Category Posts Widget vs FV Top Level Categories (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
FV Top Level Categories
20K+ active installs
Free
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 20K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Category Posts Widget has accumulated 1.8M+ total downloads while FV Top Level Categories has 248K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Category Posts Widget | FV Top Level Categories | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.5/5 | ◄ | 4.4/5 |
| Total Reviews | 79 | ◄ | 23 |
| Active Installs | 40K+ | ◄ | 20K+ |
| Total Downloads | 1.8M+ | ◄ | 248K+ |
| Support Resolution | 0% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 1 month ago | ◄ | 7 months ago |
| First Released | 2007 | 2011 | |
| Age | 19 years | 15 years | |
| WP Requires | 2.8+ | 3.2.1+ | |
| PHP Requires | 5.3+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 4.9.22 | 1.9.1 |
Rating Breakdown
Category Posts Widget
FV Top Level Categories
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Category Posts Widget averaged approximately 84 daily downloads while FV Top Level Categories averaged 23.
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.
FV Top Level Categories Reviews
It works
It works fine
Perfect
Simple. Light on code. Easy to understand interface. Handles redirects by itself. Works immediately, without breaking anything else. A delight to have discovered it. I can recommend this to anyone wan
Works Perfectly :: If you have your other permalinks correct!
Does as labelled, removed /category/ from all my category links generated by WordPress, did not break pagination!
More Categories Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as Category Posts Widget and FV Top Level Categories
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.
Adds the built in WordPress categories and tags to your pages.
Replaces the plain-text category and tag description editor with a visual editor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Category Posts Widget or FV Top Level Categories more popular?
Which has better ratings — Category Posts Widget or FV Top Level Categories?
Are Category Posts Widget and FV Top Level Categories free?
Which plugin has better support — Category Posts Widget or FV Top Level Categories?
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.