PluginSift

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields vs Essential Content Types (2026)

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

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields

4.8(416)

100K+ active installs

Free

Updated 2 weeks ago
View Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields
VS
Essential Content Types

Essential Content Types

3(2)

20K+ active installs

Free

Updated 10 months ago
View Essential Content Types

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields has a higher user rating (4.8/5 from 416 reviews) and leads in active installations (100K+ vs 20K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields has accumulated 5.1M+ total downloads while Essential Content Types has 880K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.8/5Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields
◄
Essential Content Types3/5
Total Reviews
416Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields
◄
Essential Content Types2
Active Installs
100K+Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields
◄
Essential Content Types20K+
Total Downloads
5.1M+Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields
◄
Essential Content Types880K+
Support Resolution
95%Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields
Essential Content TypesN/A
Last Updated
2 weeks agoPods – Custom Content Types and Fields
◄
Essential Content Types10 months ago
First Released
2008Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields
Essential Content Types2017
Age
18 yearsPods – Custom Content Types and Fields
Essential Content Types9 years
WP Requires
6.3+Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields
Essential Content Types5.9+
PHP Requires
7.2+Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields
Essential Content Typesfalse+
Business Model
FreePods – Custom Content Types and Fields
Essential Content TypesFree
Latest Version
3.3.8Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields
Essential Content Types2.3

Rating Breakdown

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields

4.8/5(416 reviews)
5
93%
4
3%
3
1%
2
0%
1
3%

Essential Content Types

3/5(2 reviews)
5
50%
4
0%
3
0%
2
0%
1
50%

Recent Reviews

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields Reviews

by James Monroe

So powerful I’ll barely scratch the surface

Thank you for this amazing plugin and for making it so robust. Prefer to support a totally open-source community project like this when possible rather than commercial projects. Thanks also for adding

by haas_ib

All in one solution

Great! All in one free solution for custom post type, fields, taxonomies

by digitronic

Great lightweight custom fields solution

Absolutely love PODS! I used it on quite a few sites, and the framework is as robust as it is ligthweight! Highly recommend id!

Essential Content Types Reviews

by wprocket

Simple and Easy Plugin

I used this plugin to showcase my Portfolio which is really nice. I was searching for way to show my Portfolio as separate form post as when I use category “Portfolio” and use it as post, it also show

by paddington63

portfolio in essential content crashes

The portfolio part of this plug-in crashes the editor. Tried to contact support but no reply. There are some nice features but the portfolio part was my reasson to install and now the same reasson to

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields or Essential Content Types more popular?
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields has 100K+ active installations while Essential Content Types has 20K+. Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields or Essential Content Types?
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields has a 4.8/5 rating from 416 reviews, while Essential Content Types has a 3/5 rating from 2 reviews.
Are Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields and Essential Content Types free?
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields is free and Essential Content Types is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields or Essential Content Types?
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?
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields was last updated 2 weeks ago and Essential Content Types was last updated 10 months ago.

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