Advanced Sidebar Menu vs Nav Menu Roles
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Advanced Sidebar Menu v9.8.6 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.5/5 Visit Details | Nav Menu Roles v2.1.3 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.9/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 10,000+ | 70,000+ |
| Last updated | August 24, 2026 | October 21, 2026 |
| Editions | Advanced Sidebar Menu · Advanced Sidebar Menu PRO ($) | Nav Menu Roles |
| Pros | Menus follow the page or category hierarchy automatically; Blocks and classic widgets for placement | Per-item visibility by login state and role; Works in the menus screen and the customizer; Free with no paid tier |
| Cons | Some exclusion and display options need PRO; Go PRO prompts appear in the admin | Hides menu items only, not the linked pages; Support is limited to the WordPress forums; Needs a separate access plugin to lock content |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Page hierarchy sidebar menu, Category hierarchy sidebar menu, Advanced Sidebar - Pages block, Advanced Sidebar - Categories block, Classic widgets for pages and categories | Per-item visibility by user role, Logged-in and logged-out visibility modes, Role settings in the Customizer menu editor, Importer for menus from other sites, Filter for the list of roles offered |
| Requires WordPress | 6.2.0 | 6.6.0 |
| Requires PHP | 7.4.0 | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1.0 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| Blocks | 2 | — |