10 Best NS Category Widget Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
NS Category Widget 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 NS Category Widget
- 1
Participants Database
Closest match4.9 (320) 7,000+ active installsBuild and maintain a fully customizable database of participants, members or anything with signup forms, admin backend, custom lists, and CSV support.
Shares the listing tag on WordPress.org. About 7 times the installs, last updated July 31, 2026.
- 2
4.3 (23) 1,000+ active installsA powerful & flexible plugin to create event listing and event calendar on your website in a simple & elegant way.
Shares the listing tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, last updated January 27, 2026.
- 3
4.7 (21) 9,000+ active installsThe List Custom Taxonomy Widget is a quick and easy way to display custom taxonomies. Simply choose the taxonomy name you want to display from an auto …
Shares the category, sidebar, widget tags on WordPress.org. About 9 times the installs, last updated July 19, 2026.
- 4
4.4 (40) 9,000+ active installsAssociate images from your media library to categories, tags and custom taxonomies.
Shares the category, taxonomy tags on WordPress.org. About 9 times the installs, no update since February 15, 2024.
- 5
4.9 (76) 10,000+ active installsAllows you to merge terms, move terms between taxonomies, and set term parents, individually or in bulk.
Shares the category, taxonomy tags on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, last updated December 11, 2025.
- 6
4.8 (23) 5,000+ active installsThis plugin can remove specific taxonomy base slug from your permalinks (e.g. "/genre/fiction/" to "/fiction/").
Shares the category, taxonomy tags on WordPress.org. About 5 times the installs, no update since November 28, 2017.
- 7
5.0 (24) 2,000+ active installsSwitch the taxonomy for all terms or only child terms of a specified parent term.
Shares the category, taxonomy tags on WordPress.org. About 2 times the installs, last updated July 14, 2026.
- 8
4.9 (68) 2,000+ active installsSupercharge your custom post type archives by letting visitors filter posts by their terms/categories. This plugin handles the whole thing for you!
Shares the taxonomy, widget tags on WordPress.org. About 2 times the installs, last updated 19 days ago.
- 9
4.8 (76) 5,000+ active installsBrands for WooCommerce plugin allows you to add brands for products in your shop.
Shares the taxonomy, widget tags on WordPress.org. About 5 times the installs, last updated 13 days ago.
- 10
GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory
4.8 (715) 10,000+ active installsA superb WordPress Business Directory plugin to create a local business directory, classified ads directory, or job listings board.
About 10 times the installs, last updated 5 days ago.
Switching from NS Category Widget: common questions
What is the best alternative to NS Category Widget?
Participants Database is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 7,000+ active installs with a 4.9 out of 5 rating.
Which NS Category Widget alternative has the most users?
Term Management Tools, with 10,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which NS Category Widget alternative is rated highest?
Participants Database, rated 4.9 out of 5 by 320 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these NS Category Widget 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 NS Category Widget 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 NS Category Widget 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
Participants Database is the closest match to NS Category Widget by the data we track, and Term Management Tools has the widest reach with 10,000+ active installs. GeoDirectory shipped the most recent release, on September 2, 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.