SyntaxHighlighter Evolved vs Source View (2026)

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

SyntaxHighlighter Evolved

SyntaxHighlighter Evolved

4.3(86)

20K+ active installs

Free

Updated 1 year ago
View SyntaxHighlighter Evolved
VS
Source View

Source View

0(0)

10 active installs

Free

Updated 6 years ago
View Source View

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, SyntaxHighlighter Evolved has a higher user rating (4.3/5 from 86 reviews) and leads in active installations (20K+ vs 10). Both are free WordPress plugins. SyntaxHighlighter Evolved has accumulated 1.1M+ total downloads while Source View has 2.7K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.3/5SyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Source ViewN/A
Total Reviews
86SyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Source View0
Active Installs
20K+SyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Source View10
Total Downloads
1.1M+SyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Source View2.7K+
Support Resolution
N/ASyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Source ViewN/A
Last Updated
1 year agoSyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Source View6 years ago
First Released
2007SyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Source View2012
Age
19 yearsSyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Source View14 years
WP Requires
5.7+SyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Source View3.3.2+
PHP Requires
7.0+SyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Source Viewfalse+
Business Model
FreeSyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Source ViewFree
Latest Version
3.7.2SyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Source View1.1

Rating Breakdown

SyntaxHighlighter Evolved

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

Source View

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

Recent Reviews

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

Source View Reviews

No reviews yet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SyntaxHighlighter Evolved or Source View more popular?
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved has 20K+ active installations while Source View has 10. SyntaxHighlighter Evolved is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — SyntaxHighlighter Evolved or Source View?
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved has a 4.3/5 rating from 86 reviews, while Source View has a 0/5 rating from 0 reviews.
Are SyntaxHighlighter Evolved and Source View free?
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved is free and Source View is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — SyntaxHighlighter Evolved or Source View?
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?
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved was last updated 1 year ago and Source View was last updated 6 years ago.

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