Best WordPress Plugins

These best free & premium WordPress plugins were hand-picked because they were deemed the most flexible, usable, stable and just plain useful for a wide array of use cases. Most of them are relevant to almost any type of WordPress website.

I have tested out the vast majority of them myself and for the ones I have not tested personally I relied on popularity and average ratings to determine inclusion. Only the best made the list. I hope you find this well-researched list useful.

Best WordPress Plugin Categories

Last Updated 4/12/2015

Best Author Biography WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Sexy Author Bio


Sexy Author Bio Best Free Author Biography WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Fanciest Author Box


Fanciest Author Box Best Premium Author Biography WordPress Plugin

Best Custom Admin Theme WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Helios Solutions Custom Admin Theme


Helios Solutions Custom Admin Theme Best Free Custom Admin Theme WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Modern Admin


Modern Admin Best Premium Custom Admin Theme WordPress Plugin

Best Custom Login WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Custom Login


Custom Login Best Free Custom Login WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Pathway – Custom WordPress Login Page


Pathway - Custom WordPress Login Page Best Premium Custom Login WordPress Plugin

Best Email Opt-in WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Optin Forms


Optin Forms Best Free Email Opt-in WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: OptinMonster


OptinMonster Best Premium Email Opt-in WordPress Plugin

Best Forms WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Contact Form 7


Contact Form 7 Best Free Forms WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Gravity Forms


Gravity Forms Best Premium Forms WordPress Plugin

Best Google Maps WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Comprehensive Google Map Plugin


Comprehensive Google Map Plugin Best Free Google Maps WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Interactive World Maps


Interactive World Maps Best Premium Google Maps WordPress Plugin

Best Live Chat WordPress Plugins

Best Free: WP Live Chat Support


WP Live Chat Support Best Free Live Chat WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: WordPress Live Chat


WordPress Live Chat Best Premium Live Chat WordPress Plugin

Best Logos WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Logo Slider


Logo Slider Best Free Logos WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Logos WordPress Plugin


Logos WordPress Plugin Best Premium Logos WordPress Plugin

Best Navigation Menu WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Responsive Menu


Responsive Menu Best Free Navigation Menu WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: UberMenu – WordPress Mega Menu Plugin


UberMenu - WordPress Mega Menu Plugin Best Premium Navigation Menu WordPress Plugin

Best Notification Bar WordPress Plugins

Best Free: GC Message Bar


GC Message Bar Best Free Notification Bar WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Foobar – WordPress Notification Bars


Foobar - WordPress Notification Bars Best Premium Notification Bar WordPress Plugin

Best Popular Posts WordPress Plugins

Best Free: WordPress Popular Posts


WordPress Popular Posts Best Free Popular Posts WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Popular Posts Bar Widget


Popular Posts Bar Widget Best Premium Popular Posts WordPress Plugin

Best Pricing Tables WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Easy Pricing Tables


Easy Pricing Tables Best Free Pricing Tables WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: CSS3 Responsive Web Pricing Tables Grids


CSS3 Responsive Web Pricing Tables Grids Best Premium Pricing Tables WordPress Plugin

Best Question & Answer WordPress Plugins

Best Free: DQ Question & Answer


DQ Question & Answer Best Free Question & Answer WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: SabaiDiscuss for WordPress


SabaiDiscuss for WordPress Best Premium Question & Answer WordPress Plugin

Best Heavyweight Shortcodes WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Shortcodes Ultimate


Shortcodes Ultimate Best Free Heavyweight Shortcodes WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Intense Shortcodes


Intense Shortcodes Best Premium Heavyweight Shortcodes WordPress Plugin

Best Lightweight Shortcodes WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Bootstrap Shortcodes for WordPress


Bootstrap Shortcodes for WordPress Best Free Lightweight Shortcodes WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Elegant Shortcodes


Elegant Shortcodes Best Premium  WordPress Plugin

Best Redirection WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Permalink Finder Plugin


Permalink Finder Plugin Best Free Redirection WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: 5sec Redirect


5sec Redirect Best Premium Redirection WordPress Plugin

Best Reviews WordPress Plugins

Best Free: WP Product Review


WP Product Review Best Free Reviews WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Taqyeem – WordPress Review Plugin


Taqyeem - WordPress Review Plugin Best Premium Reviews WordPress Plugin

Best SEO WordPress Plugins

Best Free: WordPress SEO by Yoast


WordPress SEO by Yoast Best Free SEO WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Premium SEO Pack


Premium SEO Pack Best Premium SEO WordPress Plugin

Best Social Counts WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Social Count Plus


Social Count Plus Best Free Social Counts WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Monarch Social Sharing Plugin


Monarch Social Sharing Plugin Best Premium Social Counts WordPress Plugin

Best Social Locking WordPress Plugins

Best Free: OnePress Social Locker


OnePress Social Locker Best Free Social Locking WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Social Locker for WordPress


Social Locker for WordPress Best Premium Social Locking WordPress Plugin

Best Social Sharing WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Simple Share Buttons Adder


Simple Share Buttons Adder Best Free Social Sharing WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Monarch Social Sharing Plugin


Monarch Social Sharing Plugin Best Premium Social Sharing WordPress Plugin

Best Testimonials WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Easy Testimonials


Easy Testimonials Best Free Testimonials WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Testimonials Showcase


Testimonials Showcase Best Premium Testimonials WordPress Plugin

Best Visual Builder WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Page Builder by SiteOrigin


Page Builder by SiteOrigin Best Free Visual Builder WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Visual Composer: Page Builder for WordPress


Visual Composer: Page Builder for WordPress Best Premium Visual Builder WordPress Plugin

Best WordPress Management WordPress Plugins

Best Free: InfiniteWP Client


InfiniteWP Client Best Free WordPress Management WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: ManageWP Worker


ManageWP Worker Best Premium WordPress Management WordPress Plugin

Best Social Login / Registration WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Nextend Social Connect Plugins for WordPress


Nextend Social Connect Plugins for WordPress Best Free Social Login / Registration WordPress Plugin

Best Favicon Generator WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator


Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator Best Free Favicon Generator WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Fresh Favicon


Fresh Favicon Best Premium Favicon Generator WordPress Plugin

Best Feedback / Polling / Survey WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Feedweb


Feedweb Best Free Feedback / Polling / Survey WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: WP Form Builder Feedback Survey Quiz Manager Pro


WP Form Builder Feedback Survey Quiz Manager Pro Best Premium Feedback / Polling / Survey WordPress Plugin

Best Slider WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Cyclone Slider 2


Cyclone Slider 2 Best Free Slider WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Slider Revolution


Slider Revolution Best Premium Slider WordPress Plugin

Best Portfolio / Grid WordPress Plugins

Best Free: Nimble Portfolio


Nimble Portfolio Best Free Portfolio / Grid WordPress Plugin

Best Premium: Essential Grid


Essential Grid Best Premium Portfolio / Grid WordPress Plugin

Did I miss any of the best free and/or premium WordPress plugins?

If so, feel free to share any of the best free and/or premium WordPress plugins I missed in the comments down below!

36 COMMENTS

  1. Hi Andy,
    This is really a great list of Best Free and Paid WordPress Plugins. Find some awesome and new plugins and hope those will help me to get more traffic in my blog.
    Thanks for sharing this informative post.

  2. Hi Andy, thanks a lot for this great list. It just has one little flaw: we’re not on there 😉

    We’ve built a 100% free, innovative (!), so-easy-that-my-granny-can-use-it-plugin which allows bloggers to add social & share icons to their blogs, give them counts, add pop-ups and many other features. Please have a look: https://wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-social-media-icons/. Your feedback as expert-reviewer would be highly appreciated – we’ll build it into the plugin!

  3. Good article. I think it would be really usefull to focus little bit more on content creating plugins, because in the end the most important for a website is to be attractive for users.
    There is a great solution from h5p.org (https://wordpress.org/plugins/h5p/) to create for free highly cusgtomized and interactive content like interactive vidoes, images, quizzes etc. I really like this plugin because you can create various summaries, images with hotspots and even games with html5.

  4. Thank you for that cool list! I have a great addition: ourselves 🙂

    We recently released a FREE plugin which allows to add social icons to a website: https://wordpress.org/plugins/ultimate-social-media-icons/

    We think it’s the best one on the market and user feedback seems to confirm that: in less than 4 months we got over 60k downloads, >280 5-star-reviews and an overall rating of 4.9/5.0.

    If you also like us – why not include us in your (future) list as well?

    Thank you!!

    John

  5. Hello,
    I’m Scarlet from OnePress.
    I am writing you to inquire if you are interested in reviewing our plug-in called Opt-In Panda on your website penguininitiatives.com.
    I will be happy to send you a free copy of Opt-In Panda for testing and reviewing (including all of its add-ons: Social Locker, StyleRoller, – $60 total value).
    In brief, Opt-In Panda is a marketing tool which allows you to collect emails of visitors and generate more leads without creating additional popups.
    This plugin is created by developers of the Social Locker, the most popular social paywall for WordPress.

    Please check out the plugin page to learn more:
    http://codecanyon.net/item/optin-panda-for-wordpress/10224279
    Let me know if it is possible to publish a review of our plugin Opt-In Panda on your website and what we need to do for that.
    I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
    Scarlet Bailey,
    OnePress

  6. Great list, thanks for your work!

    I’d like to suggest adding two more plugins:

    a) Disqus (https://disqus.com) – great comments system with an ability for users to sign in with their social media profiles (Twitter or Google or Facebook). They provide WordPress plugin and help fighting with spam.

    b) Analytics Dashboard (http://codecanyon.net/item/analytics-dashboard/10819439) – plugin which displays all statistics for blog, like posts, comments, likes on Facebook or followers on Twitters.

    • Thanks / You’re Welcome!

      I used to use DISQUS. I liked the service, but I didn’t like being reliant upon their servers as it was a tad harmful from a load time perspective. Plus I didn’t like how little flexibility I had to modify how it renders on my site. Other than those things though, it’s a great service!

      I’ll check out the Analytics Dashboard.

      Thanks,
      Andy

  7. Great article. thanks for sharing the best plugin list. this article is helpful for new blogger. The list some of the best WordPress SEO plugins 2017, security plugins, speed optimization plugins, marketing and social media plugins. These plugins will help you to make your site robust, secure, SEO friendly and complete with all the aesthetics needed in a modern website. I used many of the suggested on this list a few months ago, and made a huge difference….

    1. Jetpack (FREE)
    2. Akismet (Freemium)
    3. Yoast SEO (Freemium)
    4. Google XML Sitemaps (FREE)
    5. All In One Schema.org Rich Snippets (FREE)
    6. W3 Total Cache (Freemium)
    7. WP Smush (Freemium)
    8. WP-Optimize (FREE)
    9. BJ Lazy Load (FREE)
    10. Wordfence Security (Freemium)
    11. Broken Link Checker (FREE)
    12. Redirection (FREE)
    13. MailChimp for WordPress (Freemium)
    14. Social Icons (FREE)
    15. Disable Comments (FREE)

  8. I was just looking for this info for a while. After 6 hours of continuous Googleing, finally I got it in your web site. I wonder what’s the lack of Google strategy that do not rank this type of informative websites in top of the list. Generally the top web sites are full of garbage.

  9. Excellent article. I will be facing some of these
    issues as well
    Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find It
    really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and help others like
    you helped me.

  10. Appreciating the time and effort you put into your blog
    and in depth information you provide. It’s awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same old rehashed
    information. Fantastic read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to
    my Google account.

  11. Magnificent goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you are just extremely magnificent. I really like what you’ve acquired here, really like what you are saying and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still take care of to keep it smart. I can not wait to read far more from you. This is really a tremendous website.|

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.