Head-to-head · October 2026
Simple Primary Category vs Top Cat
Simple Primary Category comes out ahead, winning 6 of 6 head-to-head checks against Top Cat.
Simple Primary Category
A light-weight WordPress plugin to assign primary category to posts and custom post types.
Top Cat
Top Cat allows you to specify a main category for your posts. Even though WordPress posts can have more than…
| Metric | Simple Primary Category | Top Cat |
|---|---|---|
| Active installs | 100+ | 10+ |
| Downloads (30 days) | 109 | 34 |
| Download trend | +3.8% | 0% |
| Rating | 5/5 | — |
| Reviews | 1 | 0 |
| Health score | 32/100 | 31/100 |
| Last updated | 3 years ago | 21 years ago |
| Tested up to | WP 6.4.13 | — |
| Support resolved | — | — |
| Requires PHP | 7.3+ | Any |
| First released | May 2020 | May 2005 |
Daily downloads, last 90 days
Simple Primary CategoryTop Cat
Choose Simple Primary Category if…
You care most about active installs, downloads (30 days) and download trend.
- Small user base (100+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 2 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.4 (latest is 7.1)
Choose Top Cat if…
You prefer its feature set and workflow — it holds its own on the fundamentals.
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 21 years
FAQ
Simple Primary Category vs Top Cat: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 17, 2026
Which is better, Simple Primary Category or Top Cat?
Simple Primary Category comes out ahead, winning 6 of 6 head-to-head checks against Top Cat. Choose Simple Primary Category if you care most about active installs, downloads (30 days) and download trend.
Is Simple Primary Category more popular than Top Cat?
Simple Primary Category is the more popular of the two with 100+ active installs, compared with 10+ for Top Cat.
Can I use Simple Primary Category and Top Cat together?
Both plugins cover category and primary, so most sites only need one. Running two plugins that do the same job can cause conflicts and slow your site down — pick the one that fits best and remove the other.
Are Simple Primary Category and Top Cat free?
Yes. Both are free to download from the official WordPress.org plugin directory. Either may also offer paid upgrades from its developer.
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