Lightweight Social Icons vs Fuse Social Floating Sidebar (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Lightweight Social Icons
30K+ active installs
Free
Fuse Social Floating Sidebar
10K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Lightweight Social Icons has a higher user rating (4.7/5 from 63 reviews) and leads in active installations (30K+ vs 10K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Lightweight Social Icons has accumulated 464K+ total downloads while Fuse Social Floating Sidebar has 392K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Lightweight Social Icons | Fuse Social Floating Sidebar | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.7/5 | ◄ | 4.6/5 |
| Total Reviews | 63 | ◄ | 58 |
| Active Installs | 30K+ | ◄ | 10K+ |
| Total Downloads | 464K+ | ◄ | 392K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 6 years ago | ► | 8 months ago |
| First Released | 2014 | 2015 | |
| Age | 12 years | 11 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.5+ | 3.0+ | |
| PHP Requires | false+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 1.1 | 5.4.12 |
Rating Breakdown
Lightweight Social Icons
Fuse Social Floating Sidebar
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Lightweight Social Icons averaged approximately 15 daily downloads while Fuse Social Floating Sidebar averaged 34.
Recent Reviews
Lightweight Social Icons Reviews
Affects Core Web Vitals creating Ensure Text Remains Visible During Webfont Load
I don’t recommend this plugin at all. It signs a useless font which is not displayed in the front end to the users but creates core web vitals issues on the back end. The font name is fontello.woff an
It’s Light!
Hasn’t been updated but super light and solid!
Fantastic Social Icons Plugin
Tom never fails to make amazing plugins and this social icons plugin is no different. I just hope that there are plans to add a discord icon in the near future. 5/5 plugin!
Fuse Social Floating Sidebar Reviews
Non existent support
Paid for this plugin over a month ago. Never got an email or license code. Have Emailed them on three separate occasions with zero response. Worthless…
I pay for an upgrade but never received the product, code, or download
I pay for an upgrade but never received the product, code, or download
Plugin breaks Font Awesome Icons preview in Avada Live
I needed some time to figure out that it is this plugin that breaks the icon preview in the Avada 7 live editor. For development, I’m disabling the plugin now, but this issue should be fixed soon.
More Social Icons Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as Lightweight Social Icons and Fuse Social Floating Sidebar
Social media icons plugin for WordPress - Add 400+ social icons and share buttons. Gutenberg block, widget & Elementor support. GDPR compliant.
Upload your own social media icons or choose from font-awesome. Use widget|shortcode to place icons anywhere(sidebar, header, footer, page) in theme.
Increase user engagement by incorporating sticky buttons that highlight relevant information on your website.
A collection of useful widgets, neatly bundled into a single plugin.
Add social media icon links to your sidebar with customizable styles, colors, hover effects, and animations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lightweight Social Icons or Fuse Social Floating Sidebar more popular?
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.