10 Best Widget Options Alternatives in 2026
Updated October 22, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Widget Options has 100,000+ 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 Widget Options
- 1
Custom Sidebars
Closest matchCustom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager
4.7 (1,028) 100,000+ active installsFlexible sidebars for custom classic widget configurations on any page or post. Create custom sidebars with ease!
Shares the classic widgets tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, rated 4.7 against 4.9, last updated August 16, 2026.
- 2
Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin
4.9 (724) 30,000+ active installsDisplay new sidebars on any post, page, category etc. Works with Classic Widgets, Block Widgets, and all themes!
Shares the classic widgets tag on WordPress.org. About a third of the installs, last updated December 9, 2025.
- 3
Classic Editor +
4.9 (31) 30,000+ active installsThe "Classic Editor +" plugin disables the block editor, removes enqueued scripts/styles and brings back classic Widgets.
Shares the classic widgets tag on WordPress.org. About a third of the installs, last updated 8 days ago.
- 4
4.9 (134) 400,000+ active installsEssential elements for modern websites. Add buttons, sliders, heroes, maps, images, carousels, features, icons, more. Create dynamic pages easily.
Shares the blocks tag on WordPress.org. About 4 times the installs, last updated 20 days ago.
- 5
Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks
4.9 (522) 100,000+ active installsThe complete website builder for the WordPress block editor. Build professional sites faster with powerful blocks, block styles, and a global design s …
Shares the blocks tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, last updated 9 days ago.
- 6
Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks – CoBlocks
4.2 (109) 300,000+ active installsCoBlocks is a suite of page builder WordPress blocks for Gutenberg, with 10+ new blocks and a true page builder experience with rows and columns.
Shares the blocks tag on WordPress.org. About 3 times the installs, rated 4.2 against 4.9, last updated March 5, 2026.
- 7
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks
4.7 (1,872) 1 million+ active installsGutenberg blocks for existing Spectra websites. Maintained, stable, and fully supported — no action needed on your part.
Shares the blocks tag on WordPress.org. About 10 times the installs, rated 4.7 against 4.9, last updated 13 days ago.
- 8
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor
4.8 (332) 600,000+ active installs20+ Gutenberg Blocks with endless options, enabling top-notch efficiency for high-performance dynamic website creation.
Shares the blocks tag on WordPress.org. About 6 times the installs, rated 4.8 against 4.9, last updated 3 days ago.
- 9
Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE
4.7 (250) 300,000+ active installsQuickly create WordPress pages with 20+ blocks, 100+ ready-to-import designs, and advanced editor extensions. It’s website building, Lego-style!
Shares the blocks tag on WordPress.org. About 3 times the installs, rated 4.7 against 4.9, last updated 3 days ago.
- 10
4.9 (122) 200,000+ active installsA small collection of lightweight WordPress blocks that can accomplish nearly anything.
Shares the blocks tag on WordPress.org. About 2 times the installs, last updated 9 days ago.
Switching from Widget Options: common questions
What is the best alternative to Widget Options?
Custom Sidebars is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 100,000+ active installs with a 4.7 out of 5 rating.
Which Widget Options alternative has the most users?
Spectra Legacy, with 1 million+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which Widget Options alternative is rated highest?
Content Aware Sidebars, rated 4.9 out of 5 by 724 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these Widget Options 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 Widget Options 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 Widget Options 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
Custom Sidebars is the closest match to Widget Options by the data we track, and Spectra Legacy has the widest reach with 1 million+ active installs. Kadence Blocks shipped the most recent release, on October 19, 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.