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Simple Social Icons vs Social Media Widget (2026)

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

Simple Social Icons

Simple Social Icons

4.3(92)

100K+ active installs

Free

Updated 3 months ago
View Simple 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, Simple Social Icons has a higher user rating (4.3/5 from 92 reviews) and leads in active installations (100K+ vs 30K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Simple Social Icons has accumulated 3.2M+ total downloads while Social Media Widget has 2.2M+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.3/5Simple Social Icons
◄
Social Media Widget3.9/5
Total Reviews
92Simple Social Icons
◄
Social Media Widget84
Active Installs
100K+Simple Social Icons
◄
Social Media Widget30K+
Total Downloads
3.2M+Simple Social Icons
◄
Social Media Widget2.2M+
Support Resolution
100%Simple Social Icons
Social Media WidgetN/A
Last Updated
3 months agoSimple Social Icons
◄
Social Media Widget1 year ago
First Released
2012Simple Social Icons
Social Media Widget2010
Age
14 yearsSimple Social Icons
Social Media Widget16 years
WP Requires
4.0+Simple Social Icons
Social Media Widget2.9.2+
PHP Requires
7.4+Simple Social Icons
Social Media Widgetfalse+
Business Model
FreeSimple Social Icons
Social Media WidgetFree
Latest Version
4.0.0Simple Social Icons
Social Media Widget4.0.9

Rating Breakdown

Simple Social Icons

4.3/5(92 reviews)
5
71%
4
13%
3
3%
2
1%
1
12%

Social Media Widget

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

Recent Reviews

Simple Social Icons Reviews

by mwplant

Great Support and a great Social Icons plugin

I had an issue with my Pixelfed icon not displaying as it needed a colour to be active, support where very helpful and quick to give me the support I needed, I love the way I can control all the socia

by vegisto

My theme didn’t support Bluesky & Mastodon—Simple Social Icon does…

Hallo together,want to include social icons like Bluesky and Mastodon. Kadence Virtuel Theme didn’t support this and would not be able to enter this feature since one year.I tried the plugin Simple So

by joachimott2

A smart and effective solution and great support

The plugin is simple to use and very efficient. I had only one problem with the display of the icons and the support responded nearly immediately and solved the problem with one line of CSS-Code. Than

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 Simple Social Icons or Social Media Widget more popular?
Simple Social Icons has 100K+ active installations while Social Media Widget has 30K+. Simple Social Icons is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Simple Social Icons or Social Media Widget?
Simple Social Icons has a 4.3/5 rating from 92 reviews, while Social Media Widget has a 3.9/5 rating from 84 reviews.
Are Simple Social Icons and Social Media Widget free?
Simple 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 — Simple 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?
Simple Social Icons was last updated 3 months ago and Social Media Widget was last updated 1 year ago.

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