#30 by installs
Advanced Editor Tools
Extends and enhances the block editor (Gutenberg) and the classic editor (TinyMCE).
- Installs
- 1+ million
- Rating
- 4.5 (354)
- Updated
- 2 months ago
Classic Editor
Enables the previous "classic" editor and the old-style Edit Post screen with TinyMCE, Meta Boxes, etc. Supports all plugins that extend this screen.
- Active installs
- 8+ million
- #4 of 1,000
- Downloads, all time
- 94.1M
- 94,075,743
- Downloads, 30 days
- 796.5K
- 203.2K in the last 7
- Rating
- 4.9 / 5
- 1,251 reviews
- Last updated
- 5 months ago
- May 28, 2026
- Version
- 1.7.0
- 21 releases
Upkeep and compatibility
| Last updated | May 28, 2026Updated in the last year |
|---|---|
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.0.8Older than WordPress 7.1.4, the current release |
| Needs WordPress | 4.9 or newer |
| Needs PHP | 5.2.4 or newer |
| First published | October 24, 2017 |
| Support, last two months | 0 of 3 threads resolved (0%) |
Reviews
4.9 / 5 from 1,251 reviews
| 5 stars | 1,190 |
|---|---|
| 4 stars | 28 |
| 3 stars | 14 |
| 2 stars | 3 |
| 1 star | 16 |
Downloads, last 30 days
What the author says it does
Classic Editor is an official plugin maintained by the WordPress team that restores the previous (“classic”) WordPress editor and the “Edit Post” screen. It makes it possible to use plugins that extend that screen, add old-style meta boxes, or otherwise depend on the previous editor.
Classic Editor is an official WordPress plugin, and will be fully supported and maintained until 2024, or as long as is necessary.
At a glance, this plugin adds the following:
- Administrators can select the default editor for all users.
- Administrators can allow users to change their default editor.
- When allowed, the users can choose which editor to use for each post.
- Each post opens in the last editor used regardless of who edited it last. This is important for maintaining a consistent experience when editing content.
In addition, the Classic Editor plugin includes several filters that let other plugins control the settings, and the editor choice per post and per post type.
By default, this plugin hides all functionality available in the new block editor (“Gutenberg”).
The opening of the plugin's own description. The full text, installation notes and changelog are on its WordPress.org page.
Questions the author answers
Default settings
When activated and when using a classic (non-block) theme, this plugin will restore the previous (“classic”) WordPress editor and hide the new block editor (“Gutenberg”).
These settings can be changed at the Settings => Writing screen.
Default settings for network installation
There are two options:
- When network-activated and when using a classic (non-block) theme, this plugin will set the classic editor as default and prevent site administrators and users from changing editors.
The settings can be changed and default network-wide editor can be selected on the Network Settings screen.
Cannot find the “Switch to classic editor” link
It is in the main block editor menu, see this screenshot.
Does this work with full site editing and block themes?
No, as block themes rely on blocks. See Block themes article for more information.
Latest changelog entry
- Added a hotfix for crowded elements in the publishing actions area in WordPress 7.0. See Core-65286 for more information.
Screenshots
Admin settings on the Settings -> Writing screen. 
User settings on the Profile screen. Visible when the users are allowed to switch editors. 
"Action links" to choose alternative editor. Visible when the users are allowed to switch editors. 
Link to switch to the block editor while editing a post in the classic editor. Visible when the users are allowed to switch editors.
Tagged
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Where this page's numbers come from
Read from the WordPress.org plugin API on , when WordPress 7.1.4 was the current release. WordPress.org rounds active installs into buckets. These are the directory's figures, not my verdict, and I haven't tested this plugin.