External Links – nofollow, noopener &… vs External Links in New Window / New Tab (2026)

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

External Links – nofollow, noopener &…

External Links – nofollow, noopener &…

4.3(247)

90K+ active installs

Free

Updated 1 week ago
View External Links – nofollow, noopener &…
VS
External Links in New Window / New Tab

External Links in New Window / New Tab

4.5(77)

30K+ active installs

Free

Updated 4 months ago
View External Links in New Window / New Tab

Quick Verdict

As of April 2026, External Links in New Window / New Tab has a higher user rating (4.5/5 from 77 reviews) while External Links – nofollow, noopener &… leads in active installations (90K+ vs 30K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. External Links – nofollow, noopener &… has accumulated 1.7M+ total downloads while External Links in New Window / New Tab has 489K+.

Detailed Comparison

Rating
4.3/5External Links – nofollow, noopener &…
External Links in New Window / New Tab4.5/5
Total Reviews
247External Links – nofollow, noopener &…
External Links in New Window / New Tab77
Active Installs
90K+External Links – nofollow, noopener &…
External Links in New Window / New Tab30K+
Total Downloads
1.7M+External Links – nofollow, noopener &…
External Links in New Window / New Tab489K+
Support Resolution
100%External Links – nofollow, noopener &…
External Links in New Window / New TabN/A
Last Updated
1 week agoExternal Links – nofollow, noopener &…
External Links in New Window / New Tab4 months ago
First Released
2011External Links – nofollow, noopener &…
External Links in New Window / New Tab2010
Age
15 yearsExternal Links – nofollow, noopener &…
External Links in New Window / New Tab16 years
WP Requires
4.2+External Links – nofollow, noopener &…
External Links in New Window / New Tab4.0+
PHP Requires
7.2+External Links – nofollow, noopener &…
External Links in New Window / New Tab5.2+
Business Model
FreeExternal Links – nofollow, noopener &…
External Links in New Window / New TabFree
Latest Version
2.64External Links – nofollow, noopener &…
External Links in New Window / New Tab1.45

Rating Breakdown

External Links – nofollow, noopener &…

4.3/5(247 reviews)
5
79%
4
3%
3
3%
2
2%
1
13%

External Links in New Window / New Tab

4.5/5(77 reviews)
5
87%
4
0%
3
0%
2
4%
1
9%

Recent Reviews

External Links – nofollow, noopener &… Reviews

by izreview

Almost nothing at free version

Almost nothing at free version.

by bondimedical3

Essential Plugin for SEO Control Over External Links

This plugin is exactly what I needed to manage external link behavior on my site. The ability to customize nofollow and dofollow rules by domain is a huge win for SEO, especially for trusted citations

by Mayhymn

Garbage

Messed my whole site up.

External Links in New Window / New Tab Reviews

by edragonxx

Not working

Not working with google ads

by Christian Saborio

Works as expected, minimal setup

Download, activate, you are done. This is pretty much you need, works flawlessly.

by philsimon

Simple, elegant plug-in

This one’s going to save me a good deal of time with my new writing process. Thank you for creating it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is External Links – nofollow, noopener &… or External Links in New Window / New Tab more popular?
External Links – nofollow, noopener &… has 90K+ active installations while External Links in New Window / New Tab has 30K+. External Links – nofollow, noopener &… is the more widely-used plugin as of April 2026.
Which has better ratings — External Links – nofollow, noopener &… or External Links in New Window / New Tab?
External Links – nofollow, noopener &… has a 4.3/5 rating from 247 reviews, while External Links in New Window / New Tab has a 4.5/5 rating from 77 reviews.
Are External Links – nofollow, noopener &… and External Links in New Window / New Tab free?
External Links – nofollow, noopener &… is free and External Links in New Window / New Tab is free. Both can be downloaded from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
Which plugin has better support — External Links – nofollow, noopener &… or External Links in New Window / New Tab?
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?
External Links – nofollow, noopener &… was last updated 1 week ago and External Links in New Window / New Tab was last updated 4 months ago.

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