Show Parent Comment
When moderating comments in the WordPress Admin area, it is useful to be able to see the parent comment if one exists.
Consider an alternative
Show Parent Comment shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 80+ sites, is rated 4.7/5 and was last updated 11 years ago, and scores 31/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (80+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 10 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.3 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Show Parent Comment stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| comment moderation | >100 |
| comments | >100 |
| parent comment | >100 |
| show comment parent | >100 |
| show parent comment | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 from 3 reviews
About Show Parent Comment
From the official readme · v0.2.1Description
When moderating comments in the WordPress Admin area, it is useful to be able to see the parent comment if one exists.
How To Use It
You don’t need to do anything. Simply activate it and the parent comment will appear for comments that have one.
Compatibility
- This plugin requires WordPress 4.2 or above (it probably works on older versions, but I haven’t tested it and you really should be on the latest version!).
- I am not currently aware of any compatibility issues with any other WordPress plugins.
Support
The free version of this plugin is officially not supported, but if you leave a comment on the plugin’s support forum, I’ll try to help if I can.
Disclaimer
This plugin is released under the GPL licence. I do not accept any responsibility for any damages or losses, direct or indirect, that may arise from using the plugin or these instructions. This software is provided as is, with absolutely no warranty. Please refer to the full version of the GPL license for more information.
Acknowledgments
- This plugin is a result of Jeff Chandler’s idea, expressed in this tweet.
- The clunky original UI was redesigned by Jason Lemieux from Postmatic in version 0.2.
Installation
- Download the plugin file and unzip it.
- Upload the
show-parent-commentfolder to thewp-content/plugins/folder. - Activate the Show Parent Comment plugin within WordPress.
Alternatively, you can install the plugin automatically through the WordPress Admin interface by going to Plugins -> Add New and searching for Show Parent Comment.
Changelog
0.2.1 (11 November 2015)
- Bug Fix: Made changes to how the comment object is accessed so it works with WordPress 4.4 (plugin breaks with the beta version).
0.2 (22 September 2015)
- Enhancement: Reworked the UI so that the parent comment appears before the comment, in a style similar to a blockquote (props to Jason Lemieux from Postmatic).
0.1.1 (19 September 2015)
- Bug fix: Prevented the plugin from firing during Ajax requests, as we don’t want the parent comment added then (for example when user edits their comment on the front end via Ajax).
- Enhancement: Simplified the introduction to the parent comment, removing author name and edit link.
- Enhancement: Tweaked the background colour of the parent comment.
- Enhancement: Slightly increased the size of the Show More link.
0.1 (8 September 2015)
- Initial Beta Release.
Screenshots
For developers
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Best Show Parent Comment alternatives
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FAQ
Show Parent Comment: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 7, 2026
Is Show Parent Comment free?
Yes. Show Parent Comment is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Show Parent Comment safe to use in 2026?
Show Parent Comment shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 80+ sites, is rated 4.7/5 and was last updated 11 years ago, and scores 31/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Show Parent Comment?
Show Parent Comment is active on 80+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 4,779 times since it launched in September 2015. It was downloaded 73 times in the last 30 days.
Does Show Parent Comment work with WordPress 7.1?
Show Parent Comment is officially tested up to WordPress 4.3.34, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Show Parent Comment last updated?
The latest version, 0.2.1, was released on November 11, 2015 (11 years ago).
Who makes Show Parent Comment?
Show Parent Comment is developed and maintained by Stephen Cronin.
What are the best alternatives to Show Parent Comment?
The most popular alternatives to Show Parent Comment are Disable Comments & Delete A… (9K+ installs), Simple Comment Editing (2K+ installs) and WP referrer spam blacklist… (700+ installs).
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