Edit Author Slug vs Meks Smart Author Widget (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Meks Smart Author Widget
10K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Edit Author Slug has a higher user rating (4.8/5 from 84 reviews) and leads in active installations (100K+ vs 10K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Edit Author Slug has accumulated 1.5M+ total downloads while Meks Smart Author Widget has 430K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Edit Author Slug | Meks Smart Author Widget | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.8/5 | ◄ | 4.5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 84 | ◄ | 8 |
| Active Installs | 100K+ | ◄ | 10K+ |
| Total Downloads | 1.5M+ | ◄ | 430K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 10 months ago | ◄ | 1 year ago |
| First Released | 2009 | 2014 | |
| Age | 17 years | 12 years | |
| WP Requires | 5.8+ | 3.0+ | |
| PHP Requires | 7.4+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 1.9.2 | 1.1.5 |
Rating Breakdown
Edit Author Slug
Meks Smart Author Widget
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Edit Author Slug averaged approximately 263 daily downloads while Meks Smart Author Widget averaged 23.
Recent Reviews
Edit Author Slug Reviews
Not working with RankMath
Looks like it works, until you update the user profile, it reverts back to the WP username.
Thank you!
Finally a way to hide my admin username from across the site, I love this plugin!
works
works This topic was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by Tibo.
Meks Smart Author Widget Reviews
Best; works well!
My theme didn’t come with an author box; so, I’m using this plugin. This is an excellent plugin which works well on all devices!
Damn near perfect!
This is an amazing plugin, period. Lots of widget options, from size of avatar to automatically detect author (by the posts they published – VERY COOL), from linking authors name to link showing all t
Not responsive
Simply not responsive out of the box.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.