5 Best Dashboard Columns Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Dashboard Columns has 1,000+ active installs on WordPress.org. These 5 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 5 closest alternatives to Dashboard Columns
- 1
Dashboard Widgets Suite
Closest match4.9 (38) 4,000+ active installsAdds 9 awesome widgets to your WP Dashboard. Includes User Notes, Social Buttons, System Info, Debug/Error Logs, and more!
Shares the dashboard, widget tags on WordPress.org. About 4 times the installs, last updated July 17, 2026.
- 2
4.1 (22) 3,000+ active installsThis WordPress plugin boosts your website with... you guessed it, columns!
Shares the columns tag on WordPress.org. About 3 times the installs, no update since November 28, 2017.
- 3
4.6 (21) 100+ active installsA simple page grid composer that splits your pages into ordered grids, a builder for rows and columns
Shares the columns tag on WordPress.org. 100+ installs against 1,000+, no update since June 17, 2015.
- 4
4.8 (25) 10,000+ active installsAdds shortcodes to easily create up to 42 different columned layouts.
Shares the columns tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, no update since June 23, 2024.
- 5
4.9 (42) 10,000+ active installsEasily add desktop, tablet and mobile friendly columns to your content using an easy to use shortcode.
Shares the columns tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, no update since March 14, 2019.
Switching from Dashboard Columns: common questions
What is the best alternative to Dashboard Columns?
Dashboard Widgets Suite is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 4,000+ active installs with a 4.9 out of 5 rating.
Which Dashboard Columns alternative has the most users?
Genesis Columns Advanced, with 10,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Are these Dashboard 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 Dashboard 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 Dashboard 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
Dashboard Widgets Suite is the closest match to Dashboard Columns by the data we track, and Genesis Columns Advanced has the widest reach with 10,000+ active installs. Dashboard Widgets Suite shipped the most recent release, on July 17, 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.