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Lightweight Social Icons vs Social Media Widget (2026)

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

Lightweight Social Icons

Lightweight Social Icons

4.7(63)

30K+ active installs

Free

Updated 6 years ago
View Lightweight Social Icons
VS
Social Media Widget

Social Media Widget

3.9(84)

30K+ active installs

Free

Updated 1 year ago
View Social Media Widget

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 30K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Lightweight Social Icons has accumulated 464K+ total downloads while Social Media Widget has 2.2M+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.7/5Lightweight Social Icons
◄
Social Media Widget3.9/5
Total Reviews
63Lightweight Social Icons
►
Social Media Widget84
Active Installs
30K+Lightweight Social Icons
Social Media Widget30K+
Total Downloads
464K+Lightweight Social Icons
►
Social Media Widget2.2M+
Support Resolution
N/ALightweight Social Icons
Social Media WidgetN/A
Last Updated
6 years agoLightweight Social Icons
►
Social Media Widget1 year ago
First Released
2014Lightweight Social Icons
Social Media Widget2010
Age
12 yearsLightweight Social Icons
Social Media Widget16 years
WP Requires
4.5+Lightweight Social Icons
Social Media Widget2.9.2+
PHP Requires
false+Lightweight Social Icons
Social Media Widgetfalse+
Business Model
FreeLightweight Social Icons
Social Media WidgetFree
Latest Version
1.1Lightweight Social Icons
Social Media Widget4.0.9

Rating Breakdown

Lightweight Social Icons

4.7/5(63 reviews)
5
89%
4
5%
3
2%
2
2%
1
3%

Social Media Widget

3.9/5(84 reviews)
5
65%
4
6%
3
5%
2
1%
1
23%

Recent Reviews

Lightweight Social Icons Reviews

by Mahesh Pant

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

by Jimmy Lee

It’s Light!

Hasn’t been updated but super light and solid!

by Hematoma

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!

Social Media Widget Reviews

by Anonymous User 7343156

Looks outdated

Very outdated style, it doesn’t look good.

by perdage

i miss discord icon

I want the discord icon in my Social Media Widget This topic was modified 5 years, 12 months ago by perdage.

by Laura Byrne

Really Like this Plugin

Easy to use. I like the flexibility of listing the services in whatever order I want. I also like that I can customize for a service that is not listed. Only thing I don’t like is the out-of-the box-I

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Lightweight Social Icons or Social Media Widget more popular?
Lightweight Social Icons has 30K+ active installations while Social Media Widget has 30K+. Social Media Widget is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Lightweight Social Icons or Social Media Widget?
Lightweight Social Icons has a 4.7/5 rating from 63 reviews, while Social Media Widget has a 3.9/5 rating from 84 reviews.
Are Lightweight Social Icons and Social Media Widget free?
Lightweight Social Icons is free and Social Media Widget is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Lightweight Social Icons or Social Media Widget?
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?
Lightweight Social Icons was last updated 6 years ago and Social Media Widget was last updated 1 year ago.

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