Media Library Categories vs Essential Widgets (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Media Library Categories
20K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Media Library Categories has a higher user rating (4.2/5 from 52 reviews) and leads in active installations (20K+ vs 10K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Media Library Categories has accumulated 560K+ total downloads while Essential Widgets has 489K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Media Library Categories | Essential Widgets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.2/5 | ◄ | 3.5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 52 | ◄ | 2 |
| Active Installs | 20K+ | ◄ | 10K+ |
| Total Downloads | 560K+ | ◄ | 489K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 10 months ago | ► | 2 months ago |
| First Released | 2013 | 2017 | |
| Age | 13 years | 9 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.0+ | 5.9+ | |
| PHP Requires | false+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 2.0.2 | 3.0.1 |
Rating Breakdown
Media Library Categories
Essential Widgets
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Media Library Categories averaged approximately 87 daily downloads while Essential Widgets averaged 66.
Recent Reviews
Media Library Categories Reviews
Not working anymore
Actually a helpful plugin. But has not been working with WPBakery Page Builder for some time now. Among other things, it blocks adding new images to a gallery. This topic was modified 2 years,
Simple and great
Simple and great plugin for adding category taxonomy to WordPress media.
Works Great
This plugin is great, super helpful. I have been using it to create categories for media items that I then use with Loopers in Theme.co’s Pro theme with Grids and Sliders. Saved me tons of work.
Essential Widgets Reviews
alot of useful widgets but in the paid version
A lot of useful widgets but in the paid version. The free one is limited. This topic was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by KJA4U.
Excellent
Excellent
More Categories Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as Media Library Categories and Essential Widgets
Very customizable plugin to list posts by category (or tag, author and more) in a post, page or widget. Uses the [catlist] shortcode to select posts.
Enhances the Media Library; powerful gallery and list shortcodes, full taxonomy support, IPTC/EXIF/XMP/PDF processing, bulk/quick edit.
Tags, Categories and WordPress terms are easy with TaxoPress. Add a Tag or Category to Pages, manage your WooCommerce Categories and Tags and more.
Adds a widget that shows the most recent posts from a single category.
Replaces the plain-text category and tag description editor with a visual editor.
Adds the built in WordPress categories and tags to your pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Media Library Categories or Essential Widgets more popular?
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.