Best code highlighter plugins for WordPress
The most popular code highlighter plugins for WordPress in November 2026, in WordPress.org’s own popular order, which follows active installs. HTML Editor Syntax Highlighter leads with 60K+ active installs, ahead of Urvanov Syntax Highlighter (3K+) and AH Code Highlighter (50+). All 13 plugins tagged “code highlighter” are below, with figures from WordPress.org that update every day.
Installs aren’t everything: a recent release, a “Tested up to” that matches the current WordPress, and support threads that get resolved show a plugin is looked after. Open any plugin for its downloads, rank history and alternatives.
Research this niche or see all plugins.
Top 10 code highlighter plugins
- 1.
HTML Editor Syntax HighlighterThe most installed code highlighter plugin, with 60K+ active installs. Rated 4.4 from 110 reviews, updated 2 weeks ago.
- 2.
Urvanov Syntax Highlighter3K+ active installs. Rated 4.5 from 19 reviews, updated 1 month ago. Tested only up to WordPress 6.9.11.
- 3.
AH Code Highlighter50+ active installs. Only 1 review so far, last updated 8 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 5.0.0.
- 4.
iG:Syntax Hiliter30+ active installs. Only 1 review so far, updated 2 months ago.
- 5.
Prism Highlight20+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 4 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 5.9.20.
- 6.
Lite Syntax Highlighting10+ active installs. Only 2 reviews so far, last updated 7 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 5.1.28.
- 7.
rtSyntax10+ active installs. Only 4 reviews so far, last updated 11 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.1.42.
- 8.
wp-syntax-highlighter10+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 12 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 3.9.40.
- 9.
SmartAss Highlighter10+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 11 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.2.39.
- 10.
CodeHighlighter10+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 14 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 3.4.2.
All 13 plugins tagged “code highlighter”
HTML Editor Syntax Highlighter
Up in the last 7 days:3#688by Peter Mukhortov17 days ago
Add syntax highlighting to WordPress code editors using CodeMirror.js
- Installs
- 60K+
- Rating
- 4.4(110)
- Downloads
- 529/day
Urvanov Syntax Highlighter
Up in the last 7 days:4#4,101by urvanov1 month ago
Reincarnation of Crayon Syntax Highlighter. Syntax Highlighter supporting multiple languages, themes, fonts, highlighting from a URL, or post text.
- Installs
- 3K+
- Rating
- 4.5(19)
- Downloads
- 70/day
AH Code Highlighter
#20,124by Andreas Hecht8 years ago
The easiest to use code highlighting ever. Choose between 8 different color themes to highlight your code snippets. Many programming languages are sup …
- Installs
- 50+
- Rating
- 5.0(1)
- Downloads
- 0/day
iG:Syntax Hiliter
Down in the last 7 days:279#24,061by Amit Gupta2 months ago
A plugin to easily present source code on your site with syntax highlighting and formatting (as seen in code editors, IDEs).
- Installs
- 30+
- Rating
- 5.0(1)
- Downloads
- 0/day
Prism Highlight
Down in the last 7 days:226#27,030by Shaikh Masood Alam4 years ago
Styles Your Code With Prism.JS, a Lightest Code Highlighter.
- Installs
- 20+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Lite Syntax Highlighting
Down in the last 7 days:69#30,730by z-177 years ago
Lite Syntax Highlighting: PHP, HTML, CSS, JS, C
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- 5.0(2)
- Downloads
- 0/day
rtSyntax
Down in the last 7 days:1,374#38,988by rtCamp11 years ago
A no-fuss, lightweight, fast and optimised syntax highlighter for WordPress
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- 3.8(4)
- Downloads
- 0/day
wp-syntax-highlighter
Down in the last 7 days:303#45,468by Darshan Sawardekar12 years ago
Syntax Highlighter for WordPress using Highlight.js.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
SmartAss Highlighter
Down in the last 7 days:1,614#45,752by th3pirat311 years ago
SmartAss Highlighter is extremely simple and easy to use syntax highlighter for your code. Shortcode - [highlighter]
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
CodeHighlighter
Down in the last 7 days:4,386#46,216by iwongu14 years ago
This plugin is a syntax highlighter for source code using GeSHi.
- Installs
- 10+
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Navarak Code Highlighter
#62,275by Seyyed Sajjad Kashizadeh5 years ago
A Syntax Highlighter built in PHP and highlightJS that supports customizable languages and themes.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Simpler Syntax Highlighter
#65,469by Derick Payne8 years ago
Lightweight code snippet syntax highlighter.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day
Easy Code Highlighter
Down in the last 7 days:9,313#72,453by ReorMadrid1 year ago
Displays code with syntax highlighting using Prism.js, real line numbering, and a copy button.
- Installs
- <10
- Rating
- –
- Downloads
- 0/day