Disable Gutenberg
by Jeff Starr · Blocks
Also makes 30 other plugins · 1.1M+ installs across the portfolio →
Disable Gutenberg Block Editor and restore the Classic Editor and original Edit Post screen (TinyMCE, meta boxes, etc.).
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
A 91/100
no flags
Active installs
500K+
≈570K estimated
Momentum
-7%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “gutenberg block”, “gutenberg editor” and “original” to your wp.org tags. You rank #4, #4 and #6 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed these are the slots worth spending.
91 health vs 71 average across 2,522 Blocks plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →4.3%
of downloads still active
At least 500K of 11.5M lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Blocks plugin keeps 2.1%, across 1,577 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Blocks plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 5 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 12 reviews to 2026-05-06Reviewers keep calling it a must-have for switching off the block editor, and several say they've relied on it across many sites for years.
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Updated 105 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 735 reviews, smoothed to 4.94★
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
1 of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
Search visibility
How it's tracked →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.
36
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
15%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.3
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
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.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| disable gutenberg | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| gutenberg widgets | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| gutenberg disable | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| remove gutenberg | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| disable blocks | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| gutenberg your tag | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| disable | #2 | #2 | down 1 |
| disable tinymce | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| disable post edit | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| plugin disable | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| disable plugin edit | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| disable visual editor | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| disable block | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| how to disable gutenberg | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| gutenberg block disable | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| disable gutenberg blocks | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| disable block editor | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| gutenberg plugin | #2 | #2 | 0 |
| gutenberg block editor | #3 | #3 | down 1 |
| meta boxes | #3 | #3 | 0 |
| block editor your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| editor your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
243 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 188 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Add “gutenberg block”, “gutenberg editor” and “original” to your wp.org tags. You rank #4, #4 and #6 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed these are the slots worth spending.
- One page off on “classic editor”. #15 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 557.2K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
5
releases in the last 12 months
4mo ago
latest release · v3.3.2 · 18 Jul 2026
38
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 54% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “500K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 6 months ago; the previous band took 18 months to cross, which places it about 68% of the way through.
Install history since 8 Jun 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ kolakube6mo ago
Whether you love or hate either editor, being able to switch between both feels like a major unlock to your workflow. Plus, you know anything by Jeff Starr is going to be good!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous User7mo ago
Hopefully you will support it for long time … and i will never have to use this sloppy gutenberg disaster. Thank you Jeff for this fantastic plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ rrrFer9mo ago
Собственно, пользуюсь лет 6 или 7… Когда там этот проклятый гутенберг встроили в вордпресс без моего ведома? Собственно, у меня блог и форум (на bbpress). При всем этом я пользуюсь плагинами подсветки программного кода. На момент появления гутенберга у меня имелось примерно 60 статей блога и 1500 тем форума, в каждой много программного кода. Дак вот, в этом коде знаки <, >, & и что-то еще вроде бы заменились после обновления вордпресса на <, > и &. И это боль. Ну как заменились? не заменились, до тех пор пока я не открою статью в редакторе (чтобы что-то исправить в ней). При открытии по умолчанию открывался гутенберг, все ломал мне (не только это, а вообще все к чертям ломал). Ну а еще, у меня вот на сайте поддерживались теги типа [java][/java] и юзеры их вставляли на форуме. Но после гутенберга они перестали работать, а самое главное, плагины подсветки кода так и пишут до сих пор, что такие теги не работают с гутенбергом (только что проверил, – не работают). Ну и поэтому этот гутенберг надо отключать конечно. Спасибо автору плагина, починил весь вордпресс. Молодец. А автор Гутенберга – вообще не молодец, очень плохой человек.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ tlatham9mo ago
Hilarious this even has to exist. Gutenberg is a trainwreck. This topic was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by tlatham.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Gaunero10mo ago
Must have plugin
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Nate11mo ago
I have dozens of WP sites I’ve built and manage. This is always the FIRST plugin I install and use. You are a hero. The best invention since the printing press.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ James Joseph Finn12mo ago
For those projects where you don’t need and/or want custom blocks, this plugin is indispensable.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ defmans712mo ago
Sometimes the block editor is fine to use, but glad this plugin was made. Cheers.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 24 languages, 14 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →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.
Readme readiness
6 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Disable Gutenberg Block Editor and restore the Classic Editor and original Edit Post screen (TinyMCE, meta..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 10 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 10 of 10 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Elementor, Gutenberg, Block editor, Google Analytics and 2 more.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 4 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 4,307 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 4 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-05-11 600K+ → 500K+ down after 536 days in tier
- 2024-11-21 700K+ → 600K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-11-20 600K+ → 700K+ up after 5 days in tier
- 2024-11-15 700K+ → 600K+ down after 973 days in tier
- 2022-03-18 600K+ → 700K+ up after 463 days in tier
- 2020-12-10 500K+ → 600K+ up after 298 days in tier
- 2020-02-16 400K+ → 500K+ up after 165 days in tier
- 2019-09-04 300K+ → 400K+ up after 110 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).
-
Classic Editor 8M+ installs · 4.9★ · 4 shared tags A -
Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ installs · 4.5★ · 4 shared tags A -
BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library 10K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags A -
TCD Classic Editor 6K+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags -
Enable Classic Editor & Widgets 2K+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags B - C Classic Widgets 2M+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Disable Gutenberg into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/disable-gutenberg" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Disable Gutenberg — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Disable Gutenberg: 500K+ active installs, 5.0★ (735 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/disable-gutenberg
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