PDF Viewer Block for Gutenberg
by Jb Audras · Blocks
Also makes 24 other plugins · 55.7K+ installs across the portfolio →
A simple and 100% free Gutenberg Block to display PDF Viewers / Readers on your website.
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 88/100
Few reviews
Active installs
10K+
≈19K estimated
Momentum
-11%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “pdf viewer”, “display pdf” and “embed pdf” to your wp.org tags. You rank #4, #6 and #18 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.
88 health vs 71 average across 2,527 Blocks plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →12%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 83.3K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Blocks plugin keeps 2.1%, across 1,580 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 1 release 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
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
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 65 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.8★ over 9 reviews, smoothed to 4.21★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
Get the full rank-higher report →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.
35
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.6
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
13%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf block your tag | #2 | #3 | up 1 |
| pdf viewer | #4 | #7 | 0 |
| web pdf viewer | #2 | #3 | 0 |
| viewer your tag | #6 | #9 | 0 |
| display pdf | #6 | #10 | 0 |
| responsive pdf viewer | #3 | #5 | 0 |
| pdf reader | #4 | #6 | up 1 |
| pdf your tag | #12 | #23 | down 2 |
| reader your tag | #14 | #23 | up 2 |
| embed pdf | #18 | #16 | down 2 |
| page to pdf | #11 | #17 | 0 |
| pdf plugin | #15 | #22 | down 4 |
| wordpress pdf | #16 | #23 | down 1 |
| wordpress to pdf | #17 | #23 | down 1 |
| website block | #21 | #23 | — |
| pdf wordpress plugin | #20 | #24 | 0 |
| wordpress pdf plugin | #20 | #23 | 0 |
44 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 17 listed. 27 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).
What to do about it
- Add “pdf viewer”, “display pdf” and “embed pdf” to your wp.org tags. You rank #4, #6 and #18 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 “pdf”. #12 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- One page off on “reader”. #14 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 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.8K · 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
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
11mo ago
latest release · v1.1 · 27 Nov 2025
5
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 98% 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 “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.2 years ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 90% of the way through.
Install history since 19 Jan 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ revanslacey1.3y ago
The presentation is not in the preview but shows landscape presentations just fine and scales to 100% – unlike any of the other ones I tried.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Senri Miura1.4y ago
It works without any problems on smartphones. It’s great that it’s highly functional yet simple and easy to use.However, if I may be greedy, I would like to be able to set default values for height, etc. in the plugin settings screen.Also, I would like to be able to check the media file names of blocks embedded within blocks. This topic was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Senri Miura. This topic was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Senri Miura.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Kerfred5.4y ago
Very easy to install and to use. No need to configure anything. And it works out of the box.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ whdyer5.6y ago
A great block for PDF display but the block is incompatible with the current Microsoft edge browser and returns a false phishing warning page instead of PDF content. Works great in current Chrome browser. Will update to 5 stars when Edge is again supported properly.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ claumigue6.5y ago
El mejor visor de pdf con todas las opciones incorporadas, responsive , un bloque muy sencillo de usar que no defrauda. This topic was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by claumigue.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ leftezi6.6y ago
Excellent! Avesome! Works like a charm!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kccafe6.9y ago
This plugin does EXACTLY what I was wanting to do in terms of displaying PDF documents on my site, and I was willing to switch from the “classic” editor to Gutenberg because of it. Keep up the good work!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jdaviescoates7.1y ago
This plugin is currently the best way to embed PDFs into posts/ pages etc. It has a simple block which just works. The only thing I’d say is that it’d be nice if it also displayed the embedded PDFs in the edit view too (like this one does https://wordpress.org/plugins/embed-pdf-viewer/ but that one also has an issue, see https://wordpress.org/support/topic/uploading-from-within-block-doesnt-work/ ) (that issue now resolved so given that plugin 5 stars and downgraded this to 4 stars to reflect the fact Embed PDF viewer is not my favourite plugin for doing this) Actually, this plugin works a lot better on mobiles than Embed PDF viewer, and so this my favourite again so upped this back to 5 stars 🙂 I’d still like to see the PDF embed in edit view in this plugin too though. This topic was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by jdaviescoates. This topic was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by jdaviescoates. This topic was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by jdaviescoates. This topic was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by jdaviescoates.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.1 Performances: Enqueue admin assets only when showing the block editor screen. 1.1
- — Version 1.0.1 Fix XSS security vulnerability. Thanks @wpscan who responsively disclosed the issue. 1.0.1
- — Version 1.0 Enqueue scripts and styles only when the block is displayed for better performance and Google Core Web Vitals compliance. 1.0
- — Version 0.2 Declare support for WordPress 5.5 and Block Directory. 0.2
- — Version 0.1 Plugin initial commit. Works fine 🙂 0.1
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (1.1). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2021-09-20 CVE-2021-24760 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects < 1.0.1 Patched in 1.0.1
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.4.8 · WP 5.8.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 6 languages, 4 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
3 of 8 pass · checked 26 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A simple and 100% free Gutenberg Block to display PDF Viewers / Readers on your website."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Gutenberg.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 430 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 4 tags appear in the text; "pdf block" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-08-06 9K+ → 10K+ up after 196 days in tier
- 2024-01-23 8K+ → 9K+ up after 238 days in tier
- 2023-05-30 7K+ → 8K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2023-05-29 8K+ → 7K+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2023-05-27 7K+ → 8K+ up after 134 days in tier
- 2023-01-13 6K+ → 7K+ up after 191 days in tier
- 2022-07-06 5K+ → 6K+ up after 211 days in tier
- 2021-12-07 4K+ → 5K+ up after 220 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).
- S Scribd Doc Embedder 200+ installs · 3.9★ · 3 shared tags D
-
PDF.js Viewer 20K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Embed PDF Viewer 20K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
PDF Smart Viewer for Elementor 1K+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags C -
Simple Ebook Viewer 400+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
KindPixels PDF Gallery – Turn Files into Clean Galleries 40+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for PDF Viewer Block for Gutenberg into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/pdf-viewer-block" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="PDF Viewer Block for Gutenberg — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> PDF Viewer Block for Gutenberg: 10K+ active installs, 4.8★ (9 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/pdf-viewer-block
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.