WP-KaTeX
by ascom · Uncategorized
Integrates the super-fast KaTeX LaTeX equation typesetting engine with WordPress. Create beautiful, yet performant math in your posts and pages.
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
D 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
700+
≈780 estimated
Momentum
+18%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “equation” and “latex” for “ligatures” and “tex”. “equation” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “ligatures” sits at #11 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “latex” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “tex” sits at #22 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
47 health vs 58 average across 25,751 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.0%
of downloads still active
At least 700 of 23.7K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,772 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 7+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 5.2.30, well behind 6.8.
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 2636 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.2.30; the current branch is 6.8
4.6★ over 11 reviews, smoothed to 4.19★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2636 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
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.
38
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.5
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
20%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| mathjax your tag | #14 | #13 | up 1 |
| katex your tag | #15 | #6 | down 4 |
| ligatures | #11 | #6 | down 1 |
| mathml | #14 | #6 | down 5 |
| tex | #22 | #13 | up 1 |
| equation your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| latex your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| math your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
13 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 5 listed. 8 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “equation” and “latex” for “ligatures” and “tex”. “equation” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “ligatures” sits at #11 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “latex” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “tex” sits at #22 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “katex”. #15 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- One page off on “mathjax”. #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 277 · 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
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
7.2y ago
latest release · v1.11.0 · 14 Aug 2019
21
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 “700+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3 months ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 800.
Install history since 27 May 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ walterzelhofer5.6y ago
It works perfectly! If you don’t know how to use it, then read the documentation first and quit whining. Fantastic work! A+ from me. Thank you! This topic was modified 4 years, 8 months ago by walterzelhofer.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Daniel Kielmann5.6y ago
Wow, I didn’t think, thats so easy to use and so nice looking. Very powerful and helpful. Thanks
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ giannit6.9y ago
This plugin is amazing since doesn’t generate images, the big downside of katex is that it doesn’t load packages such as tikz. To use all latex packages not loaded by katex we can use quicklatex plugin. Since it uses the [latex] shortcode too, I suggest to edit the katex plugin shortcode from [latex] to [katex]. This can be done simply by editing the file wp-content\plugins\wp-katex\scripts\frontend.php at line 41, changing add_shortcode( 'latex', 'katex_handler' ); to add_shortcode( 'katex', 'katex_handler' );.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ jtivazquez7.0y ago
fantastic plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ vsemargl7.2y ago
Wordpress 5.2.2. The plugin does not work at all!!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ zulqadar8.9y ago
Its works fine with wordpress
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jeff McNeill9.5y ago
Thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ questionsolutions10.3y ago
This is an amazing plugin. I tried many other LaTeX plugins, even the one provided by jetpack. None of them produce the elegant beautiful math symbols like this plugin. It works beautifully, it’s very easy to use, and over all, I highly recommend it over other LaTeX plugins. Well done to the author of this plugin, truly an amazing job.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
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
2 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Integrates the super-fast KaTeX LaTeX equation typesetting engine with WordPress. Create beautiful, yet per..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 1 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("Wait – I use MathJax and it’s fine!").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 522 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "MathJaX" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-08-07 800+ → 700+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-08-06 700+ → 800+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-08-05 800+ → 700+ down after 174 days in tier
- 2026-02-12 900+ → 800+ down after 10 days in tier
- 2026-02-02 800+ → 900+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-01-30 900+ → 800+ down after 153 days in tier
- 2025-08-30 1K+ → 900+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-08-29 900+ → 1K+ up after 14 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).
-
KaTeX 2K+ installs · 4.5★ · 4 shared tags C -
Youngwhan's Simple Latex 200+ installs · 4.1★ · 4 shared tags D -
Glyphwell – Visual Equation Editor 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 4 shared tags -
Direct math input with MathQuill 30+ installs · 3.8★ · 3 shared tags D - K KaTeX Math Rendering — installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags
- M MathJax-LaTeX 10K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags C
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP-KaTeX into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-katex" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP-KaTeX — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP-KaTeX: 700+ active installs, 4.6★ (11 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-katex
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