82
Code Block Pro – Beautiful Syntax Highlighting
Beautiful code that might leave your database feeling a little heavy.
HealthyDeclining
82/100
Users love the fast syntax highlighting despite concerns about database bloat and Classic editor support.
Active installs
~15,000
our estimate · wp.org shows 10k+
Rating
4.8★
49 ratings
Trend · vs a year ago
-34%
Declining fast
103 → 68 installs/day
What to watch out for
- MINORdownloads down 34% vs a year ago
Downloads over time
real new installs per day · release spikes shown separately from the trend2025-04-302025-08-082025-11-162026-02-232026-06-03
organicrelease spikerelease tailorganic trend · 14d rolling median
Declining fast · -34% in the last year
103/day a year ago→68/day today
Reviews
what people actually sayCode Block Pro is praised for its lightweight, fast, and feature-rich syntax highlighting with good support, but users note issues like shortcode handling, database bloat, and lack of Classic editor support.
What people like
- +No bloat, no ads, no upselling, and fast performance×2
- +Beautiful code highlighting and attractive themes
- +Easy to use with settings directly in the post editor
- +Good sidebar options and a variety of themes
- +Responsive support and free assistance from the developer
- +Works well with Gutenberg and headless WordPress setups
- +Affordable premium add-ons (extra themes) available
Common complaints
- −Shortcodes inside code blocks are still processed despite the option to disable them, causing critical errors
- −Potential risk of future abandonment or incompatibility with new WordPress versions
- −Database stores excessive text and style code for each block, which may cause bugs or performance issues
- −No support for the Classic editor
- −Margin styling may require manual adjustment
Review trustReviews look organic
- 4.81★Verified rating — holds steady vs the raw 4.80★
- 12%One-shot reviewers — most reviewers are active community members
Reviews per month · 5★ vs lower
2023-08-192025-01-102026-06-04
5★ reviews1–4★ reviews
All-time ratings · 49 total
Latest reviews · 49 analyzed
- 2026-03-09★★★★★One of the best syntax highlighting pluginsBen
- 2025-09-26★★★★★Simple and beautiful lookingafonsolpjr1-shot
- 2025-08-13★★★★★It's perfect, bloat-free, fastdpacmittal
- 2025-06-29★★★★★(FIXED NOW!) Shortcode issue with critical erroryukiko-kawa
- 2025-06-15★★★★★It's Perfect.kboudreau
- 2025-06-03★★★★★Beautiful highlightingPe3ček
- 2025-04-22★★★★★Simple, Powerful, and Super UsefulAnkit Panchal
- 2025-04-14★★★★★I hope to use it for lifeLucid Gen
- 2024-10-26★★★★★Code Blockdrtsankostefanov
- 2024-08-05★★★★★best plugin for block editorsaadchellah
Releases
recent versions from WordPress.org SVNFor developers & the curious
the raw signals behind the grade — none of this is on the friendly summary aboveDownload signals
Baselines are computed on organic days only — release spikes and their tails are excluded, so they're not inflated by the auto-update wave.
67
Baseline · median of last 7 organic days
81
Prior 7-day baseline
61
Floor · 25th percentile over 14 days
67
Latest day · 2026-06-03(organic)
-17.3%
Week-over-week organic trend
Review signals
Concentration and drive-by metrics drive the review-burst and fake-review flags. 30–40% solo reviewers is normal; we only flag the extremes.
7%
Max month share · biggest single 30-day window
1.03
Distribution CV · <0.6 even, >1.5 bursty
94%
5★ share in analyzed sample
12%
Solo reviewers · only this one wp.org activity
-75%
Volume velocity · last 6mo vs prior 6mo
4.84 → 4.81★
Sample avg · raw → solo-filtered