10 Best Highlighting Code Block Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Highlighting Code Block has 10,000+ 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 Highlighting Code Block
- 1
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved
Closest match4.3 (86) 20,000+ active installsEasily post syntax-highlighted code to your site without having to modify the code at all. As seen on WordPress.com.
Shares the code, syntax highlighting tags on WordPress.org. About 2 times the installs, no update since March 3, 2025.
- 2
Enlighter – Customizable Syntax Highlighter
4.8 (65) 10,000+ active installsAll-in-one Syntax Highlighting solution. Full Gutenberg and Classic Editor integration. Graphical theme customizer. Based on EnlighterJS.
Shares the syntax highlighting tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, last updated April 13, 2026.
- 3
5.0 (40) 7,000+ active installsVery lightweight (vanilla) Javascript that wraps search terms in an HTML5 mark tag within WordPress search results.
Shares the Highlight tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, last updated 4 days ago.
- 4
4.6 (125) 100,000+ active installsFind and edit code or texts in your themes and plugins
Shares the Highlight tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, no update since January 15, 2025.
- 5
Shortcoder — Create Shortcodes for Anything
4.9 (227) 100,000+ active installsCreate custom "Shortcodes" easily for HTML, JavaScript, CSS code snippets and use the shortcodes within posts, pages & widgets
Shares the code tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, last updated August 1, 2026.
- 6
4.4 (30) 30,000+ active installsThis plugin allows Admin users to individually add HTML, custom CSS, Classes and JavaScript directly to Post, Pages or any other custom post types.
Shares the code tag on WordPress.org. About 3 times the installs, no update since June 6, 2023.
- 7
Simple Custom CSS Plugin
4.7 (159) 100,000+ active installsAdd Custom CSS to your WordPress site without any hassles.
Shares the code tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, no update since March 11, 2025.
- 8
5.0 (51) 100,000+ active installsEasy add site-wide, category and article specific custom code before the closing </head> and </body>, or after opening <body> tag.
Shares the code tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, last updated 7 days ago.
- 9
WP Coder – Insert & Manage Code Snippets
4.9 (32) 10,000+ active installsSnippets made simple — easily insert and manage custom PHP, CSS, JS & HTML without coding in theme files.
Shares the code tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, last updated 13 days ago.
- 10
Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting
4.8 (50) 10,000+ active installsCode highlighting powered by the VS Code engine. Performance focused. No bloat.
Shares the code tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, last updated 23 days ago.
Switching from Highlighting Code Block: common questions
What is the best alternative to Highlighting Code Block?
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 20,000+ active installs with a 4.3 out of 5 rating.
Which Highlighting Code Block alternative has the most users?
String locator, with 100,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which Highlighting Code Block alternative is rated highest?
Head & Footer Code, rated 5.0 out of 5 by 51 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these Highlighting Code Block 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 Highlighting Code Block 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 Highlighting Code Block 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
SyntaxHighlighter Evolved is the closest match to Highlighting Code Block by the data we track, and String locator has the widest reach with 100,000+ active installs. Highlight Search Terms 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.