Ad Inserter vs WordPress Ad Widget
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Ad Inserter v2.8.19 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.9/5 Visit Details | WordPress Ad Widget v2.20.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.3/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 300,000+ | 2,000+ |
| Last updated | September 23, 2026 | September 25, 2025 |
| Editions | Ad Inserter | Ad Widget for WordPress |
| Pros | Insert ads at positions in the content, with loop-only options; Rotating banners and AdSense fallback; Shortcode, widget and virtual ads.txt | Simple sidebar widgets for HTML, image and Parkave ads; No ad manager setup needed; Settings page under the Settings menu |
| Cons | Many settings to learn before ads are placed correctly; Ad codes can slow pages and affect layout; AdSense connection goes through Google OAuth | Relies on the Broadstreet service and its scripts; Loads third-party scripts on the admin page; Limited to sidebar widget placements |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Ad insertion at chosen positions, Rotating banners, Fallback when AdSense does not fill, AdSense connection through Google OAuth, Ad shortcode, Ad widget, REST settings endpoint, Virtual ads.txt file | HTML ad widget, Image ad widget, Parkave ad widget, Ad Widget settings page, Ad image fetched into the media library |
| Integrations | ||
| Other | Google AdSense | Broadstreet |
| Requires WordPress | 6.0 | 3.0 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | — |
| Tested up to | 7.0 | 6.8.2 |
| Phones home | Only if you agree | No |
| External services | oauth2.googleapis.com, adsense.googleapis.com | my.broadstreetads.com, broadstreet-common.s3.amazonaws.com, cdn.broadstreetads.com |
| Shortcodes | 2 | — |