10 Best Featured Image Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Featured Image has 1,000+ 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 Featured Image
- 1
My Eyes Are Up Here
Closest match5.0 (32) 2,000+ active installsMy Eyes Are Up Here helps you control how WordPress generates thumbnails.
Shares the featured image, image tags on WordPress.org. About 2 times the installs, no update since September 29, 2022.
- 2
4.5 (55) 10,000+ active installsThe ultimate widget for displaying posts, custom post types or sticky posts with an array of options.
Shares the featured image, widget tags on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, no update since July 17, 2024.
- 3
Content Blocks (Custom Post Widget)
4.9 (80) 10,000+ active installsThis plugin enables you to edit and display Content Blocks in a sidebar widget or using a shortcode.
Shares the shortcode, widget tags on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, last updated July 22, 2026.
- 4
4.9 (34) 10,000+ active installsAdds a text-like widget that allows you to write shortcode in it.
Shares the shortcode, widget tags on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, last updated March 22, 2026.
- 5
4.3 (52) 300+ active installsCreate forms and manage submissions easily with a simple interface. Contact forms, subscription forms, or other forms for WordPress. Absolutely FREE!
Shares the shortcode, widget tags on WordPress.org. About a third of the installs, no update since November 13, 2019.
- 6
4.4 (38) 10,000+ active installsGenerate QR Code through Widgets and Shortcodes, without any dependencies.
Shares the shortcode, widget tags on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, last updated May 17, 2026.
- 7
4.7 (42) 20,000+ active installsAdds multiple post thumbnails to a post type. If you've ever wanted more than one Featured Image on a post, this plugin is for you.
Shares the featured image, image tags on WordPress.org. About 20 times the installs, no update since November 26, 2018.
- 8
4.8 (38) 30,000+ active installsEasily control whether the featured image appears in the single post or page view (doesn't hide it in archive/list view).
Shares the featured image, image tags on WordPress.org. About 30 times the installs, last updated May 3, 2026.
- 9
4.8 (212) 100,000+ active installsList the most recent posts with post titles, thumbnails, excerpts, authors, categories, dates and more!
Shares the featured image, widget tags on WordPress.org. About 100 times the installs, last updated 20 days ago.
- 10
4.1 (56) 8,000+ active installsPlugin allows you to manually crop all the image sizes registered in your WordPress theme (in particular featured image).
Shares the featured image tag on WordPress.org. About 8 times the installs, last updated 25 days ago.
Switching from Featured Image: common questions
What is the best alternative to Featured Image?
My Eyes Are Up Here is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 2,000+ active installs with a 5.0 out of 5 rating.
Which Featured Image alternative has the most users?
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails, with 100,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which Featured Image alternative is rated highest?
Content Blocks, rated 4.9 out of 5 by 80 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these Featured Image 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 Featured Image 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 Featured Image 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
My Eyes Are Up Here is the closest match to Featured Image by the data we track, and Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails has the widest reach with 100,000+ active installs. Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails shipped the most recent release, on August 18, 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.