Category Posts Widget vs Essential Widgets (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Category Posts Widget has a higher user rating (4.5/5 from 79 reviews) and leads in active installations (40K+ vs 10K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Category Posts Widget has accumulated 1.8M+ total downloads while Essential Widgets has 489K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Category Posts Widget | Essential Widgets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.5/5 | ◄ | 3.5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 79 | ◄ | 2 |
| Active Installs | 40K+ | ◄ | 10K+ |
| Total Downloads | 1.8M+ | ◄ | 489K+ |
| Support Resolution | 0% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 1 month ago | ◄ | 2 months ago |
| First Released | 2007 | 2017 | |
| Age | 19 years | 9 years | |
| WP Requires | 2.8+ | 5.9+ | |
| PHP Requires | 5.3+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 4.9.22 | 3.0.1 |
Rating Breakdown
Category Posts Widget
Essential Widgets
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Category Posts Widget averaged approximately 84 daily downloads while Essential Widgets averaged 66.
Recent Reviews
Category Posts Widget Reviews
It does exactly what it says
Good plugin to display your latest posts on a widget and filter them according to your preferences.
This solution worked in minutes — not days or weeks!
This plugin is exactly what they say it is: Simple Thorough Does it well It solved all of my issues within minutes. I had spent hours over a couple weeks using various workarounds and pl
A must have plugin.
Useful and easy to use. No support needed.
Essential Widgets Reviews
alot of useful widgets but in the paid version
A lot of useful widgets but in the paid version. The free one is limited. This topic was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by KJA4U.
Excellent
Excellent
More Categories Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as Category Posts Widget and Essential Widgets
Very customizable plugin to list posts by category (or tag, author and more) in a post, page or widget. Uses the [catlist] shortcode to select posts.
Enhances the Media Library; powerful gallery and list shortcodes, full taxonomy support, IPTC/EXIF/XMP/PDF processing, bulk/quick edit.
Tags, Categories and WordPress terms are easy with TaxoPress. Add a Tag or Category to Pages, manage your WooCommerce Categories and Tags and more.
Replaces the plain-text category and tag description editor with a visual editor.
Adds the built in WordPress categories and tags to your pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.