WordPress plugin comparison
Essential Widgets vs NextGEN
At a glance
- Essential Widgets has more active installs: 10K+, against 70+ for NextGEN.
- On a typical day, Essential Widgets is downloaded about 75 times, NextGEN about 2.
- NextGEN has no reviews yet.
- Essential Widgets was updated more recently: Jun 18, 2026, against Feb 25, 2010 for NextGEN.
- Essential Widgets is tested with a newer WordPress: 7.0.8, against 2.9.2 for NextGEN.
- NextGEN has been around longer: since 2009, against 2017 for Essential Widgets.
Line by line
Essential Widgets leads on 6 of 6 comparable lines.
| Metric |  Essential Widgets |  NextGEN |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank | #1,810 | #18,765 |
| Active installs | 10K+ | 70+ |
| Downloads, last 30 days | 1.8K | 39 |
| Rating | 3.5(2) | No ratings |
| Support threads resolved | 100% | – |
| Tested up to | 7.0.8 | 2.9.2 |
| Search multiplier | ×0.86 | ×0.00 |
| Last release | 4 months ago | 16 years 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.
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