Academic Blogger's Toolkit

Reviewers call it the best citation tool for WordPress, but several are stuck on the block editor migration, dropped classic editor support and a PHP requirement bump, and the newest one is asking for an update that hasn't come.

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.

wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.

9 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 6 listed. 3 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.

Directory rank

Ranked about #10,100 to #11,100, alongside the other plugins at 300+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 96% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Crossed into this band 11 months ago; the previous band took 13 months to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.

1. ★★★★★ psysss

   3.3y ago

   Hello, This is the best and only WP plugin which makes writing research articles practical on WP. It’s urgently needed to have an update that works. I wouldn’t mind paying for a license. So please Derek, do consider an update asap! Thanks!

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ MarthaLindeman

   5.9y ago

   I have not edited references on my blog since before the block editor. Now I have uninstalled and reinstalled academic toolkit and am trying to use it with the block editor. The user interface shows the bar starting with Add Reference and ending with three dots, but the bar (a-d) for inserting references is not shown. I have not found any way to insert a reference. I have 1296 items in my list of uncited references and I can select the one I want to insert. I just cannot get it to insert into the block where my cursor is located. Thanks in advance for your help!

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ ddewett

   6.6y ago

   I did not use this plugin, because I was dissuaded from its use by the author’s comments on this (very good) exchange (https://wordpress.org/support/topic/if-you-want-what-it-does-super-but-only-then/). Why am I leaving this review? I want the author to know that for a segment of the population, his design choices leave some of us to find other solutions. I design scientific software for a living, and I would appreciate the comments that I will make here. I can’t imagine having any citation application where the citations are not stored in a database. There is a lot to unpack on that post and I suggest others read it before they download this package. Also, it does contain this ironic gem: “The overall UX of this forum is horrendous.” In short, the author’s rigid design choices cause his userbase to segment (to what degree, I can’t say). I would like to thank him for his forthright description in this referenced post. I would suggest that he make it a sticky or change it into a FAQ. It actually saved me a ton of time, because I almost installed the plugin. Before we finish, yes I gave it two stars. I started at three to be neutral; however, your attitude to your users seems combative (and that warrants the downgrade).

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ Janos Farkas

   6.9y ago

   Far better than anything else I’ve tried. Astonishingly rich in features, yet simple UI. Well thought out and very well done. Thank you

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ vastsite

   7.1y ago

   the classic editor plugin has 5+ Million Active Installations. There is no other plugin that has more installations. How can you possibly justify disabling support for it? Very bad decision. This topic was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by vastsite.

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ AliReza Chamanzar

   7.3y ago

   Tnx Man, I Love it Please Add Option to Activate Footnote on Classic Editor

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ jlev00

   7.4y ago

   Because all academics love changes such as Gutenberg. This topic was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by jlev00.

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ Anonymous

   7.5y ago

   Hi! I’m currently building a site called “Potfacts.info.” The goal of this site is to essentially be the “Snopes of Cannabis,” providing well researched information about cannabis complete with citations. I went looking for a simple footnoting plugin. Everything I originally found was low quality and hadn’t been updated in ages. And expecting them to work well with Guternberg was laughable. Then I stumbled on Academic Blogger’s Toolkit. This plug-in is just terrific. It’s exactly what I wanted. In fact, it’s way more than I wanted. The fact that I can give it a URL or an ISBN and it essentially does the hard work of building a proper citation and bibliography section for my article is just incredible, and a massive time-saver.

   Read on wp.org ↗

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.2.4

Translated into 11 languages, 4 at 90% or more

Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.

Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2025-12-03 400+ → 300+ down after 386 days in tier
2. 2024-11-12 500+ → 400+ down after 1 days in tier
3. 2024-11-11 400+ → 500+ up after 2 days in tier
4. 2024-11-09 500+ → 400+ down after 218 days in tier
5. 2024-04-05 600+ → 500+ down after 1 days in tier
6. 2024-04-04 500+ → 600+ up after 18 days in tier
7. 2024-03-17 600+ → 500+ down after 222 days in tier
8. 2023-08-08 700+ → 600+ down after 122 days in tier

Competes with

The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).

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Academic Blogger's Toolkit: 300+ active installs, 4.3★ (28 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/academic-bloggers-toolkit