Widget CSS Classes vs Custom Classes (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Custom Classes has a higher user rating (5/5 from 11 reviews) while Widget CSS Classes leads in active installations (90K+ vs 2.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Widget CSS Classes has accumulated 1.1M+ total downloads while Custom Classes has 27K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Widget CSS Classes | Custom Classes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.9/5 | ► | 5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 74 | ◄ | 11 |
| Active Installs | 90K+ | ◄ | 2.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 1.1M+ | ◄ | 27K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 1 year ago | ◄ | 8 years ago |
| First Released | 2012 | 2012 | |
| Age | 14 years | 14 years | |
| WP Requires | 3.3+ | 4.8+ | |
| PHP Requires | 5.2.4+ | 5.3+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 1.5.4.1 | 1.0.0 |
Rating Breakdown
Widget CSS Classes
Custom Classes
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Widget CSS Classes averaged approximately 83 daily downloads while Custom Classes averaged 4.
Recent Reviews
Widget CSS Classes Reviews
Not working on WordPress 5.8
Wordpress released new style of widget management. this lovely plugin not working on new version 🙁
Good
works
Invaluable!
This is a great and invaluable help for us frontend developers! the plugin lets you easily add your classes to any widget. thank you for developing it!
Custom Classes Reviews
Simply great
This is really a nice plugin. It makes any theme more flexible.
Works nicely!
If all you need is to add custom classes to body on a per page / post basis, this plugin is all you need.
Perfect
Just what I need – works perfectly running WP version 4.3.1 without any issues at all. Thanks for a great solution Justin As the other reviewer, could do with an update to tell users it is still ok to
Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.