The Events Calendar: Category Colors vs Special Text Boxes (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
The Events Calendar: Category Colors
5.0K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, The Events Calendar: Category Colors has a higher user rating (5/5 from 61 reviews) and leads in active installations (5.0K+ vs 2.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. The Events Calendar: Category Colors has accumulated 445K+ total downloads while Special Text Boxes has 254K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | The Events Calendar: Category Colors | Special Text Boxes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 5/5 | ◄ | 3.2/5 |
| Total Reviews | 61 | ◄ | 21 |
| Active Installs | 5.0K+ | ◄ | 2.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 445K+ | ◄ | 254K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 6 months ago | ► | 1 month ago |
| First Released | 2012 | 2009 | |
| Age | 14 years | 17 years | |
| WP Requires | 6.3+ | 5.6+ | |
| PHP Requires | 7.4+ | 7.4+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 7.4.2 | 6.5 |
Rating Breakdown
The Events Calendar: Category Colors
Special Text Boxes
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, The Events Calendar: Category Colors averaged approximately 24 daily downloads while Special Text Boxes averaged 24.
Recent Reviews
The Events Calendar: Category Colors Reviews
[Solved] Not usable
Has not been working since I installed it 6 weeks ago :/ edit: solved with latest release This topic was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by elmanuuu. This topic was modified 1 year, 4 m
Disappointed
Officially recommended by Events Calendar (/knowledgebase/the-events-calendar-category-colors/), bugged with new versions of the plugin and time needed for a fix is incredibly long.
Incredible Support
Support was extremely responsive to an update issue. This makes an already stellar plugin even better.
Special Text Boxes Reviews
Was Working Well, Until it Didn’t
I’ve been using this plugin for many years and it did exactly what I wanted it to, until recently. After a few updates to WordPress and the improves with PHP, I can no longer type into the “Content” b
old-fasioned
It looks as if the plugin was developed 10 years ago and has not been updated This topic was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by Nikita.
Did not work for me
Gave error message. Don’t know why.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.