8 Best Three Column Screen Layout Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Three Column Screen Layout has 1,000+ active installs on WordPress.org. These 8 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 8 closest alternatives to Three Column Screen Layout
- 1
Tabify Edit Screen
Closest match4.9 (22) 500+ active installsEnable tabs in the edit screen and manage them from the back-end.
Shares the admin, edit tags on WordPress.org. About half the installs, no update since February 28, 2021.
- 2
4.8 (134) 60,000+ active installsAdds shortcodes to easily create columns in your posts or pages.
Shares the column, columns tags on WordPress.org. About 60 times the installs, no update since October 11, 2022.
- 3
5.0 (22) 1,000+ active installsThis plugin will disable the visual editor for selected page/post..
Shares the admin, editor tags on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, no update since February 21, 2018.
- 4
4.9 (41) 10,000+ active installsEasily equalize the height of columns or any collection of elements.
Shares the column tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, last updated March 10, 2026.
- 5
4.1 (22) 3,000+ active installsThis WordPress plugin boosts your website with... you guessed it, columns!
Shares the columns tag on WordPress.org. About 3 times the installs, no update since November 28, 2017.
- 6
4.6 (21) 100+ active installsA simple page grid composer that splits your pages into ordered grids, a builder for rows and columns
Shares the columns tag on WordPress.org. 100+ installs against 1,000+, no update since June 17, 2015.
- 7
4.8 (25) 10,000+ active installsAdds shortcodes to easily create up to 42 different columned layouts.
Shares the columns tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, no update since June 23, 2024.
- 8
4.9 (42) 10,000+ active installsEasily add desktop, tablet and mobile friendly columns to your content using an easy to use shortcode.
Shares the columns tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, no update since March 14, 2019.
Switching from Three Column Screen Layout: common questions
What is the best alternative to Three Column Screen Layout?
Tabify Edit Screen is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 500+ active installs with a 4.9 out of 5 rating.
Which Three Column Screen Layout alternative has the most users?
Column Shortcodes, with 60,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which Three Column Screen Layout alternative is rated highest?
Column Shortcodes, rated 4.8 out of 5 by 134 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these Three Column Screen Layout 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 Three Column Screen Layout 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 Three Column Screen Layout 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
Tabify Edit Screen is the closest match to Three Column Screen Layout by the data we track, and Column Shortcodes has the widest reach with 60,000+ active installs. Equal Height Columns shipped the most recent release, on March 10, 2026. The list is rebuilt every day from WordPress.org, so a plugin that stops being maintained drops out on its own.
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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.