WordPress plugin comparison
Advanced Categories Widget vs Essential Widgets
Advanced Categories Widget
by darrinb
700+ installs5.0
Essential Widgets
by Catch Themes
10K+ installs3.5
At a glance
- Essential Widgets has more active installs: 10K+, against 700+ for Advanced Categories Widget.
- On a typical day, Essential Widgets is downloaded about 75 times, Advanced Categories Widget about 6.
- Advanced Categories Widget is rated higher: 5.0 out of 5 from 8 reviews, against 3.5 from 2 reviews.
- Essential Widgets was updated more recently: Jun 18, 2026, against Aug 11, 2016 for Advanced Categories Widget.
- Essential Widgets is tested with a newer WordPress: 7.0.8, against 4.5.33 for Advanced Categories Widget.
- Advanced Categories Widget has been around longer: since 2016, against 2017 for Essential Widgets.
Line by line
Essential Widgets leads on 6 of 7 comparable lines.
| Metric | Advanced Categories Widget | Essential Widgets |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank | #7,770 | #1,809 |
| Active installs | 700+ | 10K+ |
| Downloads, last 30 days | 140 | 1.7K |
| Rating | 5.0(8) | 3.5(2) |
| Support threads resolved | – | 100% |
| Tested up to | 4.5.33 | 7.0.8 |
| Search multiplier | ×0.00 | ×0.86 |
| Last release | 10 years ago | 4 months ago |
| Requires PHP | – | 7.4 |
From WordPress.org's public data, refreshed every night. Downloads are WordPress.org's official daily figures for the last 30 days.
Tags they share
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