WordPress table of contents plugin lifetime: sticky TOC, Gutenberg block, Elementor and jump links

• $99 Ultimate Blocks Pro for 1 site, the lowest price in this guide

• 31 Months until Easy Table of Contents Pro beats its yearly plan

• 600,000+ Active installs of the free version behind Easy Table of Contents Pro

• 13 SEO deals with a lifetime license in our catalog

WordPress table of contents plugins with a lifetime license at a glance

The table shows the lifetime entry plan of six plugins that add a table of contents to WordPress posts and pages. All prices are in US dollars and come from each vendor pricing page. The payback row shows after how many months the one-time price beats the yearly plan. Two of the six are dedicated table of contents plugins, the other four are block or builder plugins where the table of contents is one feature among many.

Is a WordPress table of contents plugin lifetime license worth it?

Yes, if you keep publishing long posts for more than about three years. You choose the heading levels, the position and the design once, and from then on every new article gets its table of contents without extra work. The plans in this guide pay off after 31 to 41 months. After five years Easy Table of Contents Pro has saved you $496 compared with renewing every year. Our post lifetime license or subscription explains how to read payback times in general.

How to add a table of contents in WordPress

Every table of contents plugin works the same way at its core. It reads the h2 and h3 headings of a post, gives each heading an anchor and puts a list of links to those anchors near the top. Readers click a line and jump straight to that section. The steps below are the same for all six plugins in this guide.

1. 1Structure the post with real headingsUse heading blocks for each section, not bold paragraphs. The plugin can only list what is marked as a heading.
2. 2Choose the heading levelsMost guides list h2 and h3. Going deeper makes the box long and hard to scan.
3. 3Insert it automatically or by handDedicated plugins insert the table of contents before the first heading of every post type you pick. Block and builder plugins need a block, widget or module on each page or template.
4. 4Set a minimum number of headingsA short news post with two headings does not need a table of contents. Show it from three or four headings on.

WordPress table of contents without plugin: what the block editor can do

A WordPress table of contents without plugin is possible, but it is manual work. Every heading block has an HTML anchor field under Advanced. You type an anchor such as pricing, then build a list at the top of the post where each line links to #pricing. That works for one evergreen guide. On a blog with dozens of posts you redo it whenever a heading changes, and the list never sticks to the screen while readers scroll. Some SEO plugins add a simple table of contents block; the plugins below go further with automatic insertion, sticky modes and design options.

Dedicated table of contents plugins with a lifetime license

Dedicated plugins do one job and work with any theme and any editor. They insert the table of contents automatically, which matters most on a blog with a large archive: you switch it on and every existing post gets one.

Easy Table of Contents Pro: Gutenberg, Elementor and AMP in one plugin

The plugin by Magazine3 is one of the most installed table of contents plugins on wordpress.org: the free version runs on 600,000+ sites with a rating of 4.4. Pro adds a sticky and a fixed table of contents, a Gutenberg block and an Elementor widget, full AMP support, headings from ACF fields and collapsible subheadings.

Lifetime is only sold as one pack: $499 for unlimited sites, with updates and support for 10 years. It pays off after 31 months against the yearly plan of $199. Refund window: 30 days. For a single blog the entry price is high; for an agency with many sites it is one of the cheapest options per site.

Joli Table of Contents Pro: an Easy Table of Contents alternative with a reading progress bar

Joli Table of Contents Pro by WPJoli puts its effort into presentation. Pro adds a floating table of contents, a slide out panel, a reading progress bar, multi column layouts, premium themes, visibility per device and RTL support. The free version counts 7,000+ active installs and a rating of 4.9.

The lifetime tiers start at $149 for 1 site; all tiers: 1 site for $149, 3 sites for $219, 10 sites for $399, unlimited sites for $699. It pays off after 37 months against $49 a year. Refund window: 14 days. Both dedicated plugins meet in our duel Easy Table of Contents Pro vs Joli Table of Contents Pro.

Sticky table of contents WordPress: floating, fixed or slide out

A sticky table of contents in WordPress stays on screen while the reader scrolls. On long guides that is the main reason to pay for Pro, because the free versions usually show the box only once at the top. There are three common styles. A fixed sidebar list suits wide desktop layouts. A floating button opens the list on demand and works on phones. A slide out panel comes in from the side and covers part of the text only while it is open.

Easy Table of Contents Pro offers a sticky and a fixed variant. Joli Table of Contents Pro offers sticky, floating and slide out modes plus a reading progress bar. Ultimate Blocks Pro adds a sticky table of contents with icons to its block. Test the sticky mode on a phone first: a box that covers half the screen costs more readers than it helps.

Table of contents Gutenberg block in a block plugin

If you build pages in the block editor and already need more blocks, a block plugin can cover the table of contents too. You place a table of contents Gutenberg block where you want it, or once in a post template. You get one plugin less, but no automatic insertion into old posts unless you edit the template. Our guide to Gutenberg block plugins with a lifetime license compares the larger libraries.

Ultimate Blocks Pro: blocks for blogs and review sites

Ultimate Blocks Pro by DotCamp is aimed at bloggers, affiliate sites and content sites. Pro adds a sticky table of contents with icons, review boxes with pros and cons schema, coupon, timeline and image hotspot blocks and saved style presets. The free version runs on 50,000+ sites with a rating of 4.9.

The lifetime plan costs $99 for 1 site with lifetime updates and support and pays off after 31 months against $39 a year. All tiers: 1 site for $99, unlimited sites for $199. Refund window: 30 days.

PostX Pro: post blocks for news and magazine sites

PostX Pro by WPXPO brings more than 45 blocks for posts: grids, lists, sliders, a news ticker and a site builder for archives. The table of contents block is already in the free version, so Pro is worth it only if you also want the post layouts, Ajax filters and dynamic content. The lifetime plan costs $112 for 1 site with lifetime updates and support; all tiers: 1 site for $112, unlimited sites for $199. Put both block plugins side by side in our free comparison of Ultimate Blocks Pro and PostX Pro.

Elementor table of contents and other page builders

Page builders need a table of contents that fits into their own layouts. For an Elementor table of contents, Easy Table of Contents Pro ships an Elementor widget, so you can keep one plugin for Elementor pages and classic posts. More widgets for Elementor are compared in our guide to Elementor addons with a lifetime license. For Bricks and Divi there are add-ons with a table of contents element.

BricksExtras: a table of contents element for Bricks Builder

BricksExtras adds many elements to Bricks Builder, from off canvas areas, modals and sliders to tables of contents, media players and wishlists. The lifetime license costs $229 for unlimited sites with lifetime updates and pays off after 35 months against $79 a year. Refund window: 15 days, and only if something does not work. Other add-ons are in our guide to Bricks Builder addons.

Divi Supreme Pro: a table of contents module for Divi

Divi Supreme Pro adds more than 70 modules to the Divi Builder, a table of contents module among them, plus popups, a dark mode toggle and a maintenance mode. It only works with Divi, Extra or the Divi Builder plugin. The lifetime plan costs $269 for unlimited sites with lifetime updates and support and pays off after 41 months, the longest in this guide.

Table of contents SEO: jump links WordPress shows in Google

A table of contents is not a ranking factor on its own. It helps in two other ways. First, readers find their answer faster and stay on the page instead of going back to the results. Second, the anchors give Google clear jump links, and Google sometimes shows them as "Jump to" links under your result, which takes more space on the results page. Both only work when the headings themselves carry search terms, so the table of contents reads like a summary of the post.

Keep anchors short and stable. If you rename a heading, a plugin that builds anchors from the heading text changes the link, and links from other sites to that section stop working. More SEO tools with a one-time price are compared in our guide to SEO plugins with a lifetime license.

Table of contents features compared

• Automatic insertion into every post

  Easy Table of Contents Pro and Joli Table of Contents Pro.

• Sticky or floating table of contents

  Easy Table of Contents Pro, Joli Table of Contents Pro and Ultimate Blocks Pro.

• Reading progress bar

  Joli Table of Contents Pro.

• Gutenberg block

  Easy Table of Contents Pro, Joli Table of Contents Pro, Ultimate Blocks Pro and PostX Pro.

• Elementor widget and AMP support

  Easy Table of Contents Pro.

• Bricks element or Divi module

  BricksExtras for Bricks, Divi Supreme Pro for Divi.

Table of contents plugins for agencies and many sites

Agencies should count sites before they compare prices. Easy Table of Contents Pro, BricksExtras and Divi Supreme Pro sell one lifetime plan for unlimited sites. Joli Table of Contents Pro offers 1 site for $149, 3 sites for $219, 10 sites for $399, unlimited sites for $699. Ultimate Blocks Pro offers 1 site for $99, unlimited sites for $199. Our guide to lifetime deals for unlimited sites lists more plugins without a site limit.

Choosing a WordPress table of contents plugin: checklist

1. 1Check your editorBlock editor, Elementor, Bricks or Divi decide which plugins can place the table of contents where you want it.
2. 2Decide between automatic and manualA large archive needs automatic insertion. A handful of landing pages can live with a block.
3. 3Test the sticky mode on a phoneFloating buttons and slide out panels must not cover the text or the cookie notice.
4. 4Read the update termsFour of the six vendors state lifetime updates, one limits them to 10 years, one leaves it open.
5. 5Use the refund windowThe windows here run from 14 days to 30 days. Install the plugin on a copy of a long post on day one. Our lifetime deal checklist shows what else to check.

Which table of contents plugin with a lifetime license fits your site

• One blog in the block editor

  Ultimate Blocks Pro for $99.

  Fits

  • Ultimate Blocks Pro$99

• Long guides that need a sticky TOC

  Joli Table of Contents Pro with floating mode and progress bar.

  Fits

  • Joli Table of Contents Pro$149

• Agencies with many sites and editors

  Easy Table of Contents Pro for unlimited sites.

  Fits

  • Easy Table of Contents Pro$499

• News and magazine sites

  PostX Pro with post grids and a table of contents block.

  Fits

  • PostX Pro$112

• Sites built with Bricks

  BricksExtras for unlimited sites.

  Fits

  • BricksExtras$229

• Sites built with Divi

  Divi Supreme Pro with a table of contents module.

  Fits

  • Divi Supreme Pro$269

Frequently asked questions