7 Best Pen Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Pen has 2,000+ active installs on WordPress.org. These 7 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 7 closest alternatives to Pen
- 1
Better Usability for WooCommerce
Closest match4.9 (21) 800+ active installsImprove WooCommerce UX with AJAX cart updates, quantity buttons, streamlined checkout, and more — for a faster, smoother buying experience.
Shares the ux tag on WordPress.org. About a third of the installs, last updated July 15, 2026.
- 2
4.7 (33) 900+ active installsCustomize various aspects of WordPress backend. Create a clean and easier admin area for the users.
Shares the customize tag on WordPress.org. About half the installs, no update since April 16, 2025.
- 3
4.4 (21) 20,000+ active installsRemoves the WordPress credit on all default classic WordPress themes and replaces with a widget sidebar for those wanting to customise the theme.
Shares the customize tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, last updated 24 days ago.
- 4
4.8 (57) 8,000+ active installsAdds powerful customizer options to modify all aspects of the default WordPress theme Twenty Seventeen.
Shares the customize tag on WordPress.org. About 4 times the installs, last updated 24 days ago.
- 5
4.7 (31) 3,000+ active installsAdds powerful customizer options to modify all aspects of the default WordPress theme Twenty Twenty.
Shares the customize tag on WordPress.org. About 1.5 times the installs, last updated 24 days ago.
- 6
4.8 (42) 3,000+ active installsAllow your customers to create configurable products with a live preview of the result. Works using a layer-based system.
Shares the customize tag on WordPress.org. About 1.5 times the installs, last updated 27 days ago.
- 7
4.9 (64) 6,000+ active installsAdds powerful customizer options to modify all aspects of the default WordPress theme Twenty Twenty-One.
Shares the customize tag on WordPress.org. About 3 times the installs, last updated 24 days ago.
Switching from Pen: common questions
What is the best alternative to Pen?
Better Usability for WooCommerce is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 800+ active installs with a 4.9 out of 5 rating.
Which Pen alternative has the most users?
Remove "Powered by WordPress", with 20,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which Pen alternative is rated highest?
Options for Twenty Twenty-One, rated 4.9 out of 5 by 64 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these Pen 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 Pen 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 Pen 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
Better Usability for WooCommerce is the closest match to Pen by the data we track, and Remove "Powered by WordPress" has the widest reach with 20,000+ active installs. Remove "Powered by WordPress" shipped the most recent release, on August 14, 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.