External Links – nofollow, noopener &… vs Rel Nofollow Checkbox (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
External Links – nofollow, noopener &…
90K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Rel Nofollow Checkbox has a higher user rating (4.5/5 from 26 reviews) while External Links – nofollow, noopener &… leads in active installations (90K+ vs 5.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. External Links – nofollow, noopener &… has accumulated 1.7M+ total downloads while Rel Nofollow Checkbox has 82K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | External Links – nofollow, noopener &… | Rel Nofollow Checkbox | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.3/5 | ► | 4.5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 247 | ◄ | 26 |
| Active Installs | 90K+ | ◄ | 5.0K+ |
| Total Downloads | 1.7M+ | ◄ | 82K+ |
| Support Resolution | 100% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 1 week ago | ◄ | 8 years ago |
| First Released | 2011 | 2014 | |
| Age | 15 years | 12 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.2+ | 4.7+ | |
| PHP Requires | 7.2+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 2.64 | 1.1.5 |
Rating Breakdown
External Links – nofollow, noopener &…
Rel Nofollow Checkbox
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, External Links – nofollow, noopener &… averaged approximately 1,227 daily downloads while Rel Nofollow Checkbox averaged 5.
Recent Reviews
External Links – nofollow, noopener &… Reviews
Almost nothing at free version
Almost nothing at free version.
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
Garbage
Messed my whole site up.
Rel Nofollow Checkbox Reviews
Still serving me well but any alternative since no update?
I have been using this plugin for over 5 years now and on more than one site. It is very simple and still serves its purpose, however, due to the lack of updates, I am having security concerns. I have
Don`t work
В текущей версии ВП плагин не работает((
Update please
It is time to update this extension. This is not reassuring in terms of security and compatibility.
More Nofollow Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as External Links – nofollow, noopener &… and Rel Nofollow Checkbox
Automatically insert rel=nofollow and target=_blank to all the external links into your website posts, pages or menus. Support exclude domain.
The external links plugin for WordPress lets you process outgoing links differently from internal links.
Control search engine indexing with robots directives using HTML meta tags or HTTP headers.
Improves your blog's search engine optimization by "noindexing" pages you choose. Now also for page-based (as opposed to date-based) archives.
DoFollow Case by Case allows you to selectively apply dofollow to comments and make links in pages or posts nofollow.
Remove type attribute from script and style tags added by WordPress
Frequently Asked Questions
Is External Links – nofollow, noopener &… or Rel Nofollow Checkbox more popular?
Which has better ratings — External Links – nofollow, noopener &… or Rel Nofollow Checkbox?
Are External Links – nofollow, noopener &… and Rel Nofollow Checkbox free?
Which plugin has better support — External Links – nofollow, noopener &… or Rel Nofollow Checkbox?
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.