Admin Menu Editor vs WP Admin/Dashboard Search Spotlight
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Admin Menu Editor v1.15.2 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.6/5 Visit Details | WP Admin/Dashboard Search Spotlight v1.1.2 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.3/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 300,000+ | 900+ |
| Last updated | August 19, 2026 | May 15, 2025 |
| Editions | Admin Menu Editor · Admin Menu Editor Pro ($) | WP Spotlight Search |
| Pros | Reorder, rename and hide any admin menu item; Add custom menu entries that point to any dashboard page or external URL | Quick search of admin menus and content from the admin bar; Keyboard shortcut to open the search; Choose which content types are searchable |
| Cons | Per-role and per-user controls need the Pro version; The free editor shows Pro upgrade prompts | Builds the search list on each admin page load; Only useful for administrators working in wp-admin |
| Mentioned in our posts | 2 | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Shortcodes for admin URL, home URL and user info, Network-wide (multisite) mu-plugin module, Access editor for per-role menu permissions ($), Hide plugins from other users on the Plugins page ($) | Search box in the admin bar, Searches admin menus and content types, Keyboard shortcut to open the search, Settings page to choose searchable items |
| Integrations | ||
| Payment | — | PayPal donation form |
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | WooCommerce |
| Plugins | WPML, bbPress | — |
| Requires WordPress | 5.9 | 3.1 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4 | — |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 6.8.1 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| External services | — | www.paypal.com |
| Shortcodes | 3 | — |