Highlight Search Terms vs Custom Highlight Color (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Highlight Search Terms has a higher user rating (5/5 from 40 reviews) and leads in active installations (7.0K+ vs 1.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Highlight Search Terms has accumulated 177K+ total downloads while Custom Highlight Color has 10K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Highlight Search Terms | Custom Highlight Color | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 5/5 | 5/5 | |
| Total Reviews | 40 | ◄ | 5 |
| Active Installs | 7.0K+ | ◄ | 1.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 177K+ | ◄ | 10K+ |
| Support Resolution | 100% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 2 days ago | ◄ | 1 year ago |
| First Released | 2009 | 2016 | |
| Age | 17 years | 10 years | |
| WP Requires | 3.7+ | 4.5+ | |
| PHP Requires | 5.6+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 1.8.3 | 1.1 |
Rating Breakdown
Highlight Search Terms
Custom Highlight Color
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Highlight Search Terms averaged approximately 15 daily downloads while Custom Highlight Color averaged 3.
Recent Reviews
Highlight Search Terms Reviews
Easy Install and works!
Nice plugin – highly reccomend.
Very Nice and useful
I added the “Prevent highlighting when clicking through to result” option, all works well! Thanks you
Great Plugin | Works Flawlessly
Nice! A plugin that works “out of the box.” Note: If after installing this plugin you experience any issues, most likely, they are due to a conflict with another plugin (usually a Cache or Performa
Custom Highlight Color Reviews
AWESOME Plugin
Great simple tool! Thanks heaps!
Very Good Plugin
A life saver when you’re not so good with css code, it does exactly what it says it does.
Good plugin
Finally found a great and easy plugin to highlight text in the desired color. I use Avada theme and it works great in Firefox.
More Highlight Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as Highlight Search Terms and Custom Highlight Color
Tooltipy allows you to highlight the keywords in your content in order to show a responsive description tooltips
Mark and highlight posts, pages and posts of custom post types within the posts overview.
100% automatic code highlighting using the Prettify library. No shortcodes, no classnames, fully automatic and pure awesome.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Highlight Search Terms or Custom Highlight Color more popular?
Which has better ratings — Highlight Search Terms or Custom Highlight Color?
Are Highlight Search Terms and Custom Highlight Color free?
Which plugin has better support — Highlight Search Terms or Custom Highlight Color?
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.