The strongest Simple Custom Post Order alternative for most sites is Intuitive Custom Post Order, which offers the same drag-and-drop reordering with more reliable handling of custom post types and better upkeep than Simple Custom Post Order. For ordering taxonomy terms too, Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order adds category sorting, while Post Types Order covers posts and archives cleanly. We ranked these from our index of 55,000+ WordPress plugins.

Why people switch from Simple Custom Post Order

• Simple Custom Post Order has seen slow maintenance, so people move to Intuitive Custom Post Order for a better-kept, more reliable option.
• Sites that also need to order categories and tags move to Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order, which the subject does not handle.
• Those wanting auto-sort rules and per-type control move to Post Types Order.
• Users on older setups sometimes stay close with Custom Post Type Order.

Intuitive Custom Post Order – Overall replacement

Intuitive Custom Post Order lets you drag-and-drop the order of posts, pages, custom post types, and taxonomies, and it is actively maintained. Against Simple Custom Post Order, it handles custom post types more reliably and keeps pace with recent WordPress releases. Its drawback is that, like all query-order plugins, it changes the default ordering globally, which can surprise you if a theme or plugin expects date order somewhere.

Choose Intuitive Custom Post Order if you want reliable, actively maintained drag-and-drop ordering.

Post Types Order – Posts and archives

Post Types Order is a long-established ordering plugin from Nsp Code with drag-and-drop sorting plus auto-sort options and per-post-type control. Against Simple Custom Post Order, it adds more granular configuration for how each content type is arranged. Its drawback is that its interface looks dated, and some of the front-end query ordering and advanced options are part of its paid Pro add-on.

Choose Post Types Order if you want a long-established ordering plugin with granular options.

Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order – Ordering categories and terms

Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order is built specifically to reorder categories, tags, and custom taxonomy terms by drag-and-drop. Against Simple Custom Post Order, it fills a gap the subject does not cover, since post-order plugins typically ignore taxonomy ordering. Its drawback is that it only orders taxonomy terms, not posts, so you may need a second plugin alongside it to arrange the posts themselves.

Choose Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order if you need to reorder categories or custom taxonomy terms.

custom-post-type-order – Basic CPT ordering

Custom Post Type Order is a lightweight plugin for drag-and-drop ordering of custom post types. Against Simple Custom Post Order, it is a similarly minimal tool for the same job. Its drawback is that it has not been updated in a long time and lags newer options on compatibility, so on current WordPress it is a riskier choice than the actively maintained alternatives.

Choose custom-post-type-order if you want a minimal ordering tool and are comfortable with an older plugin.

When to stay on Simple Custom Post Order

Stay with Simple Custom Post Order if it is already ordering your content without issues. All of these plugins work by overriding the default query order, so once yours is set up and stable, swapping to another does the same job with no visible benefit. Only switch if you hit a bug, need taxonomy ordering, or want more active maintenance.

How we ranked these

Every plugin here is scored by the WPS Score, a single 0 to 10 rating built from 21 signals covering maintenance, support responsiveness, compatibility, performance, and ratings quality across our index of 55,000+ plugins. Rankings are derived from that data, not editorial preference, and no plugin author can pay to change a score. How the WPS Score works.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free alternative to Simple Custom Post Order?

Intuitive Custom Post Order is the best free alternative because it reorders posts, pages, custom post types, and taxonomy terms by drag-and-drop and is actively maintained. Post Types Order is another solid free choice with additional auto-sorting options.

Can these plugins reorder categories as well as posts?

Some can. Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order is built specifically to reorder categories, tags, and custom taxonomy terms, while Intuitive Custom Post Order handles both posts and taxonomies. Simple Custom Post Order focuses on posts and custom post types rather than taxonomy terms.

Do custom post order plugins slow down a site?

The impact is usually minimal. These plugins change the order of an existing query rather than adding heavy processing, so they add little overhead. It is still wise to run only one ordering plugin at a time to avoid conflicting sort rules.

The verdict

The best all-round Simple Custom Post Order alternative is Intuitive Custom Post Order for its reliability and active upkeep. Add Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order if you also need to order categories, or use Post Types Order for auto-sort rules. If Simple Custom Post Order is already working on your site, staying put is a perfectly valid choice.