Image Widget vs Sidebar Manager Light (2026)

Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.

Image Widget

Image Widget

4.9(287)

100K+ active installs

Free

Updated 1 year ago
View Image Widget
VS
Sidebar Manager Light

Sidebar Manager Light

4.3(13)

1.0K+ active installs

Free

Updated 4 years ago
View Sidebar Manager Light

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, Image Widget has a higher user rating (4.9/5 from 287 reviews) and leads in active installations (100K+ vs 1.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Image Widget has accumulated 4.6M+ total downloads while Sidebar Manager Light has 71K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.9/5Image Widget
Sidebar Manager Light4.3/5
Total Reviews
287Image Widget
Sidebar Manager Light13
Active Installs
100K+Image Widget
Sidebar Manager Light1.0K+
Total Downloads
4.6M+Image Widget
Sidebar Manager Light71K+
Support Resolution
N/AImage Widget
Sidebar Manager LightN/A
Last Updated
1 year agoImage Widget
Sidebar Manager Light4 years ago
First Released
2008Image Widget
Sidebar Manager Light2012
Age
18 yearsImage Widget
Sidebar Manager Light14 years
WP Requires
3.5+Image Widget
Sidebar Manager Light3.0+
PHP Requires
false+Image Widget
Sidebar Manager Lightfalse+
Business Model
FreeImage Widget
Sidebar Manager LightFree
Latest Version
4.4.11Image Widget
Sidebar Manager Light1.18

Rating Breakdown

Image Widget

4.9/5(287 reviews)
5
92%
4
5%
3
1%
2
1%
1
1%

Sidebar Manager Light

4.3/5(13 reviews)
5
69%
4
15%
3
0%
2
8%
1
8%

Recent Reviews

Image Widget Reviews

by mdavego

Perfect image widget

This is perfect image widget. Thank you very much for such helpful solution.

by vollachr

Very nice, working great

I like this image widget plugin, certainly better than the default one, also works with some external lightbox plugins, so that’s a bonus. Also, it works without a problem on WordPress v5.4.2.

by jimgwin

Very nice plugin

This is very nice plugin! Thank you for your work! Everything work fast without any problems.

Sidebar Manager Light Reviews

by candy2012

Not working unfortunatelly

It does not work … I had a new WP install and tried to use this to change the sidebar on blog page … it created the sidebar, but it DOES NOT replace the standard sidebar, even everything was properly

by Martin Sauter

Roles are making this plug-in interesting

It took me a while to understand that most plug-ins of this kind do not allow to define widget areas depending on the user role. So while this plug-in is rather simple overall, this feature makes it s

by typotamer

Brilliant in its Simplicity

Ahhh, you have made my life so much easier with this sweet little plugin that worked right out of the box. THANK YOU.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Image Widget or Sidebar Manager Light more popular?
Image Widget has 100K+ active installations while Sidebar Manager Light has 1.0K+. Image Widget is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Image Widget or Sidebar Manager Light?
Image Widget has a 4.9/5 rating from 287 reviews, while Sidebar Manager Light has a 4.3/5 rating from 13 reviews.
Are Image Widget and Sidebar Manager Light free?
Image Widget is free and Sidebar Manager Light is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Image Widget or Sidebar Manager Light?
Support resolution data is not available for all plugins. Check each plugin's WordPress.org support forum for current response quality.
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
Image Widget was last updated 1 year ago and Sidebar Manager Light was last updated 4 years ago.

Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.