Admin Menu Editor vs SM Vertical Menu (2026)

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

Admin Menu Editor

Admin Menu Editor

4.6(311)

400K+ active installs

Free

Updated 1 month ago
View Admin Menu Editor
VS
SM Vertical Menu

SM Vertical Menu

3.7(3)

400 active installs

Free

Updated 9 years ago
View SM Vertical Menu

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, Admin Menu Editor has a higher user rating (4.6/5 from 311 reviews) and leads in active installations (400K+ vs 400). Both are free WordPress plugins. Admin Menu Editor has accumulated 7.8M+ total downloads while SM Vertical Menu has 17K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.6/5Admin Menu Editor
SM Vertical Menu3.7/5
Total Reviews
311Admin Menu Editor
SM Vertical Menu3
Active Installs
400K+Admin Menu Editor
SM Vertical Menu400
Total Downloads
7.8M+Admin Menu Editor
SM Vertical Menu17K+
Support Resolution
60%Admin Menu Editor
SM Vertical MenuN/A
Last Updated
1 month agoAdmin Menu Editor
SM Vertical Menu9 years ago
First Released
2009Admin Menu Editor
SM Vertical Menu2016
Age
17 yearsAdmin Menu Editor
SM Vertical Menu10 years
WP Requires
5.9+Admin Menu Editor
SM Vertical Menu3.5.1+
PHP Requires
7.4+Admin Menu Editor
SM Vertical Menufalse+
Business Model
FreeAdmin Menu Editor
SM Vertical MenuFree
Latest Version
1.15Admin Menu Editor
SM Vertical Menu1.1.0

Rating Breakdown

Admin Menu Editor

4.6/5(311 reviews)
5
85%
4
5%
3
3%
2
2%
1
5%

SM Vertical Menu

3.7/5(3 reviews)
5
67%
4
0%
3
0%
2
0%
1
33%

Recent Reviews

Admin Menu Editor Reviews

by Erupt Media

We swear by this plugin, installed on all our sites!

Not sure how we can manage without this plugin. It keeps our structure organized, categorized and most importantly easy to find. Highly recommend, I’ve tried a few and stuck with this one overall.

by moloko74

Separator with title

Great plugin, it just lacked an option to organize groups with a titled separator.

by Ralf R.

Helpfull Plugin

I was always annoyed by the huge number of menu entries created by all the installed plugins. With Admin Menu I was finally able to clean things up and organize everything in a meaningful way. It took

SM Vertical Menu Reviews

No reviews yet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Admin Menu Editor or SM Vertical Menu more popular?
Admin Menu Editor has 400K+ active installations while SM Vertical Menu has 400. Admin Menu Editor is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Admin Menu Editor or SM Vertical Menu?
Admin Menu Editor has a 4.6/5 rating from 311 reviews, while SM Vertical Menu has a 3.7/5 rating from 3 reviews.
Are Admin Menu Editor and SM Vertical Menu free?
Admin Menu Editor is free and SM Vertical Menu is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Admin Menu Editor or SM Vertical Menu?
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?
Admin Menu Editor was last updated 1 month ago and SM Vertical Menu was last updated 9 years ago.

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