Classic Editor or Advanced Editor Tools? How to Choose the Right One

Technical Specs

Quick Verdict

Choose Classic Editor if you need a stable, proven editing experience. With 9.0M+ active installs and a 95% five-star rating, it's the clear winner for reliability. Classic Editor has 9x more installs than Advanced Editor Tools, making it the dominant choice for users who want to disable Gutenberg or restore the classic editor after a Gutenberg update. Advanced Editor Tools works well for users who want to enhance the block editor, but its 81% five-star rating and lower adoption rate make it a secondary option.

Feature Comparison: Classic Editor vs Advanced Editor Tools

Who Should Use Classic Editor

• Site owners who need to disable Gutenberg WordPress entirely and return to the familiar TinyMCE interface, 9.0M+ users already trust this approach.
• Teams managing WooCommerce product pages or custom post types who want a consistent classic editor experience across all content types, supported by a 95% five-star satisfaction rate.
• Developers maintaining sites with legacy plugins or custom Meta Boxes that only work with the classic Edit Post screen, backed by 1242 user reviews.

Who Should Use Advanced Editor Tools

• Users who want to add custom styles to block editor content without switching away from Gutenberg, gaining access to enhanced formatting that 81% of reviewers rate five stars.
• Site builders who need block editor tools for modern layouts but also want classic TinyMCE enhancements available as a fallback option.
• Editors looking for a classic editor alternative WordPress plugin that doesn't disable Gutenberg entirely, allowing them to enable classic editor in Gutenberg for specific tasks.

Community & Support

Classic Editor shows strong community engagement with 20 support threads resolved in the last 2 months, though only 1 thread (5%) received a resolution. The plugin's 95% five-star rating against just 1% one-star ratings indicates high user satisfaction despite the modest support resolution rate. Advanced Editor Tools has 5 open threads in the same period, but the sample is too small to draw meaningful conclusions about its support quality. The 8% one-star rating for Advanced Editor Tools suggests some users encounter issues, while Classic Editor's 1% one-star rate reflects its mature, stable codebase.

Verdict: Classic Editor or Advanced Editor Tools for WordPress sites?

Pick Classic Editor if you want the most trusted method to disable Gutenberg WordPress and restore the classic editor after a Gutenberg update. Its 9.0M+ installs and 95% five-star rating prove it's the reliable choice for users who ask "how to switch back to classic editor in WordPress" and need a permanent solution. The plugin handles how to use classic editor in WordPress for custom post types, WooCommerce pages, and any content type with zero configuration required.

Pick Advanced Editor Tools if you want to keep the block editor but need better formatting options. It's the best option for users searching for "how to enable classic editor in Gutenberg" while still benefiting from modern editing features. However, its 81% five-star rating and much smaller user base make it a niche tool compared to Classic Editor's dominance. For most intermediate users, Classic Editor delivers the stability and compatibility that 9x more sites already depend on.