10 Best Featured Image Column Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Featured Image Column has 2,000+ 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 Column
- 1
Equal Height Columns
Closest match4.9 (41) 10,000+ active installsEasily equalize the height of columns or any collection of elements.
Shares the column tag on WordPress.org. About 5 times the installs, last updated March 10, 2026.
- 2
4.5 (52) 7,000+ active installsAutomatically sets the featured image to the first image uploaded into the post (any post type with thumbnail support). So easy like that...
Shares the featured image tag on WordPress.org. About 3.5 times the installs, no update since October 5, 2023.
- 3
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 tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, no update since November 26, 2018.
- 4
4.7 (28) 5,000+ active installsEnables multiple featured images for all post types (including custom post types and WooCommerce products). Comes with a widget and a handy shortcode …
Shares the featured image tag on WordPress.org. About 2.5 times the installs, no update since August 20, 2020.
- 5
Generate Images (AI) – Magic Post Thumbnail
4.3 (25) 5,000+ active installsGenerate featured images from Bing, GPT Image, Unsplash and more. Automatic, bulk or Gutenberg — based on your post title.
Shares the featured image tag on WordPress.org. About 2.5 times the installs, last updated 14 days ago.
- 6
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 tag on WordPress.org. About 5 times the installs, no update since July 17, 2024.
- 7
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 4 times the installs, last updated 25 days ago.
- 8
4.7 (40) 20,000+ active installsAdds inline thumbnail image to admin columns on Post/post types view (where supported). Click to easily set/change the featured image.
Shares the featured image tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, last updated July 10, 2026.
- 9
5.0 (32) 2,000+ active installsMy Eyes Are Up Here helps you control how WordPress generates thumbnails.
Shares the featured image tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, no update since September 29, 2022.
- 10
4.6 (22) 5,000+ active installsAllows adding custom captions to the featured images of the posts.
Shares the featured image tag on WordPress.org. About 2.5 times the installs, last updated April 27, 2026.
Switching from Featured Image Column: common questions
What is the best alternative to Featured Image Column?
Equal Height Columns is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 10,000+ active installs with a 4.9 out of 5 rating.
Which Featured Image Column alternative has the most users?
Multiple Post Thumbnails, with 20,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which Featured Image Column alternative is rated highest?
Ultimate Posts Widget, rated 4.5 out of 5 by 55 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these Featured Image Column 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 Column 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 Column 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
Equal Height Columns is the closest match to Featured Image Column by the data we track, and Multiple Post Thumbnails has the widest reach with 20,000+ active installs. Magic Post Thumbnail shipped the most recent release, on August 24, 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.