Start with what you actually use
The old comparison post on this domain, ten reasons the plugin was better than other social media plugins, is still linked from roundups. Its premise, that the best share plugin is the one with the most features, has aged. The right replacement is the smallest one that covers what your site uses today. Open your current settings and write down the networks shown, positions, whether counts are displayed, and any add-on features in use.
The settings screen had five tabs. The general tab held the settings that decide what a replacement must do: "Position" (top, bottom, both or manual), "Post Types", "Share Count" and "Hide Sharecount", "Facebook Count" (shares only, or shares plus comments), "Caching Method" and "Cache expiration", "Fake Share Count", "Shorturl method" and "Bitly access token", and the "Open Graph Meta Tags" and "Twitter Card" switches. The visual tab held button style, size and colour; the networks tab held the order of networks and how many were visible before a plus button. Write each value down before you touch anything, because the screen disappears the moment the plugin is deactivated.
| Setting to record | Why it matters for the replacement |
|---|---|
| Position, and whether manual placement was used | Manual placement means shortcodes or template calls in your content and theme |
| Networks and visible count | The replacement must offer the same networks or you drop some |
| Share Count and Facebook Count mode | Decides whether you need count support and a Facebook token |
| Fake Share Count value | If set, displayed totals were inflated; expect lower numbers afterwards |
| Shorturl method and Bitly token | Only Bitly still works; WP short links need no token |
| Open Graph Meta Tags and Twitter Card | Something else must write preview tags once the plugin goes |
What each MashShare add-on maps to
Add-ons were the part of the product that cost money, so they are the part owners most want to keep. Most of their features exist in maintained plugins today as built-in options, and several are better done without any plugin. The table gives the add-on, what to look for in a replacement, and the plugin-neutral guide that explains the feature.
| Add-on | Look for in a replacement | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Social Networks | The three to five networks your readers use, plus copy link and email | Which share networks to show |
| Responsive | Buttons that wrap on phones and a native share option | Mobile share buttons |
| Sticky Sharebar, Floating Sidebar | A rail that hides on short pages and on phones | Sticky share bars |
| Google Analytics Integration | A share event you send yourself | Share analytics |
| ShortURLs Integration | Bitly API v4 support or WordPress short links | Bitly short links |
| Open Graph | Tags from one source only, usually an SEO plugin | Open Graph tags |
| Click to Tweet, Select and Share | A block or a small script | Click to tweet |
| Performance Widget | Measure with browser tools instead | Share button speed |
Compare on these points
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Updated in the last few months, tested with current WordPress? | Avoid a second abandoned plugin |
| What does it load on every page? | Speed; see the share button speed guide |
| Does it fetch counts on the server and cache them? | Speed and rate limits |
| Does it load anything from networks before a click? | Privacy and consent |
| Can it import or read old share counts? | Keep social proof after migrating |
| Block, shortcode or automatic placement? | How much content you must edit |
| Is the free version enough? | Avoid paying for unused add-ons again |
Kinds of replacement
Well-known names in the plugin directory include AddToAny, Shared Counts, Social Warfare, Novashare and the sharing module in Jetpack; many themes and page builders also ship share blocks. Listings change, so check each one's last update, active installs and support forum yourself rather than relying on any roundup, including this one. This site has no commercial relationship with any of them.
Keeping your share counts
Counts come from the networks, not your database, so a new plugin that queries the same networks for the same addresses shows similar numbers. What you lose is anything cached only in the old plugin's post meta, such as counts from networks that later removed them. Some replacements can read or import another plugin's stored counts; if yours cannot, decide whether those historic numbers matter before deleting data.
The old plugin stored three meta values per post: mashsb_shares held the total, mashsb_jsonshares held a JSON object with one number per network, and mashsb_timestamp recorded the last refresh. Two settings changed what those numbers meant. "Cumulate Http(s) Shares" added the counts for the http and https versions of an address together, which a replacement may or may not do. "Fake Share Count" added a fixed number to every post's total, multiplied by a factor derived from the title's word count, according to the setting's own description. If that field was ever filled in, the totals your readers saw were never measured, and a replacement that shows real counts will show lower ones. Counts were always a weak signal; how share counts work explains why the networks themselves stopped publishing most of them.
A worked example: a 1,400-post magazine
The numbers here are invented to show the method. A magazine with 1,400 posts ran the core plugin with the Social Networks, Sticky Sharebar and ShortURLs add-ons, showed Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Pinterest with a total count, used automatic placement below the content, and had 90 posts with a manual [mashshare] shortcode from an old template. The owner recorded the settings, exported the three meta keys to a spreadsheet as a record, and chose a lightweight plugin without counts, because only 60 of the 1,400 posts had totals above 100 and the Facebook token had expired in 2023 anyway.
On staging, the replacement was placed below the content, the sticky rail was limited to posts longer than 1,500 words, Bitly was dropped in favour of the network's own link shortening, and a two-line shortcode with the old name was registered so the 90 manual posts kept working. The switch in production took eleven minutes including cache purges. The two things that needed attention afterwards were a duplicate og:image tag, because the core's Open Graph switch had been on beside the SEO plugin, and a most-shared-posts widget that vanished from the sidebar when the core went. The MashShare record covers the widget and the rest of the plugin's history.
Switch safely
Test on staging
Install the replacement on a copy of the site first.
Match placement
Recreate positions, then compare a few posts side by side.
Handle shortcodes
Search content for the old shortcode before deactivating anything.
Swap in production
Activate the new plugin, deactivate the old one, purge caches.
Clean up
Follow removing MashShare cleanly for leftover data.
Check it worked
- Three posts of different ages show the new buttons in the same position on desktop and on a phone, logged out, after the page cache is purged.
- A post with a manual shortcode shows buttons rather than literal
[mashshare]text. - The page head contains exactly one
og:title, oneog:imageand onetwitter:cardtag. - The browser's network panel shows no request to a social network before a button is clicked.
- If counts are shown, a post with a known Facebook count shows a number of the same order as before.
- The Plugins screen lists no MashShare entries; the add-on record lists the data each one may have left behind.
Sources
- MashShare listing in the WordPress.org plugin directory
- WordPress.org Plugin Developer FAQ (closed and removed plugins)
- MashShare core plugin readme.txt in the WordPress.org plugin repository (stable tag, tested-up-to version, changelog)
Questions
Is MashShare still available?
The plugin directory entry was closed permanently in August 2025 at the author's request, so no new downloads or updates come from there.
What is the best MashShare alternative?
The smallest maintained option that covers the features you use. Compare update history, page weight, count handling and privacy defaults.
Will I lose my share counts if I switch?
Counts that networks still report reappear with any plugin that queries them. Counts stored only in the old plugin's data need importing or are lost.
Can I keep the add-ons and replace only the core?
No. The add-ons depended on the core's functions and settings page, so they stop working, or cause fatal errors, once the core is deactivated. Replace the whole set.
Why are my counts lower after switching?
The old totals may have included a Fake Share Count value, combined http and https variants, or counts from networks that no longer report. A replacement showing only what networks return today will show less.
Hannah Voss, Editor. Checks every guide against a working WordPress install and the networks' current documentation. Last reviewed September 2026.
Related reading
- Removing MashShare cleanly from a WordPress siteRemove MashShare from WordPress without breaking posts: find leftover shortcodes and theme calls, decide what to do with stored counts, and clean options.7 min read
- MashShare: the plugin's history, closure and what to do nowMashShare was a WordPress share buttons plugin sold here until it closed in 2025. What it was, what happened, and what to do if your site still runs it.
- How to add social share buttons to WordPressAdd social share buttons to WordPress with a plugin, a block, or plain links in your theme. Placement, networks, counts and the checks to run afterwards.6 min read