Best emoticon plugins for WordPress

The most popular emoticon plugins for WordPress in November 2026, in WordPress.org’s own popular order, which follows active installs. Emoji Settings leads with 2K+ active installs, ahead of Emoji Toolbar (2K+) and wp-Monalisa (600+). All 15 plugins tagged “emoticon” 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 emoticon plugins

1.
Emoji Settings
The most installed emoticon plugin, with 2K+ active installs. Rated 5.0 from 12 reviews, last updated 1 year ago. Tested only up to WordPress 6.8.12.
2.
Emoji Toolbar
2K+ active installs. Only 3 reviews so far, updated 8 months ago. Tested only up to WordPress 6.9.11.
3.
wp-Monalisa
600+ active installs. Rated 4.8 from 25 reviews, updated 11 months ago. Tested only up to WordPress 6.9.11.
4.
TinyMCE Smiley Button
500+ active installs. Only 1 review so far, last updated 6 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 5.5.24.
5.
TinyMCE Emoticons
100+ active installs. Rated 3.3 from 6 reviews, last updated 11 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.1.42.
6.
Allow Shortcodes in Text Widgets
60+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 16 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 3.0.5.
7.
Disable WP Emojis
40+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 7 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 5.2.30.
8.
Kaskus Emoticons
20+ active installs. Only 3 reviews so far, last updated 13 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 3.5.2.
9.
Convert Emoticons Font Awesome
10+ active installs. No reviews yet, last updated 6 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 5.4.25.
10.
Tieba Emotion
10+ active installs. Only 1 review so far, last updated 9 years ago. Tested only up to WordPress 4.7.39.