WordPress plugin comparison
Custom Sections vs Essential Widgets
At a glance
- Essential Widgets has more active installs: 10K+, against 10+ for Custom Sections.
- On a typical day, Essential Widgets is downloaded about 75 times, Custom Sections about 2.
- Custom Sections has no reviews yet.
- Essential Widgets was updated more recently: Jun 18, 2026, against Dec 7, 2016 for Custom Sections.
- Essential Widgets is tested with a newer WordPress: 7.0.8, against 4.7.39 for Custom Sections.
- Custom Sections has been around longer: since 2013, against 2017 for Essential Widgets.
Line by line
Essential Widgets leads on 6 of 6 comparable lines.
| Metric |  Custom Sections |  Essential Widgets |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank | #48,326 | #1,810 |
| Active installs | 10+ | 10K+ |
| Downloads, last 30 days | 43 | 1.8K |
| Rating | No ratings | 3.5(2) |
| Support threads resolved | – | 100% |
| Tested up to | 4.7.39 | 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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