Advanced Random Posts Widget vs Smart Recent Posts Widget (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Advanced Random Posts Widget
10K+ active installs
Free
Smart Recent Posts Widget
9.0K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Smart Recent Posts Widget has a higher user rating (4.8/5 from 30 reviews) while Advanced Random Posts Widget leads in active installations (10K+ vs 9.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Advanced Random Posts Widget has accumulated 216K+ total downloads while Smart Recent Posts Widget has 132K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Advanced Random Posts Widget | Smart Recent Posts Widget | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4/5 | ► | 4.8/5 |
| Total Reviews | 39 | ◄ | 30 |
| Active Installs | 10K+ | ◄ | 9.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 216K+ | ◄ | 132K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 2 years ago | ► | 1 year ago |
| First Released | 2013 | 2016 | |
| Age | 13 years | 10 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.5+ | 5.8+ | |
| PHP Requires | false+ | 5.6+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 2.2.1 | 1.0.4 |
Rating Breakdown
Advanced Random Posts Widget
Smart Recent Posts Widget
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Advanced Random Posts Widget averaged approximately 22 daily downloads while Smart Recent Posts Widget averaged 16.
Recent Reviews
Advanced Random Posts Widget Reviews
Thank you so much for this plugin
This is a super helpful plugin. Thank you so much for this.
Great Plugin
this is a great useful plugin but need to be updated!
It’s awesome – but needs “update” to clear security flag
This plug-in works so well it hasn’t needed any updates for 2 years. Nothing out there matches it. However, because it hasn’t been updated in so long my security software is now flagging it as “abando
Smart Recent Posts Widget Reviews
Excellent
Excellent plugin
Just perfect
works like a charm!
exactly what I need
very complete and with custom CSS avaliable
More Random Posts Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as Advanced Random Posts Widget and Smart Recent Posts Widget
This simple plugin is a widget that displays a list of random posts on your sidebar. You can exclude certain posts by ID.
The main advantage of this widget is random movement of random links and every time they are changing.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.