Best WordPress Related Posts Plugins in 2026
Data from WordPress.org Updated First published 5 min read
Suggested reading under an article, matched by tags, categories or content.
Related posts plugins pick what to show a reader who has finished an article. The matching is the whole product: some compare tags and categories, some index the text itself, and some hand the question to an outside service.
Together these 10 plugins run on more than 300,000 active WordPress sites. Ranked from both WordPress.org orderings for "related-posts", its tag listing and its search results.
On this page
Best Related Posts Plugin for each measure
One plugin per measure, taken from the same WordPress.org figures as the ranking. A measure with nothing behind it is left out rather than guessed.
- Most installed
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Inline Related Posts
100,000+, active installs reported by WordPress.org
- Highest rated
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Related Posts Thumbnails
4.9 out of 5, from 233 reviews, counting only plugins with at least 50
- Most reviewed
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Yet Another Related Posts Plugin
1,163 reviews, the largest body of feedback behind a score
- Most recently updated
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Contextual Related Posts
September 5, 2026, the latest release in this list
- Longest established
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Yet Another Related Posts Plugin
January 2, 2008, first published on WordPress.org
Related Posts Plugins compared: rating, reviews, installs
| # | Plugin | Rating | Reviews | Active installs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inline Related Posts | 4.3 | 77 | 100,000+ |
| 2 | Contextual Related Posts | 4.8 | 201 | 50,000+ |
| 3 | Related Posts Thumbnails | 4.9 | 233 | 20,000+ |
| 4 | Related Posts by Taxonomy | 4.8 | 77 | 10,000+ |
| 5 | Related Posts for WordPress | 4.6 | 325 | 10,000+ |
| 6 | Custom Related Posts | 4.9 | 46 | 3,000+ |
| 7 | Related Posts By PickPlugins | 4.6 | 39 | 3,000+ |
| 8 | Internal Linking of Related Contents | 4.2 | 5 | 3,000+ |
| 9 | Manual Related Posts | 5.0 | 23 | 1,000+ |
| 10 | Yet Another Related Posts Plugin | 4.8 | 1,163 | 100,000+ |
The 10 best Related Posts Plugins, ranked by WordPress.org
Ranked from both WordPress.org orderings for "related-posts", its tag listing and its search results. Arrows show movement against the previous snapshot.
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4.3 (77) 100,000+ active installs Updated Aug 3, 2026 Tested up to 7.0.4
Inline Related Posts AUTOMATICALLY inserts related posts INSIDE your content, capturing immediately the reader's attention.
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4.8 (201) 50,000+ active installs Updated Sep 5, 2026 Tested up to 7.1 Paid version available
Keep visitors on your site longer with intelligent, fast-loading, contextually related posts. Block, shortcode, custom post type and widget ready.
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Related Posts Thumbnails Plugin for WordPress
4.9 (233) 20,000+ active installs Updated Jul 17, 2026 Tested up to 7.0.4 Paid version availableRelated Posts by WPBrigade is The Best Customizable plugin, that nicely displays related posts thumbnails under the post.
4.8 (77) 10,000+ active installs Updated Aug 21, 2026 Tested up to 7.1Display a list of related posts on your site based on the most terms in common. Supports thumbnails, shortcodes, a widget and more.
4.6 (325) 10,000+ active installs Updated May 10, 2025 Tested up to 6.8.8The best WordPress plugin for related posts. Simple, flexible, powerful algorithm, and built-in caching. Fully setup with only 1 click!
4.9 (46) 3,000+ active installs Updated Aug 19, 2026 Tested up to 7.1Manual related posts without slowing down your website!
4.6 (39) 3,000+ active installs Updated Jun 8, 2026 Tested up to 7.0.4Display Related Post under post by taxonomy and terms.
4.2 (5) 3,000+ active installs Updated Aug 30, 2026 Tested up to 7.1Internal Linking of Related Contents allows you to automatically insert inline related posts within your WordPress articles.
5.0 (23) 1,000+ active installs Updated Aug 30, 2026 Tested up to 7.1A simple 'related posts' plugin that lets you select related posts manually.
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YARPP – Yet Another Related Posts Plugin
4.8 (1,163) 100,000+ active installs Updated Nov 11, 2024 Tested up to 6.7.7The best WordPress plugin for displaying related posts. Simple and flexible, with a powerful proven algorithm and inbuilt caching.
How to choose a Related Posts Plugin for WordPress
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1
Understand how matching works
Taxonomy matching is instant and only as good as your tagging. Content matching is better and needs an index that has to be built and maintained.
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2
Watch the query cost
Finding related posts on every article view is real work. Cached results, or a prebuilt index, is what keeps a busy blog fast.
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3
Thumbnails decide whether anyone clicks
A list of blue links is ignored. Images and a short excerpt raise the click rate far more than better matching does.
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4
Do not send readers to dead ends
Exclude drafts, archived posts and pages that no longer apply. A related link to something obsolete costs trust.
Related Posts Plugin comparisons: side by side
The top four against each other on installs, ratings, reviews and updates. Each measure names its own leader; there is no overall winner.
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Inline Related Posts vs Contextual Related Posts#1 vs #2 · 100,000+ vs 50,000+ installs
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Inline Related Posts vs Related Posts Thumbnails#1 vs #3 · 100,000+ vs 20,000+ installs
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Inline Related Posts vs Related Posts by Taxonomy#1 vs #4 · 100,000+ vs 10,000+ installs
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Contextual Related Posts vs Related Posts Thumbnails#2 vs #3 · 50,000+ vs 20,000+ installs
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Contextual Related Posts vs Related Posts by Taxonomy#2 vs #4 · 50,000+ vs 10,000+ installs
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Related Posts Thumbnails vs Related Posts by Taxonomy#3 vs #4 · 20,000+ vs 10,000+ installs
How we rank Related Posts Plugins
WordPress.org publishes two orderings for "related-posts" and neither is reliable alone. The tag listing covers every tag the directory files these plugins under, "related-posts", "related", "similar-posts" and "related-content", and is sorted by active installs, which lets a large plugin carrying one of them loosely sit above the ones the category is about. Its search results are sorted by relevance and carry their own noise. So a plugin is placed here by where it sits across both lists: high in each one lifts it, high in only one does not. We fetch both every day at 03:00 UTC, keep every day's snapshot, and add nothing of our own. No plugin is inserted, removed or sponsored, and each entry shows its position in both lists on its own page. Full methodology.
Related Posts Plugins FAQ
What is the best Related Posts Plugin for WordPress?
On WordPress.org's own ranking for "related-posts", Inline Related Posts is #1 as of September 7, 2026, with 100,000+ active installs and a 4.3 out of 5 rating. By rating, Related Posts Thumbnails scores 4.9 out of 5 from 233 reviews.
Which Related Posts Plugin has the most active installs?
Inline Related Posts, with 100,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org as of September 7, 2026. It ranks #1 in this list.
Which Related Posts Plugin has the highest rating?
Related Posts Thumbnails, rated 4.9 out of 5 by 233 reviewers on WordPress.org. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted, so a single 5-star review does not win.
Which Related Posts Plugin was updated most recently?
Contextual Related Posts shipped its latest release on September 5, 2026. 7 of the 10 plugins in this list were updated in the last 90 days, which is the usual sign of active maintenance.
How many Related Posts Plugins are there on WordPress.org?
WordPress.org lists 188 plugins tagged "related-posts", "related", "similar-posts" and "related-content" as of September 7, 2026. This page shows the top 10 in the directory's own order.
Are these Related Posts Plugins free?
All 10 are free to install from WordPress.org. 2 of them are listed as commercial, meaning the developer sells a paid version or add-ons: Contextual Related Posts, Related Posts Thumbnails.
Do related posts help SEO?
Indirectly. They add internal links, which help crawlers find older articles and spread relevance around the site, and they keep readers on the site longer. What they do not do is raise a ranking by themselves. Poorly matched suggestions can cost you: a reader who clicks something irrelevant leaves faster than one who clicks nothing.
Do related posts plugins slow down a site?
They can, because the matching runs while the page is being built. Taxonomy matching is cheap; text similarity across thousands of posts is not, and doing it on every view is the common cause of slow article pages. Plugins that build an index in the background and cache results avoid it entirely.
Related Posts Plugins: the bottom line
As of September 7, 2026, Inline Related Posts holds the #1 spot for "related-posts" on WordPress.org, followed by Contextual Related Posts and Related Posts Thumbnails. If install base matters most, Inline Related Posts leads with 100,000+ active installs. If ratings matter most, Related Posts Thumbnails scores 4.9 out of 5 across 233 reviews. 2 of the 10 have not been updated in over a year, so check the last-updated column before you install.
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