Advanced Editor Tools

88 Quality Score

Active Installs

27/30

With one million active installs and a near-perfect popularity score, it ranks among the most widely adopted editor extensions in the WordPress ecosystem.

Update Freshness

25/25

The plugin was updated in December 2025 and tested against WordPress 6.9.4, indicating active upkeep by the maintainer.

User Rating

14/15

A 90 out of 100 average from 354 reviewers shows consistently positive user sentiment, though the rating pool is moderate in size.

Support Health

8/15

Only 1 of 8 listed support threads (12.5%) is marked resolved, which is a notable weakness for a plugin at this scale.

WP Compatibility

15/15

It requires WordPress 5.9 and PHP 5.6, runs cleanly on the latest core, and works with both block and classic editors, earning a perfect compatibility score.

Scores higher than 98% of indexed plugins

About

Extends and enhances the block editor (Gutenberg) and the classic editor (TinyMCE).

Active Installs 1M+

Rating ★★★★½ 4.5/5

Last Updated 2026-08-26 4:21pm GMT

Requires WordPress 6.5+

Tested Up To 7.1

Requires PHP 5.6+

Security History

1 known vulnerability, all patched

1 Medium

Most recent: September 8, 2014

View details ▸

What It Does

Advanced Editor Tools (formerly TinyMCE Advanced) extends both the block editor and the classic editor with additional formatting buttons, table controls, and menu configuration options. It lets you rearrange the toolbar, restore classic editor behaviour, and access features the default editor hides by default. In practical terms, it is a power-user toolbar and settings kit rather than a content-creation framework.

Who It's For

This plugin fits content-heavy sites, editorial teams, and publishers that want fine-grained control over the editor toolbar and need both block and classic editor features in one tool. It is well suited to writers, agencies, and institutions that frequently work with tables, ordered lists, or legacy shortcode workflows inside WordPress.

Who Should Skip It

If you only need extra blocks or pre-built page layouts, a dedicated block library like Spectra or Kadence Blocks will serve you better, since this plugin does not add new content blocks. Sites already satisfied with the default Gutenberg toolbar will gain little value from installing it.

The Bottom Line

Advanced Editor Tools is a mature, widely trusted toolbar extension that delivers real value for users who want classic-style formatting controls alongside Gutenberg. Its main drawback is poor support responsiveness, so buyers should rely on documentation and community forums rather than expecting quick ticket replies. Recommended for editorial teams; less useful for casual bloggers happy with the default editor.

Pick Elementor when you need a full visual page builder with templates and design controls rather than just editor toolbar tweaks.

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 95/100

Choose Spectra when you want dozens of additional Gutenberg blocks and ready-made patterns for landing pages.

Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 93/100

Go with Shortcodes Ultimate if you primarily need a large library of insertable content elements via shortcodes.

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 89/100

Select Kadence Blocks when you want advanced block widgets plus design controls tightly integrated with the Gutenberg workflow.

Starter Templates – AI-Powered Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 89/100

Use Starter Templates when your main need is importing complete site designs rather than customising the editor toolbar.