If you plan to use WordPress for more than just a blog or simple static website, you’re probably going to use custom post types in some way. Custom post types let you create new content types to organize and display your information. For example, a “product” post type for an eCommerce store or an “event” post type for an events website. While you can create your own custom post types using code, there are also some great WordPress custom post type plugins that can simplify the process for you.
These plugins will let you create and configure your post types using a simple visual interface. And in some cases, they can even take things further and help you display content from your custom post types on the front-end of your website.
In this post, I’ve collected five of the best WordPress custom post type plugins to help you find the tool that best meets your needs. Let’s get customizing…
Five Best WordPress Custom Post Types Plugins
1. Toolset
In terms of depth of functionality, Toolset is definitely the most feature-rich WordPress custom post type plugin on this list.
As the name suggests, Toolset is actually a collection of different components, all of which come together to help you build custom WordPress sites.
If you want to create a custom post type, you’ll be interested in the Types component. Types gives you a simple interface to create and manage custom post types, as well as custom taxonomies and custom fields.
Where Toolset really earns its keep, though, is in the other components that you get access to.
These components let you take your custom content types and build a front-end interface for users to interact with:
- Views – display custom post types on the front-end, including the ability to customize the template and include custom field data.
- Forms – create front-end post submission forms. That is, users can submit content into a custom post type from the front-end (like submitting a new event to be listed).
- Layouts – design the entire layout for your custom post types, including archive pages.
- Access – restrict access to custom post types using user roles.
- Maps – display custom post types as locations on Google Maps or Azure Maps.
So if you want a solution to help you work with all aspects of WordPress custom post types, Toolset is a great choice.
To learn more about how it works, check out our full Toolset review or our post digging into Toolset’s forms module.
Price: Toolset starts at $69, with access to all of the Toolset components coming in at $149.
2. Pods
Pods is a free plugin to help you work with all aspects of custom WordPress content, including custom post types, custom fields, and custom taxonomies.
Through the simple interface, you can create custom post types and then extend them as needed using custom fields and custom taxonomies.
It also comes with some nice bonus features like a simple templating system for creating front-end layouts for your single and archive pages.
Because it’s quite popular, you can also find useful third-party extensions for Pods.
For example, the Pods Gravity Forms Add-On plugin lets you create front-end post submission forms with Gravity Forms and the Pods Beaver Themer Add-On plugin lets you display field connections in Beaver Themer.
If you want a free solution to help you create, extend, and display custom post types, Pods is the best free option that I’ve found.
Price: Free
3. Custom Post Type UI
Active on over 700,000 WordPress sites, Custom Post Type UI is the most popular free plugin for creating WordPress custom post types and taxonomies.
It gives you a really simple interface to create and configure your custom post types and taxonomies – but that’s all it does.
That is, it doesn’t help you extend them with custom fields or customize how they display on the front-end.
If you want to add custom fields, I’d recommend pairing Custom Post Type UI with Advanced Custom Fields. And if you want to customize how your custom post types look on the front-end, you can use:
Price: Core plugin is free
4. WordPress Creation Kit
WordPress Creation Kit, or WCK for short, is a collection of three tools that help you manage all aspects of custom content on your WordPress site:
- WCK Custom Post Type Creator – register new custom post types through a simple visual interface.
- WCK Custom Fields Creator – create custom fields and meta boxes and assign them to any post type. Includes support for repeater fields.
- WCK Taxonomy Creator – create custom taxonomies and assign them to any post type.
You can do all of that for free. Then, there’s also WordPress Creation Kit Pro, which adds support for:
- Swift Templates – design front-end templates without writing any PHP.
- Front-end post submission forms.
- More custom field types.
Price: The core plugin is free. Pro version starts at $49
5. MB Custom Post Type
MB Custom Post Type is a free WordPress custom post type plugin from Meta Box, makers of a popular solution for handling custom fields and meta boxes in WordPress.
It gives you a simple interface for registering and configuring custom post types and taxonomies. There’s nothing special here – just a nice simple interface that gets the job done.
You can also pair it with the free Meta Box plugin to extend your custom post types with custom fields and meta boxes.
Price: Free
Get Started With WordPress Custom Post Types Today
Whether you just want a simple tool for registering custom post types through the WordPress dashboard or you want something that can go further with templating and front-end post submission forms, you should be able to find a good option on this list.
And no matter which WordPress custom post type plugin you choose, I’d recommend considering Elementor Pro as well if you don’t have the tech chops to code your own front-end templates.
Even if you choose a plugin with some front-end templating functionality, Elementor Pro still offers a much more convenient approach with its visual, front-end design interface.
You can use it to build both the single and archive templates for your custom post types, and Elementor Pro’s dynamic content feature also lets you insert data from custom fields as needed. It has built-in integrations for many of the tools we’ve mentioned, including Toolset, Pods, and Advanced Custom Fields.
Check out our full Elementor Pro review to learn more about how it works.
And if you have any questions about which of these is the best WordPress custom post type plugin for your needs, ask away in the comments!
