10 Best Category Posts Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Category Posts has 40,000+ 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 Category Posts
- 1
Custom Layouts
Closest matchCustom Layouts – Post + Product grids made easy
5.0 (25) 3,000+ active installsBuild a list or grid layout of any post type (posts, products, pages + more).
Shares the posts, recent posts tags on WordPress.org. 3,000+ installs against 40,000+, last updated December 29, 2025.
- 2
4.8 (58) 30,000+ active installsBuild your blogs and news sites with a feature-rich Elementor addon, offering 100+ elements for engaging layouts.
Shares the posts tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, rated 4.8 against 4.5, last updated 4 days ago.
- 3
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets)
4.8 (333) 100,000+ active installsEasy to show posts, pages, custom posts in customizable grid, list, slider, accordion... Available as Widgets (for Elementor), Shortcode, and Blocks.
Shares the block tag on WordPress.org. About 2.5 times the installs, rated 4.8 against 4.5, last updated 7 days ago.
- 4
4.3 (163) 30,000+ active installsPost Grid is a powerful WordPress plugin for creating customizable post grid layouts with advanced query options, allowing users to display posts dyna …
A similar number of installs, rated 4.3 against 4.5, last updated July 19, 2026.
- 5
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid
4.8 (265) 100,000+ active installsDisplay WordPress posts in beautiful grid, list, slider, and filter layouts. Works with Gutenberg, Elementor, Divi, and Shortcodes.
About 2.5 times the installs, rated 4.8 against 4.5, last updated 14 days ago.
- 6
Smart Post
Paid version availableSmart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News
4.7 (209) 20,000+ active installsDisplay posts in Grid, Carousel, Slider, Timeline, List & Live Filter layouts with Gutenberg Blocks & Ready Patterns - Elementor, Divi, & Shortcodes.
About half the installs, rated 4.7 against 4.5, last updated 5 days ago.
- 7
Blog Designer Pack
Paid version availableBlog Designer Pack – Blog, Post Grid, Post Slider, Post Carousel, Category Post, News
4.7 (79) 30,000+ active installsNews & Blog plugin for post grid, post slider, post carousel, post filter, masonry, ticker & list category posts using shortcode, Elementor & Divi.
A similar number of installs, rated 4.7 against 4.5, last updated 11 days ago.
- 8
4.9 (76) 10,000+ active installsAddon for the Elementor page builder to display posts in a grid. Useful for generating post grid from your blog posts with multiple options.
About a quarter of the installs, rated 4.9 against 4.5, last updated 13 days ago.
- 9
Post Grid Gutenberg Blocks – PostX
4.8 (262) 40,000+ active installsDesign professional blogs with advanced Gutenberg blocks, premade templates, dynamic post grids, and smart filters.
A similar number of installs, rated 4.8 against 4.5, last updated 8 days ago.
- 10
4.9 (84) 20,000+ active installsEasily create awesome post grids and post carousel sliders. Different widget types, powerful filters, "load more" button and many customizab …
About half the installs, rated 4.9 against 4.5, no update since January 9, 2025.
Switching from Category Posts: common questions
What is the best alternative to Category Posts?
Custom Layouts is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 3,000+ active installs with a 5.0 out of 5 rating.
Which Category Posts alternative has the most users?
Content Views, with 100,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which Category Posts alternative is rated highest?
AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor, rated 4.9 out of 5 by 84 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these Category Posts 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 Category Posts 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 Category Posts 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
Custom Layouts is the closest match to Category Posts by the data we track, and Content Views has the widest reach with 100,000+ active installs. Ultimate Post Kit shipped the most recent release, on September 3, 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.