reflects recent installs and moves daily, which is why this page shows the history rather than one snapshot.
Are Simple Social Icons or Social Media Widget 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.