PluginSift

PHP Code Widget vs SyntaxHighlighter Evolved (2026)

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

PHP Code Widget

PHP Code Widget

4.7(61)

90K+ active installs

Free

Updated 4 years ago
View PHP Code Widget
VS
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved

SyntaxHighlighter Evolved

4.3(86)

20K+ active installs

Free

Updated 1 year ago
View SyntaxHighlighter Evolved

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, PHP Code Widget has a higher user rating (4.7/5 from 61 reviews) and leads in active installations (90K+ vs 20K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. PHP Code Widget has accumulated 994K+ total downloads while SyntaxHighlighter Evolved has 1.1M+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.7/5PHP Code Widget
◄
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved4.3/5
Total Reviews
61PHP Code Widget
►
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved86
Active Installs
90K+PHP Code Widget
◄
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved20K+
Total Downloads
994K+PHP Code Widget
►
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved1.1M+
Support Resolution
N/APHP Code Widget
SyntaxHighlighter EvolvedN/A
Last Updated
4 years agoPHP Code Widget
►
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved1 year ago
First Released
2008PHP Code Widget
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved2007
Age
18 yearsPHP Code Widget
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved19 years
WP Requires
2.8+PHP Code Widget
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved5.7+
PHP Requires
false+PHP Code Widget
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved7.0+
Business Model
FreePHP Code Widget
SyntaxHighlighter EvolvedFree
Latest Version
2.4PHP Code Widget
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved3.7.2

Rating Breakdown

PHP Code Widget

4.7/5(61 reviews)
5
85%
4
8%
3
2%
2
0%
1
5%

SyntaxHighlighter Evolved

4.3/5(86 reviews)
5
76%
4
6%
3
3%
2
5%
1
10%

Recent Reviews

PHP Code Widget Reviews

by dglite

Excellent, awesome // incredible plug in!!

Excellent, awesome // incredible plug in!!

by holby

Perfect

keep it going please

by Pexle Chris

much better solutions

No highlighting for snippets.Support also doesn’t exists. You can find much better plugins to insert php code snippets

SyntaxHighlighter Evolved Reviews

by Andrey Sirota

Works Great! But….

Thank you for this plugin. It works perfect for pure C and C#, but unfortunately, it doesn’t highlight most code for the Unity game engine: C# scripts and Shaders. Please add support for this.

by versuri

Dont work

не работает. строки php просто закомментирует, в визуальном редакторе не отображается

by janothemes

Works, But if you copy code and wan to to use it show error

It works and show code beautifully on pages, But if you copied that code and want to use it, the it shows errors, Looks like it add some spaces, I tried it with php shorcode, and when i copied the

Frequently Asked Questions

Is PHP Code Widget or SyntaxHighlighter Evolved more popular?
PHP Code Widget has 90K+ active installations while SyntaxHighlighter Evolved has 20K+. PHP Code Widget is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — PHP Code Widget or SyntaxHighlighter Evolved?
PHP Code Widget has a 4.7/5 rating from 61 reviews, while SyntaxHighlighter Evolved has a 4.3/5 rating from 86 reviews.
Are PHP Code Widget and SyntaxHighlighter Evolved free?
PHP Code Widget is free and SyntaxHighlighter Evolved is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — PHP Code Widget or SyntaxHighlighter Evolved?
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?
PHP Code Widget was last updated 4 years ago and SyntaxHighlighter Evolved was last updated 1 year ago.

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