10 Best ACF Columns Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
ACF Columns has 4,000+ active installs on WordPress.org. These 10 plugins share its category or its tags on WordPress.org, are actively maintained, and each has at least 100 active installs. They are ordered by how closely they match, not by our opinion.
The 10 closest alternatives to ACF Columns
- 1
Advanced Custom Fields
Closest matchAdvanced Custom Fields: Nav Menu Field
5.0 (33) 8,000+ active installsAdd-On plugin for Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) that adds a 'Nav Menu' Field type.
Shares the acf, advanced custom fields tags on WordPress.org. About 2 times the installs, no update since November 28, 2017.
- 2
ACF Theme Code
Paid version availableACF Theme Code for Advanced Custom Fields
5.0 (42) 10,000+ active installsAutomatically generate the code needed to implement Advanced Custom Fields in your themes.
Shares the acf, advanced custom fields tags on WordPress.org. About 2.5 times the installs, no update since November 28, 2023.
- 3
Advanced Forms
Paid version availableAdvanced Forms for ACF
5.0 (41) 3,000+ active installsFlexible and developer-friendly forms using the power of Advanced Custom Fields
Shares the acf, advanced custom fields tags on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, last updated May 11, 2026.
- 4
5.0 (20) 5,000+ active installsAdd navigation menu field type to Advanced Custom Fields
Shares the acf, advanced custom fields tags on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, no update since June 10, 2025.
- 5
4.9 (41) 10,000+ active installsEasily equalize the height of columns or any collection of elements.
Shares the column tag on WordPress.org. About 2.5 times the installs, last updated March 10, 2026.
- 6
Advanced Custom Fields: Validated Field
4.5 (22) 100+ active installsThe Validated Field add-on for Advanced Custom Fields provides input masking and server-side validation of other field types.
Shares the acf, advanced custom fields tags on WordPress.org. 100+ installs against 4,000+, no update since August 19, 2015.
- 7
Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field
4.9 (36) 90,000+ active installsAdds a new 'Font Awesome Icon' field to the popular Advanced Custom Fields plugin.
Shares the acf, advanced custom fields tags on WordPress.org. About 23 times the installs, last updated 13 days ago.
- 8
4.9 (59) 50,000+ active installsA Table Field Add-on for the Advanced Custom Fields and Secure Custom Fields Plugin.
Shares the acf, advanced custom fields tags on WordPress.org. About 13 times the installs, last updated 14 days ago.
- 9
4.1 (35) 100,000+ active installsWordPress plugin that adds the content of all ACF fields to the Yoast SEO score analysis.
Shares the acf, advanced custom fields tags on WordPress.org. About 25 times the installs, last updated 20 days ago.
- 10
ACF: Better Search
4.9 (165) 40,000+ active installsThis plugin adds to default WordPress search engine the ability to search by content from selected fields of Advanced Custom Fields plugin.
Shares the advanced custom fields tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, last updated 19 days ago.
Switching from ACF Columns: common questions
What is the best alternative to ACF Columns?
Advanced Custom Fields is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 8,000+ active installs with a 5.0 out of 5 rating.
Which ACF Columns alternative has the most users?
ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO, with 100,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which ACF Columns alternative is rated highest?
Better Search, rated 4.9 out of 5 by 165 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these ACF Columns alternatives free?
Every plugin listed here is free to install from WordPress.org. Where WordPress.org marks a plugin as commercial, the developer also sells a paid version or add-ons, and that is shown on each plugin.
How are alternatives chosen?
Automatically, from WordPress.org data: plugins that share a category top 10 with ACF Columns score highest, then plugins that appear in the same WordPress.org rankings, then plugins with the same tags, weighted so rare tags count more than common ones. Plugins by the same author and plugins rated under 4.0 are left out.
How we choose these alternatives
Nothing on this page is picked by hand. Every day we walk the whole WordPress.org directory, then score every plugin against ACF Columns on three signals: sharing a category top 10 counts most, then appearing in the same WordPress.org rankings, then carrying the same tags, with rare tags counting for more than common ones like "wordpress". Plugins by the same author are excluded, so an author's own add-ons cannot fill the list, and so is anything rated below 4.0 or with fewer than 100 active installs. The ten highest scores are what you see, in that order. Full methodology.
The bottom line
Advanced Custom Fields is the closest match to ACF Columns by the data we track, and ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO has the widest reach with 100,000+ active installs. Advanced Custom Fields shipped the most recent release, on August 25, 2026. The list is rebuilt every day from WordPress.org, so a plugin that stops being maintained drops out on its own.
Weekly · free
What moved this week
One email a week, built from the same daily snapshots these rankings come from: the plugins that climbed, what launched, and one ranking worth a look.