PluginSift

Theme Editor vs What The File (2026)

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

Theme Editor

Theme Editor

4.6(127)

50K+ active installs

Free

Updated 2 weeks ago
View Theme Editor
VS
What The File

What The File

4.9(882)

40K+ active installs

Free

Updated 1 month ago
View What The File

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, What The File has a higher user rating (4.9/5 from 882 reviews) while Theme Editor leads in active installations (50K+ vs 40K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Theme Editor has accumulated 892K+ total downloads while What The File has 589K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.6/5Theme Editor
►
What The File4.9/5
Total Reviews
127Theme Editor
►
What The File882
Active Installs
50K+Theme Editor
◄
What The File40K+
Total Downloads
892K+Theme Editor
◄
What The File589K+
Support Resolution
N/ATheme Editor
What The FileN/A
Last Updated
2 weeks agoTheme Editor
◄
What The File1 month ago
First Released
2017Theme Editor
What The File2012
Age
9 yearsTheme Editor
What The File14 years
WP Requires
3.4+Theme Editor
What The File3.1+
PHP Requires
5.2.4+Theme Editor
What The File5.3+
Business Model
FreeTheme Editor
What The FileFree
Latest Version
3.2Theme Editor
What The File1.6.1

Rating Breakdown

Theme Editor

4.6/5(127 reviews)
5
84%
4
7%
3
2%
2
0%
1
7%

What The File

4.9/5(882 reviews)
5
94%
4
4%
3
1%
2
0%
1
1%

Recent Reviews

Theme Editor Reviews

by qykzoo

Helpful

Have found it useful when creating new plugins

by idenmorisha

Very Handy

Saved me alot of headache

by binjuice

Super handy!

Massive thanks to the dev team for maintaining this.

What The File Reviews

by matthiascon

Does everything I need it to!

I got this for one purpose, and it performs that with aplomb.

by iceshade

Very Useful Tool

I’ve been using this plugin for years and find it very useful. Only downside is some of the new themes and plugins don’t allow it to show the exact file, just the main one, which is often just a pa

by gabrieljrubio

Muy útil

Es un plugin muy interesante y muy útil en la fase de desarrollo para ver dónde se están ejecutando realmente las funciones hookd de wordpress.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Theme Editor or What The File more popular?
Theme Editor has 50K+ active installations while What The File has 40K+. Theme Editor is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — Theme Editor or What The File?
Theme Editor has a 4.6/5 rating from 127 reviews, while What The File has a 4.9/5 rating from 882 reviews.
Are Theme Editor and What The File free?
Theme Editor is free and What The File is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — Theme Editor or What The File?
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?
Theme Editor was last updated 2 weeks ago and What The File was last updated 1 month ago.

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