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Best Free WordPress Plugins for Related Posts

15 plugins compared · Updated August 2026 · Related Posts

All 15 Free only Premium only

Choosing a WordPress plugin for related posts comes down to a few things: whether it is still actively maintained, whether real users rate it well, and whether it does the specific job you need without dragging the rest of the site down.

We ranked 15 plugins using our WPScore, which weighs the user rating (adjusted for how many people actually rated it), how many sites run it, how recently it was updated, and which WordPress version it is tested against. 15 of them have enough public data to be scored; the rest are listed below the ranked block, clearly marked, rather than being given a number we cannot justify.

How this list is funded. Some links here earn us a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra, and it does not move anything up the list — the order comes from the WPScore, which is calculated from public ratings, install counts and update history. See the method.

At a glance

  1. 1. Contextual Related Posts Best overall 88/100
  2. 2. Related Posts Thumbnails Plugin for WordPress 87/100
  3. 3. VK All in One Expansion Unit 86/100
  4. 4. Inline Related Posts 86/100
  5. 5. Related Posts by Taxonomy 85/100
  6. 6. Custom Related Posts 83/100
  7. 7. Related Posts By PickPlugins 82/100
  8. 8. Same Category Posts 82/100
  9. 9. ElasticPress 81/100
  10. 10. Internal Linking of Related Contents 81/100
  11. 11. Post Grid & Post Slider 79/100
  12. 12. Social LikeBox & Feed 78/100
  13. 13. Random Posts and Pages Widget 78/100
  14. 14. WZ Followed Posts 77/100
  15. 15. Init Live Search 77/100
1 Contextual Related Posts
Best overall Free by Ajay

Contextual Related Posts

Keep visitors on your site longer with intelligent, fast-loading, contextually related posts. Block, shortcode, custom post type and widget ready.

4.8★
from 201 ratings
50k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
88

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
4 Inline Related Posts
Free by Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc.

Inline Related Posts

Inline Related Posts AUTOMATICALLY inserts related posts INSIDE your content, capturing immediately the reader's attention.

4.3★
from 77 ratings
100k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
86

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
5 Related Posts by Taxonomy
Free by keesiemeijer

Related Posts by Taxonomy

Display a list of related posts on your site based on the most terms in common. Supports thumbnails, shortcodes, a widget and more.

4.8★
from 77 ratings
10k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
85

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
11 Post Grid & Post Slider
Free by Nks

Post Grid & Post Slider

Display posts in a responsive grid or slider. Category filter tabs, related posts, Gutenberg block and shortcode. No coding needed.

4.3★
from 8 ratings
1k+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
79

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
12 Social LikeBox & Feed
Free by Weblizar - WordPress Themes & Plugin

Social LikeBox & Feed

Display your FaceBook Feed and Like box on your website with this outstanding plugin. It is completely customizable, responsive and the code is search …

3.3★
from 47 ratings
10k+
active installs
Updated
Jun 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
78

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
14 WZ Followed Posts
Free by Ajay

WZ Followed Posts

Show "Readers who viewed this page, also viewed" a.k.a. followed posts on your page. Much like Amazon.com's product pages.

3★
from 2 ratings
300+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
77

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org
15 Init Live Search
Free by Init HTML

Init Live Search

Fast REST API live search with optional FULLTEXT index, Meilisearch, AI-powered Related Posts, slash commands, ACF and WooCommerce support.

5★
from 7 ratings
100+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
77

WPScore

Read review View on WordPress.org