15 Best WordPress Social Media Plugins for Sharing and Engagement

Are you trying to go viral? Well, you don’t need to get millions of followers or views to make a successful blog or online business. You might be able to make a living with just a few hundred VIP Facebook followers. Or you might be able to sell enough seats to your online course with a smaller Twitter or Instagram following.

The point is, social media matters, but it’s important to not get discouraged just because you see other accounts with millions of followers, or videos with millions of views. Every business is different, so it’s more about how you use social media.

And that’s where WordPress social media plugins come in. You can choose from a wide range of tools, some of which help you build your following, while others are more suitable for getting the word out about your company. Most of the time you want at least one WordPress social media plugin. However, some site owners might find that two or three of them are ideal for keeping users happy.

What Types of WordPress Social Media Plugins Do You Need?

Each WordPress social media plugin serves a different purpose, so it’s important to understand what you’re getting into before installing a plugin. Although this isn’t a definitive list, the most common social media plugins provide some of the following functionalities and benefits:

• Social sharing buttons – These improve your online exposure since users find pages and posts they enjoy, then share them on social media sites.
• Social icons with links – These show customers that you have social business pages, and it allows them to click through and follow you. It’s one of the easiest ways to build your social followings.
• A social login page – A social login keeps your site more secure and minimizes spam from robots. It’s also easier for customers since they don’t have to make a completely new username/password combo.
• Social comments – The default WordPress comments system has no social aspect (here’s how to disable comments in WordPress). So, if someone makes a comment on your post, it’s not going to prompt others to make comments. However, Facebook comments can be viewed on Facebook and your blog, spreading the conversation much faster.
• A social locking tool –  Some blogs and businesses restrict content with these tools. The user exchanges something like a social share or follow in order to gain access. It’s a great way to gain more followers.
• A social feed – This presents your Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter feed directly on your website. It adds more visuals to your site and gives a preview of what people can expect from your real social page.
• A social media poster – These types of plugins automate the social posting process. For example, you might have it automatically share your older blog posts to Twitter. Followers benefit since you’re always sharing content, and you don’t have to work as much.

Finding the Best WordPress Social Media Plugin in 2023

You’re more than welcome to start testing out the social media plugins using the quick list above. Some people enjoy guessing and checking. However, we’ve extensively reviewed each of the plugins below and explained when they come in handy. We also talk about the pros and cons to help guide your decision.

1. Easy Social Share Buttons for WordPress

The Easy Social Share plugin sells for only $19, making it an absolute steal. Easy Social Share is used on the Kinsta blog, and we absolutely love it. Some of the reasons it makes complete sense for a blog like ours is because it doesn’t slow down the site at all, and you receive multiple tools for social sharing, follower counters, and email subscription tools. Therefore, you have the opportunity to build both your social following and email list following.

Several styles are provided with the plugin. For example, it presents a Mashable style and an Upworthy style, allowing you to mimic those types of websites. Along with a post view counter, wonderful social sharing analytics, and something called a subscriber booster, you can’t go wrong with the Easy Social Share Buttons for WordPress plugin. We’ve also found that the plugin developer is very responsive to comments and tickets.

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• It costs less than $20, yet it provides far more features than most other premium WordPress social media plugins.
• You can link to your social media profiles.
• It lets you reveal counters for social media shares and the number of people following you on social media. (including Twitter shares)
• Create shareable quotes in your blog posts.
• It has a simple button for users to subscribe to your email newsletter.
• Share your top social posts to get even more people reading your content.
• View social analytics and metrics to see what type of content works best. Run A/B split tests on your social button placement.
• Choose from over 50 social network buttons, 28 display locations, 50 templates, and 25 attention-grabbing animations.

Possible Downsides

• Some might consider the first stages of setting up the plugin a chore. It’s a rather powerful plugin, but other plugins are easier to configure from the start.

2. Novashare

Novashare is a fast and lightweight social sharing plugin for WordPress that won’t slow down your site. It was developed from the ground up with simplicity and performance in mind to increase your shares.

One of the great things about it is that you can be up and running in just a matter of minutes. There isn’t any bloat or a thousand different options you have to sort through. It scales across all devices (mobile and desktop) and allows you to set breakpoints wherever you want.

It’s a premium plugin and the price for a single license starts at $29.95.

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• The plugin is super lightweight, only 5 KB on the frontend and uses inline SVG icons (no third-party libraries).
• You can display share counts from Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Buffer, and icons for 15+ different social networks.
• It’s easy to choose where to display share buttons (posts, pages, custom post types) or use a shortcode.
• Novashare uses an interesting approach to update share counts based on your content’s modified date. You can change the refresh rate and there is a filter for developers to pass in any values they want. Don’t care about share counts? No API calls are ever made if share counts aren’t enabled.
• Easy UI to use. They take advantage of native WordPress styling. This makes it fast to jump right in and start configuring settings.
• Match your site’s branding with quick options to change colors, shapes, and sizes.
• If you care about data, you can add and customize UTM parameters and enable link shortening.
• The unlimited license supports WordPress multisite setups.

Possible Downsides

• It’s a premium only plugin so there is no free version to try.
• Since the plugin focuses on simplicity and performance, it might not offer all of the advanced options that other social media plugins offer.

3. Social Pug

Social Pug was developed by the team over at DevPups. They also created Opt-in Hound, which lets you build your email list. Beyond that, they also help co-develop other user registration and membership plugins on the repository. So when it comes to social and user interaction with your WordPress site, this is what these guys do!

Social Pug currently has over 40,000 active installs with an impressive 5 out of 5-star rating. You can check the reviews for yourself. People love this plugin because it is lightweight, won’t slow down your site, and has just enough functionality to give you what you need if comparing to other bigger plugins. They also have a premium version which offers a few more features.

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• This plugin is seriously fast and lightweight.
• The UI and the icons have a great modern design to them.
• Includes social share counts (and yes Twitter is included)
• Offer different positions such as inline and floating

Possible Downsides

• Some of the good options you might want, such as mobile share buttons, UTM, and link shortening are only in the premium version.
• Some alternative plugins offer more social media networks.

4. Shareaholic

As a WordPress site owner, you’re probably always on the lookout for new opportunities to engage with your audience. Shareaholic is a WordPress plugin used by hundreds of thousands of sites that comes with a suite of site engagement tools (Share Buttons, Related Posts, Follow Buttons, Cookie Consent, and Analytics). You can read our detailed review here: Shareaholic Review: A Suite of Audience-Engaging WordPress Tools

Shareaholic allows you to add both floating and in-content share buttons, as well as share buttons on individual images and options for social follow buttons. Each placement comes with its own array of detailed settings with the ability to turn on share counts, choose specific social networks, and more.

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• It doesn’t add up to page load time: according to testings, it adds just 14 milliseconds to load time.
• 100+ social integrations for free, including WeChat and WhatsApp .
• Pinterest-specific advanced controls.
• Privacy features to aid GDPR compliance.
• Official Google Analytics Technology Partner.
• Social Share Count Recovery.
• Optional Monetization options.
• Branded URL Shortener.

Possible Downsides

• No Click To Tweet.
• The high number of features and settings available might feel overwhelming for WordPress beginners

5. FS Poster

FS Poster social media auto poster lets you enhance the size of your online community and the number of actively connected people. This will result in the automatic dissemination of your WordPress content.

Marketers have the ability to auto-publish their blogs, republish material that has already been published, bulk schedule several pieces, and directly distribute individual articles on the most prominent social networks by employing a social media scheduler.

It gives users the ability to submit blog photographs, infographics, videos, and other content on visual sharing networks directly from inside the WordPress platform itself, making it possible for users to share blog posts visually. FS Poster is a freemium plugin. The premium version of FS Poster is $45 on CodeCanyon.

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• FS Poster is a social media auto-posting plugin that allows you to schedule and auto-publish your blogs from WordPress posts to 16 social media networks.
• FS Poster enables you to schedule and distribute bespoke items, such as photographs and other media, without the need to create posts in WordPress.
• You will be able to share your content on 16+1 different social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, Pinterest, Reddit, Tumblr, VK.com, OK.ru, Telegram, Medium, Google Business Profile, WordPress-based sites, Plurk, Blogger, Discord)
• FS Poster will allow you to share your custom post types with other users.
• You will have the ability to shorten the URLs of your posts using services such as TinyURL or Bitly.
• You will have the ability to add an unlimited number of accounts, pages, groups, communities, and other features to each social network.
• You’ll be able to personalize your post messages in a manner that is particular to each social media platform by using various keywords.
• RTL compatibility means users of languages written from right to left will have an easier time operating the plugin.

Possible Downsides

• FS Poster Lite, FS Poster’s free version, has limited features and lets 5 posts per day.

6. Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons (Ultimate Sharing)

The Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons plugin has a long name, but it’s simple and intuitive enough to become your primary social media plugin. The plugin includes social buttons for linking to your accounts and getting people to share your articles and pages. Over 200 social media platforms are covered with the buttons, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. One of the main reasons you might go with this WordPress social media plugin is if you’re trying to find a highly-customized design. For instance, a blog about cats would be able to choose templated buttons that look like cats.

Obviously, not every theme is going to be provided through this plugin, but you can at least install it, see which options are available, then decide whether or not to keep it. Another reason I like this social plugin is that you can get creative with the location of your buttons. You can decide to have the buttons on some pages and hide them for others. It also lets you change the margins and choose from effects like stickiness and floating buttons. The majority of basic features come with the free version, but there is a premium plugin that currently sells for a $25 one-time fee.

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• It’s one of the more customizable plugins in terms of button visibility. For instance, you can decide to hide the buttons after a user has already seen them.
• People don’t have to leave your site to follow your social pages.
• Some of the design styles are extremely unique, giving you some creative options to make your site look more interesting.
• The plugin offers some rare buttons to things like the Better Business Bureau, Github, and Xing.

Possible Downsides

• You’re not going to get much more than basic suggestions with the free version. The best support is provided when you pay for the premium plugin.
• There’s no way to set a minimum for social share or follower counts.

7. Social Media Share Buttons | MashShare

If you’ve ever read the Mashable website, you know that it’s a hub for shareable content. The social media buttons are an essential part of that system, so the Social Media Share Buttons | MashShare plugin tries to mimic what’s being done on Mashable. The MashShare plugin has a freemium model, so the majority of the basic features are free, but you can pay for additional add-ons to improve your own toolset. Sometimes this is a good thing, since you don’t have to fork over any cash for features you don’t need. But occasionally the developers keep all of the good features out of the free version, requiring you to buy several add-ons.

As for MashShare, it provides sharing buttons for the most popular social networks. It’s also pretty dynamic and fast loading, so it’s not going to slow down your site. I like the freemium model for this plugin, since you might end up not having to pay for anything.

If you do need an add-on, they start at around $25. Some of the add-ons include the following:

• Mashshare Social Networks Add-on
• Sticky ShareBar
• Floating Sidebar
• Mashshare Responsive Add-on
• Google Analytics Integration
• Mashshare PageViews
• Mashshare Open Graph
• Mashshare LikeAfterShare
• ShortURLs Integration
• VideoPost Popup
• Click To Tweet

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• It’s one of the only WordPress social media plugins with add-ons. Therefore, you can choose the features you want instead of paying full price for a batch of features you may not end up using.
• The plugin has caching built-in for fast delivery of the buttons.
• Filters and actions are available for more advanced development.
• The shortcodes allow you to place the social media buttons anywhere on your website.

Possible Downsides

• The common sharing buttons are somewhat limited, so you may have to pay for an add-on if you want more.
• The backend is somewhat confusing. There are lots of settings to configure, so beginners might get intimidated.
• There’s a fake share count feature. So you can basically lie to your users. I guess this might be seen as an advantage for some, but it seems dirty to me.

8. Social Media Flying Icons | Floating Social Media Icon

The Social Media Flying Icons plugin offers 30 different button styles for you to test out. Some of them are rather unique, like hearts or bottle caps, while others are flat, modern designs for covering the majority of industries. The standout feature is the flying animation, grabbing user attention when they land on your website. I’m not sure whether or not these animations increase conversions, but they sure are fun to look at.

With plugins like this, it’s best to install it and view which button styles are provided. Finding the right look for your social sharing buttons is essential, so you can quickly install and uninstall plugins just to check out the designs.

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• The designs are plentiful, with creative options like trucks and computers.
• You can adjust the icon size right from the dashboard.
• Change around the order of your social media buttons by using a drag and drop editor.
• You can add custom icons if a certain social media website isn’t supported.
• The floating tools allow you to pick a start position and an end position on your page.
• The shortcodes help you insert social media buttons wherever you want. For example, you could drop some buttons right in the middle of a blog post.

Possible Downsides

• The plugin only has icons for linking to your social media accounts. If you need sharing buttons, look elsewhere.
• Some might find the floating effects annoying.
• After you choose a theme there aren’t many other customization options.

9. WordPress Social Share, Social Login and Social Comments Plugin – Super Socializer

Try the WordPress Social Share, Social Login and Social Comments Plugin if you’re interested in getting all your social needs in one solution. For example, an online store could ask customers to log in using Facebook. Then, the users would be able to share products on Twitter. Lastly, they could make comments on your blog using Facebook.

This is an entirely free plugin, but you do have the option to install some add-ons for extra power. For example, you need a $10 add-on to modify Facebook comments. That’s really the only add-on that seems like a requirement (at least if you plan on having a blog with Facebook comments,) but here are some of the other add-ons for you to choose from:

• Facebook Comments Notifier
• Social Share myCRED Integration
• Social Login myCRED Integration
• Social Analytics for Sharing
• Mailchimp Subscribe
• Recover Social Share Counts

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• You receive three social modules wrapped into one plugin.
• The add-ons are affordable, and they allow you to choose additional features. For example, you could place a MailChimp Subscribe button on your social login area.
• Around 90 social networks are provided with the social sharing buttons.
• The developer offers setup support if you send in an email.

Possible Downsides

• There’s no feature for linking to your social media accounts. It’s only sharing buttons.
• The default designs aren’t that modern or creative-looking. Also, they almost give you too many customization settings. I’d rather have multiple templates that I could choose from and instantly activate them on my site.

10. Revive Old Post and Revive Network

Revive Social is a company with two plugins we find interesting. One is called Revive Old Post, which automatically shares some of your old content to social networks. The other is called Revive Network, which pulls interesting articles from other news sources and blogs, and automatically shares them to your own social pages.

The Revive Old Post plugin starts at $75 per year and goes up to $299 per year if you need support for unlimited sites. The Revive Network plugin starts at $49 per year and goes up to $399 per year for marketers. There is a free version for Revive Old Post, but it is rather limited.

Why You Should Consider These WordPress Social Media Plugins

• Revive Old Post keeps your old blog posts relevant, while also providing a constant flow of content for your social pages.
• The Revive Network also delivers an automated way to keep your social followers interested. The main difference is that the Revive Network plugin is sharing articles from other sources, not your own blog.
• You can set a custom schedule so that your posts are being shared a certain number of times per week.
• Share multiple posts at one time.
• You can integrate with Google Analytics to see how your social posts are performing, and if they’re sending users to your website.

Possible Downsides

• The pricing is too high for both plugins.
• The free version of Revive Old Post has limited functionality. For example, you can’t customize share messages or have multiple social accounts. I can’t imagine running a blog and not wanting those features.
• The plugin is compatible with URL shorteners, but I’d rather see a shortening tool built right into the plugin.

11. Instagram Feed

Instagram is one of the most popular networks to display on your website. It might have something to do with the beautiful filters that make your pictures look more interesting. Regardless, including a feed of your posts can be done with the help of the Instagram Feed plugin.

The plugin is pretty self-explanatory, seeing as how you link up your Instagram page, decide where you’d like the feed to show on your site, then activate it so that the images are displayed on the site. A Pro Version is sold for $39, but you only need that if you’re interested in a pop-up photo lightbox, hashtag filtering, or support for photo captions.

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• It’s a great plugin for adding a bit of imagery to your website. It also gives people a taste of what you’re sharing on Instagram, prompting people to follow you.
• You can customize everything from width to height and background color to image spacing.
• You aren’t limited to one Instagram feed.
• A “Follow on Instagram” button is provided towards the bottom of the feed.
• You can customize the CSS or JavaScript if you’d like.
• You can add your own header at the top of the feed.

Possible Downsides

• The photo captions are only shown with the pro version. So, the free version is more of an image gallery, as opposed to an actual social feed.
• The plugin doesn’t have support for any other social network feeds.
• The setting page is surprisingly long and intimidating for such a basic plugin.

12. The Sumo Social Apps

The Sumo brand has gained all sorts of popularity in the world of blogging and eCommerce, and it’s all because of its free suite of marketing tools. Although the most powerful plugins from Sumo involve email marketing, both Sumo Share and Image Sharer allow for some interesting social sharing options.

Sumo Share serves as your basic sharing module, where the social sharing buttons show up next to your content. The sharing buttons are universally useful, since they look professional and modern. I’d argue these sharing buttons are some of the best-looking ones you can find. The Image Sharer plugin is a little different. It places social sharing buttons on all of your website’s images. Therefore, that image is directly inserted as the featured image when someone shares to, say, Facebook or Pinterest.

Why You Should Consider These WordPress Social Media Plugins

• You get far more than social media options with Sumo. For example, the entire suite provides email marketing, quote highlighting, and analytics.
• The Sumo share buttons are as basic, and as beautiful, as you can find. And they’re free.
• You can download your historical sharing data.
• The sharing buttons have a smart feature for highlighting the most effective sharing buttons on unique pages. For instance, one of your pages might be getting shared more on Facebook, so it makes sense to have the Facebook button in front of the others.

Possible Downsides

• Most people aren’t familiar with social sharing done through an image sharer. You’ll most likely get more shares through a regular social button.
• You’re stuck with Sumo branding unless you go with the Pro version.
• Mobile preferences aren’t available in the free version.

13. Social Locker for WordPress

Social Locker for WordPress keeps people out of certain content on your website unless they complete some sort of social task. For example, they might tweet something or like you on Facebook in order to reveal your blog posts or an eBook.

Social networks like Facebook have not always endorsed locked content like this, but they can’t really control what you do on your own site. I like it most for high-quality content outside of your regular blog posts. So, if you put together a wonderful webinar or eBook, you might be better off asking for social shares and follows instead of money.

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• It’s a wonderful way to boost your shares and social follows.
• It has some pretty awesome 3D effects.
• You actually get quality fans, since they’re people who are interested in the hidden content.
• The plugin supports all sorts of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Possible Downsides

• This form of content locking makes it easy for people to follow you, grab the content, then unfollow immediately after.
• You might find that some users get annoyed by content locking.
• There’s a “hide for members” tool, but that doesn’t take into account the people who are members but not logged into the site.

14. Kiwi Social Share

Kiwi Social Share was developed by the team over at WPKube. It was designed with ease of use and speed in mind.

Kiwi Social Share currently has over 20,000 active installs with a 4.5 out of 5-star rating. If you read through the reviews you can see that people really like how simple it is to use. You can quickly show your social media buttons before content, after content, or both. The dashboard to control the settings of the plugin also has a great UI.

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• If you are concerned with speed, this plugin loads fast!
• An easy social plugin to blend in with your site’s current design.
• Great support from developers. Every support forum ticket has been resolved. This is rare.
• A more futuristic approach, shift style.
• If you need share counts, including Twitter.

Possible Downsides

• Might not have every option you’re looking for.
• No widgets yet, but they are coming.

15. Social Warfare

Social Warfare comes from the Warfare Plugins company. It’s a simple and sleek solution for getting your posts and pages shared. The main reason users like Social Warfare is because the buttons are attractive. I’ve tested out dozens of WordPress social media plugin options, only to find that the designs are either outdated or they try too hard to stand out. The fact of the matter is that most websites need modern buttons without all the flare.

The pricing for Social Warfare starts at $29 per year, but that limits your use of the plugin to one website. It jumps up to $125 per year for five websites and $250 per year for 10 websites. That’s somewhat reasonable, but it would be preferable to have a one-time payment instead of that recurring yearly setup. Regardless, you’re paying for the beauty and speed of the plugin, since it’s not going to look jittery or cause lags in your page loads. In short, you’re achieving a more professional look.

Just how fast is it? Well, here is a speed test we ran. It only loads three scripts and they are all under 10 KB. And that is with social share counts enabled. It’s definitely one of the fastest WordPress social media plugins on the market!

Why You Should Consider This WordPress Social Media Plugin

• It’s one of the more visually-impressive and speedy WordPress social media plugins.
• The plugin provides over 5,000 style combinations, making it highly-customizable and useful for branding your social buttons.
• You can upload images directly to Pinterest.
• Customize the message that comes up whenever someone clicks on the Tweet button.
• Make shareable quotes from the content in your blog post.
• Display large, shareable Twitter cards to prompt users to read a quote, then share it on Twitter.
• The plugin has shortcodes for inserting sharing buttons anywhere on your website.
• There’s a content protection module that locks in your own social call to actions. This prevents users from changing the text in things like Facebook and Twitter posts.
• Only display social share counts when you’ve reached a minimum threshold. (Including Twitter shares)

Possible Downsides

• The plugin requires a yearly, recurring payment.

Our Conclusion on the Best WordPress Social Media Plugins

As discussed, you may end up using only one WordPress social media plugin, or you might find that a handful of them work for your website. Regardless, you have plenty of options to choose from, so I’d recommend starting with Easy Social Share or Social Warfare to get those sharing buttons ready for your users. The sharing buttons are crucial. Then you can implement other things like links to your social pages, social content lockers, and feeds. If Facebook is your preferred social media, make sure to read our list of the best WordPress Facebook Plugins.

If you have any questions about the best WordPress social media plugins, or if you can think of some other great solutions, let us know in the comments section below.